The Breakfast Club - INTERVIEW: Interview: Rajah Caruth Talks NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race, HBCU Pride, Authenticity, Bubba Wallace + More

Episode Date: March 19, 2026

Today on The Breakfast Club, Interview: Rajah Caruth Talks NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race, HBCU Pride, Authenticity, Bubba Wallace. Listen For More!YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It's D.E.J.N.V. Just hilarious. Shalameen de Guy. We are the breakfast club. Laun LaRose is here as well. We got a special guest in the building. Yes, indeed. The brother, Raja Caruth. Welcome. Morning, morning.

How you feeling? Great. Thank you guys for having me on. Now, who is Raja Kru for people that don't know? So, like you said, my name is Raja. I was born in Atlanta, but grew up in D.C. And I guess I do many things. But mainly, currently, I race in NASCAR. So, yeah, HBC graduate, grew up in D.C.

And racing at NASCAR's second highest level. And how did you get into NASCAR? Like, what got you into it? I think it's, I want to say something. Your story is very ill because you used to drive the simulator. Yeah. You turned virtual racing into a real, like, career. Yeah, have y'all seen the Grand Tourismo movie? Yep. It's pretty much like that just

10 years, I guess, down the line. Um, coming from, uh, Caribbean parents, my dad's right here in the back, uh, being from St. Vincent. That's crazy because in Grand Turismo, his parents of Caribbean too. Yeah, exactly. So, uh, yeah, like you said, Charlemagne, I, I grew up watching racing. I was a big fan, but I mean, I played other sports. Like, I played basketball, ran track, play soccer, um, but I always loved racing. And since I grew up in D.C., there wasn't any, any tracks or anything nearby. So I had to get it from racing online and learning how to drive from the computer. So you did is that something you wanted to do or the love came from just being on the sim? No, the love came from like the cars movie watching races on TV. I once my first race at Richmond

and when I was probably 12. So that's where the love really, really grew. And I mean, I'd watch everything I could about racing from like sports talks shows to people playing the games online. I just was a deep, deep fan of racing. Did you ever steal your father? car no I mean I never I never drove so I was 15 years old I mean you could just take the metro or walk or get lime scooters in D.C so I mean you don't really need to drive just like here so What's what's your like day-to-day like at work so like how does it as an NASCAR driver so you go you don't clock in like normal like what is a normal day in the life of an NASCAR driver so basically for like we train like endurance athletes so we'll have our you know Mondays to thursdays whenever we

return from the previous race weekend we'll have our pre-imprime pro-fes race debriefs with our teams because I think compared to other sports racing is so different where the driver is a key factor but also is the car and the team and your pit crew. So we have all our meetings with with our engineers, our crew chiefs that are over the car development, but also our pick crew members to analyze how they can improve, how we can improve behind the wheel and how we can get the car better. We have simulator training at our Chevy facility. Well, with every manufacturer has a big kind of training facility where we have our simulators, corporate offices, all pretty much based in North Carolina.

And for us and me being at Chevy, I mean, we're there, I'm there Monday through Thursday where we're training. We're on the simulators. We're having our meetings with our race teams. And that's kind of our week-to-week basis. And then we leave on Thursdays or Fridays to go travel to wherever we race. We were at Vegas last weekend. We're in Darlington, South Carolina this weekend.

So yeah, it's a travel. circus for the whole year pretty much. They call you very analytical and very composed. I'm a nerd. I know people like to use that word, but I like smart people. But how does that help you on the racetrack,

I guess? I guess to be super calculated is the way that that helps. You have to obviously use your instincts, right? Because everything is happening within splits of a second, moving at hundreds of miles per hour with the wall being right next to you, other cars being right next to you, the wind being super turbulent.

Yeah, you have to be super aware of what's going on. And I think it speaks to my personality, but also my preparation of just being that calculated and prepared for whatever situations may arise. So how close is it dissimulated to actually being on the track? I'd say it's pretty close, but you can never replicate real life because there's weather, there's maybe a new bump that develops in a racetrack that you can't forecast. There's new rule changes every time. But what's great about the simulator is that the one we have at Chevrolet is,

it has our literally every part and piece of the car is replicated on there to where we can drive and change whether it's a piece of the suspension, move a body panel a certain way to see if it'll work in real life. And then nine times out of ten, it's, it's perfect for what we have to do at the racetrack. So it's super, super important. And it's great practice for us drivers just to be able to get repetition on the corners. It's kind of like tap dancing with how we're using the brake and the gas pedal and all the instruments in the car. Salute to John Cohen. He's a black race car owner.

