Rajah Caruth on growing up a NASCAR fan, life in D.C. and more: 12 Questions

Each week, The Athletic asks the same 12 questions to a different race car driver. Up next: NASCAR Truck Series driver Rajah Caruth, who heads to Martinsville Speedway this weekend with one more chance to make the Championship 4. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity, but the full version is available on the 12 Questions podcast .

I'm not really a thrill-seeker. I'm not an adrenaline junkie. I'm not a guy who wants to jump out of airplanes or do extravagant activities like that.

So my parents are immigrants. My dad was born in St. Vincent and my mom was born in London, but her family is from St. Vincent and Barbados. I went to St. Vincent when I was an infant, and I don't have many memories of it. But I have a lot of family down there. Hopefully, I'll be able to go back as an adult. Besides that, I'd love to go to a country in Africa at some point in my adult life.

So you race at like 200 miles an hour, but you're not an adrenaline junkie?

Yeah, bro. I'm in the house. I don't do much. I like basketball and that's pretty much it. I like nature, though.

Honestly, a lot. I didn't race growing up, so I can see how a driver who grew up going to the racetrack — whether it was because of their parents or whatever — might get burnt out. Once they're away from the track, they're just completely shut off and not taking it in at all.

For me, I was watching the "Cup Scene" YouTube videos, "NASCAR Now," Dave Despain — all that stuff as a kid. And that's really transitioned over to today, where I listen to "The Teardown" and watch Frontstretch interviews on YouTube. I just watch a lot of racing content. That comes from being a fan first and not having this sport just delivered to me on a silver platter.

It's hard sometimes because I am a driver and an athlete, and everyone has opinions, right? I've learned how to not take things personally and see that it's entertainment. Some things are created for clicks or whatever.

For me, it comes down to my processes during the week. I make sure my personal stuff is in order so I can put my best foot forward at the simulator, workouts, the race shop with my team, on iRacing at home, at the go-kart track, at Millbridge (the dirt track).

Then in the car, there's a lot of moments where your emotions are tested and it really shows what you've put in during the week in terms of you studying. It's kind of like ball knowledge; there's basketball IQ and there's racing IQ. There's a lot of moments where that's evident on the racetrack. Success is managing those moments, whether it's emotions or things don't go your way, or not compounding situations.

This might be controversial, but there's too much information that's public knowledge, bro. Like when I was a kid, nobody was talking about tire compounds we should be having or what kind of (aero) packages the races should be. There were good races, bad races, great tracks and not-so-great tracks — and that was it. Now, I'm not saying we should live in a totalitarian society where nobody knows anything, but maybe not everyone needs to know everything, especially people who aren't in the industry.

Besides that, it's imperative we race in Southern California. California is a completely different world. It's far away from the East Coast, but it's so important to have a presence there. There's a big car culture and a lot of people. So whether it's at the Clash, back at Fontana, Irwindale or Long Beach, it's absolutely imperative to continue to sustain our sport by racing out there.

I'm fortunate to have a lot of great things in my life happening outside the racetrack, which has provided great perspective for me. Whether it's a good or bad day on the track, I can go home and enjoy myself.

Some drivers go home whenever they get time off, whether that's Georgia, Florida or wherever. I'm the same way — I go to Atlanta whenever I get space because it's not far from Charlotte. But it's also imperative to be present in North Carolina, especially during the season.

This is a funny one. In 2011, I got in trouble at school right at the start of the Chase. I remember Tony Stewart won at Chicagoland, but I couldn't watch any of the Chase races because I was in trouble. I got off punishment right around the end of the season, and that was the year Tony won five races and went head-to-head with Carl (Edwards). I got to watch the Homestead race, and that was the first race I watched in like two months.

Besides that, I've pretty much watched every Homestead race from 2008 or 2009 until now. I obviously remember Jimmie (Johnson's) wins here; when he won his seventh championship in 2016, I was in high school. I had a paper due at 11:59 p.m. (the night of the race) or the following morning for class time. I was a freshman and I procrastinated on it. So I started the paper during the race and I missed chunks of the race, but I came back right around when the caution came out for that 32 car that cut a tire when Carl Edwards was leading. And then I watched the end of that race, and that was a really great memory to watch Jimmie win the seventh title. He was my hero growing up, so to see that moment on TV was really special.