He owns a team. New York City race team is his team. He was telling me how difficult it is to find members because he was like it's so detailed. So break down, you talked about the team how important everybody is from the pit crew and what they have to do. But if they mess up, that affects your time.

And it's the whole race, yeah. So break that down because people only see the driver at most of the time. But if your crew ain't right, if this ain't right, if the guy you're talking to ain't right, so break that down of how detailed and how difficult that part is. Yeah, for sure.

It's very similar to, I think, special teams in the NFL. I mean, every member of the team is important from our hollow driver that drives the equipment to the racetrack and making sure it gets their safe, to our spotters that are on top of the highest point on the track and communicating with those drivers to our pick crew members, like you mentioned. If one of our wheels aren't tight, then that's a day-end or whether it's damaging the wheel or causing us to crash. Not to mention how important it is to have the car set up as close as it can be

to, you know, be able to drive to the front. So our teams are super important. And as much as the driver is the face, racing is as much of a team sport as anything because it's not just the one-star person. It's the whole team that that matters and helps to get the job done. How competitive is it?

You know, we look at these movies, right? And we see these races and they're cutting each other off and they're cursing each other out. And sometimes you see them fighting after. How competitive is it? And what's the respect level on the track? Like, sometimes they're cutting off. Like, you're not supposed to do that.

but I just thought it is what it is. Yeah, I mean, there's definitely different etiquette. And you kind of see the old guard of drivers being different from the new guard of drivers. And it kind of speaks to people's personalities, right, where there's a certain situation where, hey, I'm going to do this to you because I know you would do it to me, whether it's throwing a block or putting somebody in a tight scenario. So it's just different etiquettes. Everybody's got different etiquettes. And I think what's cool about NASCAR is it's a contact sport where in other forms of racing, whether it's, Formula One, Indy car.

The racing etiquette is just different just because of... We should be contact sport. Contact means we touching each other. Yeah, it's normal. It's normal. It's normal. If anything, you can, at certain tracks like Atlanta or Daytona, it's important to push somebody else because it gives yourself a better chance at winning. So there's levels to the contact that are required.

Not every time because then you'll damage your car and it'll be slower. But it's important because it's just the true etiquette of... of the racing of NASCAR that makes it super cool. So you know how like with basketball players like or football players, right? When you're training, you watch and tape, you kind of know what players do what. So you know what drivers, like they're little tricks. Exactly. Yeah.

So we have like a GPS program that records every race and you can look at every car and see literally every lap of the race and see, all right, they decided to do this move here because of what they saw in front of them or what they felt in the car. We can see how they're steering, how they're braking, how they're using the gas. literally the G forces that they're creating in the car. That's our way to study film. It's just analyzing each race, every practice, every time trial session. That's kind of the equivalent for us.

What's been the biggest challenge stepping into the NASCAR National Spotlight? Honestly, I would say for me, I'm a pretty introverted person, so being comfortable with being as approachable at the racetrack to fans was an adjustment for me. But honestly, like, in the sport, like, everybody's been cool. For the most part, like, because I have the interest, the passion, and the work to go with it,

like, everybody's been super cool. So I definitely will say to mention, you mentioned before getting to this level, it definitely was harder to get my foot in the door from A, not only starting so late, but coming from my background, that made it immensely more harder than it would be for, Maybe I shouldn't say that because everybody's grind is different But I think personally like it was way harder to get in the door Than it has been to kind of climb through the ladder How did you get your foot in the door? How did you get your foot in the door?

Yeah, so for me, I started racing on the simulator I was 15 or 16 and I started to go to races and hand out business cards and say Hey, I'm a young driver trying to make a name for myself racing online NASCAR had a driver development program that I applied for in 2019 and they had a whole combine trial where it was not just how well you can drive. It's what your physicality is, how strong you are, how you handle press, how you handle your team communication, just seeing all the traits that are required to really be a successful driver.

And I did well enough in that program in 2019 to come on and get developed through the kind of regional levels of NASCAR where we raced in parts of South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, just kind of getting the, the real sticks of it. And that's really how I got started. And that was super hard just because I was coming from growing up in D.C. Where, I mean, I just, it was normal to exist, right? And being in those places where I was not only a lot of times the youngest person,

but the youngest black person in the room where, I mean, I moved from D.C. when I was 18. I was living in North Carolina by myself. While I was going to school at Winston at the race shop, at the track, I was pretty much a lot of times the only person that looked like me. So I think that was definitely a challenge to get started. But it just really allowed me to get confident in my identity, really my Caribbean background, my raising, my education, and that helped me really persevere.

Let's talk about that, right? You came through simulation, like you said, and you're a young black man. Do you ever feel like you're disrupting the culture of NASCAR, or do you feel pressure to prove you belong in? I think I'm definitely breaking the mold for sure. And I really have an appreciation for the teams that I'm at where they've seen me as not just,

as a not as I'm only here for a certain reason they see me for not only my ability but how I'm showing up and how I'm prepared to perform and taking the accountability and doing the work and really performing well when it matters the most so when you walk in a garage right that historically hasn't looked like you are you thinking about winning races are you just trying to change narrative I think they work hand-in-hand I think the success on the track is going to help everything else and I have such a deep appreciation for the sport of NASCAR in particular and racing as a whole that I know all the other stuff will come naturally as long as I keep the main thing the main thing

which is trying to be the best driver that I can. You heard what he said? Keep the main thing the main thing. That's a jewel. A lot of people don't do that. You know what I mean? They try to do all the side quests. You got to keep the main thing the main thing.

I saw Bubba Wallace praise you for opening a season with three top 10 finishes while driving for two different teams. And we know that he's had like, you know, issues when it comes to race and different things within NASCAR. What's your relationship like with Bubba? Yeah, that's a big bro. That's a big bro. I mean, literally from my first ever regional race, he's been there every step of the way. And that's super important to have somebody like that in your corner that's paying attention and knows kind of the cards you've been dealt.

And it's been great to have him in my corner. And I mean, we, although we're at two, he's with Toyota. I'm with Chevrolet. I mean, he's been there every step of the way for me. So that's big bro. It's been great because the things that he's had to endure, he's allowed it to wear for drivers like myself, like LeVar Scott,

that are in the wings and coming up, that we don't have to deal with those certain things. And in that same vein, that's how Wendell Scott did it for him and Willie T. Ribs and Bill Lester and all those before us. Is that car sponsorship thing, like really that big of a deal?

Because you said it like, it's a big thing. I'm Chevy and he Toyota. I mean, it's serious. It's serious because, I mean, the manufacturers are really, what drive NASCAR at the end of the day where in other sports, right, there's the owners of the teams. I think the owners of NASCAR are big deal as well, but so are the manufacturers.

Because, I mean, those are the cars that we're driving at the end of the day. So that's a big role. They play a huge, huge role in our sport. Can you switch sides? You got to be Chevy for life. I mean, I don't want to leave Chevy, for sure. I mean, it's not uncommon for people to leave manufacturers, and that can be because, hey, the team closed or they need a swap. or they have a new guy that bumps out of the seat. So it's kind of more a case-by-case scenario, but what's different in NASCAR compared to other sports

is that right in the NBA, the NFL, the MLB, you have these annual drafts, and there's always a rotation of young talent. In racing, there's only 40 guys at the cup level, and there's maybe one or two seats that turn over on an annual basis. So there's just a lot of young drivers trying to come up through the ladder and very few spots to go into.

So you have to set yourself apart, And that's why, for the most part, you don't see a young driver in the Cup series that is 18. You only see that every once in a while. Otherwise, you only see drivers make their first Cup stars when they're mid-20s, plus or minus, a few years, maybe even early 30s, just because of how there's not as much turnover at the top level. What's the biggest mental adjustment you had to make when the consequences from just being able to reset the game, turning. I'm actually in a car and this is real life. That's a great question. Literally my second race, I hit the wall on the second lap.

And I was like, dang, this is not as easy as I thought it would be. I remember the first time I flipped, the first time I crashed somebody else or myself. But those experiences are like super important because those mistakes allow you not to make them again. And those lessons are super important. So adjusting from the SIM to real life, honestly, it wasn't too hard from the athletic standpoint because I had that background of playing other sports growing up. So I wasn't tired from a physical stance. It just was what immensely required to be aware of how the tire feels, how you feel in air

and the spacing of being close to the wall or other people. I think that was the adjustment that I had to make as I grew my experience racing regionally before going to the national level. Now you said flipped over. What happened with that race? Okay. So that race, I was in a dirt race where it was a race for practice. And a lot of times NASCAR drivers will go race on dirt, race go carts,

race other forms of racing to really get better at what we do. And I was racing on dirt and somebody hit the wall and I try to avoid them and it's dirt so you like can't really stop. And I, next thing I knew I was like barreling. Is that scary? No, it just hurt. It wasn't scary? Yeah. I mean, no, the thing is the thing about flipping is it's not the flipping that is the issue.

is if when you stop abruptly or you land, that's the part where people get hurt, whether they land, you know, flat on the bottom of the, yeah, the impact and they'll have back injuries and stuff like that or have just a sudden stop. So if anything, flipping isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's just whenever you abruptly stop. So it didn't feel great, but now I know.