The adjustment for me has been learning to speak a certain way — not stutter, not use a lot of idioms, make eye contact and speak up. Those are things I've had to work on. Naturally, I hated speaking in front of my classmates in school. Speeches were never my thing, and it was always hard for me to do that. Still is.

Going from consuming this stuff as a fan and watching these drivers and they look like superheroes, and then you're in that situation and it's like, "Wow." Everything you do is under scrutiny, good or bad. That part is not as bad, because I feel like I'm a decent person, so I just be authentic to myself and be my normal personality. Overall, it's been hard because I'm naturally someone who likes to keep to myself. Doing interviews and TV stuff can be nerve-wracking sometimes because I keep to myself and my friends and that's kind of it, to be real.

D.C. was great, man. We moved there in 2009 when I was 7, and I lived there until I graduated high school. My parents still live in the city. Growing up in Northeast D.C., I'd watch D.C. United games, Commanders games, Nationals games — being a sports fan in D.C. was great. The sports teams have had their good and bad years for sure.

I grew up taking public transportation and playing sports, so I had a lot of fun summers playing basketball in rec leagues and school leagues, running at track meets, cross-country meets, soccer games. My high school — School Without Walls — was only five blocks from the White House, so I was always surrounded by a big political presence. I learned a lot about varying perspectives and got decently knowledgeable about other peoples' opinions, how the government works, foreign relations and policies. That has really armed me with a good toolbox to go to different places in the world and function at a high level.

Overall, I just try to treat people nicely. It's easy to get caught up in your emotions or take things personally when maybe it's not that deep. I try to be understanding and keep my emotions in check.

I've had my moments, for sure. I had a dispute with Tanner Gray last year that bled over into some races, and I'm honestly not really proud of that. Looking back, I knew better and could've handled it differently. From that point forward, I've really put it in my mind, "Let's avoid doing that."

I don't really have a negative opinion about any driver. Driving techniques and abilities are one conversation, but as people, I don't know many drivers personally. It wouldn't be fair for me to say I wouldn't want to spend time with somebody in an elevator. Plus, being stuck in an elevator isn't like hanging out. It's an inconvenience, not, "Hey, let's hang out!"

Is it intentional not to be friends with your competitors?

It's intentional because when I first started racing, I was really friendly. I would seek out a lot of people to learn things and just from a friendship standpoint, it was a new space. But I learned that can be taken for weakness sometimes. Sure, people can be nice — but they're not necessarily your friends. Things can change in an instant on the racetrack and then y'all will never move the same for a considerable amount of time.

I did have a run-in at Phoenix last year in the Hendrick No. 17 car. I got up to seventh or eighth and John Hunter (Nemechek) either got tight or whatever and buried me in the wall. I was pissed because I had run a good race, not a speck on the car and was going to finish top 10. I didn't have anything lined up for 2024, so that race felt like an audition. Having it taken away, I was pretty upset about that for sure.

But that's a time I learned things aren't personal. They had won seven or eight races and lost the championship, so I can kind of see their perspective.

The trucks should race 200 miles, Xfinity 300 and Cup 400. You've got to have your crown jewels on the Cup side — the Daytona 500, Darlington, the (Coca-Cola) 600. I do wish Truck races were longer sometimes, but you've got to look at what they're getting from TV and attendance. And especially like the road crew, they're truck racing because the races are shorter and they don't race as much. They're retired Cup guys, and they don't want to be at the racetrack every week; they've got kids and grandkids at this point.

The next interview is with Landon Cassill. Do you have a question I can ask him?

As a driver, when you get older, how does getting married and having children affect your competitiveness on the racetrack? Whether that's risk-taking or getting a little more running the fence or making a block? Does it change your preparation off the track when you have different obligations and a family on top of that?

(Top photo of Rajah Caruth at practice in Richmond in August: Logan Whitton / )