But how do you know you're not going to die? Yeah. I mean, we have faith in our safety. I mean, there's so many advancements that they've made over the last 25 years that make it aware. Canadian women are looking for more. More to themselves, their businesses,

their elected leaders, and the world are at them. And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast. I'm Jennifer Stewart. And I'm Catherine Clark. And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women. Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers,

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So you have to work extra hard, and you have to push the narrative in a way that doesn't compromise who you are in your integrity. You know, I like to say I was kind of like a silent ninja. Each week, I have unfiltered conversations with female founders, creatives, and leaders to talk about ambition, visibility, and what it really takes to build something meaningful in the public eye.

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Her husband, Mike, was on his laptop. What was on his screen would change Saskia's life forever. I said, I need you to tell me exactly what you're doing. And immediately, the mask came off. You're supposed to be safe. That's your home. That's your husband. So keep this secret for so many years.

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It's not a thing that, I mean, we don't take it for granted for sure, but the cars are way safer than they used to be. I mean, our head and neck restraint systems are super good. I mean, our seats are literally crafted to our stature, our bodies. So we're literally not, like, locked in the seat, but, like, pretty much memory foam to our, body to make sure that we're not moving around a lot whenever we have those crashes. And that was the worst thing that I haven't happened to, like the worst accident that you've had?

Well, yeah. So far. Yeah, yeah. I mean, and crashes are honestly just a part of racing. I mean, that's something you accept because it's just part of what we do. I mean, we're going so fast. We're so close to each other. There's bound to be incidents from the time and time.

I mean, I crashed two weeks ago. I mean, it's normal. You say so regularly. So when you're not racing and you're in your personal car, Do people pull up to you and be like, let's race it because they know it was you? Honestly, no. But the thing is, I don't have like a super fast, like normal car. What kind of call you guys?

Where do you drive? I have, well, I have a Chevy Traverse, but my fun car is a Chevy SS 2017. And that car is nice because I can just keep it on like the tour, like easy gas mode. So it's not super loud. But I can like change the exhaust with a little dial in there to like, you know, open them up and have it be a little bit louder. but you're not even allowed to drive nothing but Chevy period I'm sure you could but I mean I like no I know I mean I could but I mean I don't really want to I like what I've got right now It's like being signed to Jordan why would you wear other sneakers if you sign in Jordan?

Great point exactly so when you're on the regular road you're chilling like you ain't even know yeah I mean the thing is that I have to be more patient on the regular road because I notice the general like IQ isn't as high as the racetrack And just the overall awareness of of the road like somebody could try to merge lanes and not know there's somebody like right there in their blind spot or um actually i was in Atlanta a couple weeks ago and i was uh getting over on the uh like exit going to the airport like 242 or whatever on 85 and um i literally saw a crash happening before it happened i'm like watch this person is going to try to get in this hole and lo and behold they all crash there so so physically you still got a kind of like be in shape right for sure yeah yeah i mean for the drivers

because we race for three hours at a time, we have such long periods of time where we're having to focus on driving the car that you can't be thinking about how you feel because then you're going to lose focus. So for us, like, obviously our cardio's got to be in check, but we have to have like a good baseline of strength because of the G-forces we're feeling.

We have our helmets, our belts, three layers of fireproof gear where it's like hundreds of degrees in the car. And you have to just be able to deal with all that and be mentally clear and not have any fog to be able to perform. Those races be three hours long sometimes.

Yeah, three, if not more. How are you laughing? I'd personally don't. Because if you race it? Some people, a lot of people, to sweat. Like, they sweat so they don't have to. Every once in a while,

I've heard drivers talk about, like, peeing on themselves, but me personally, no. That's crazy. You sweat out pee? No, no, no, no, no. Like, sweat out the fluids. The fluids.

That's what I mean, yeah. You can do that? That can replace pee? I guess so. I don't know. No, because pee is in the blood. Well, right, yeah, I'm saying like before, like, and plus you're so, you have so much adrenaline that you're not really thinking about having to go to the bathroom. But like usually after the race,

like once your adrenaline dies down, it's like, all right, I got to use the bathroom, but usually not really while you're driving. I'm a guy who loves therapy. I love meditation and stuff like that. So does that play a role too? For sure. Mentally and emotionally, you got to be. 100%. Yeah, I've had a therapist now for three, four years and a black woman at that, and it's been such a great addition to my life to know that, like, I can, grind and put all out that I have into this racing thing, but know that there's more to me and there's more out there than the racing thing. And it's great because there's not as much of a pressure of, um, of, of sacrifice where I don't feel like there's nothing else or I'm nothing

without my, my job or my profession. And she's done a great job and added a lot of value to my life. And I would highly recommend that for a lot of people. It's, it's been such a great tool. Like you mentioned just to have that mental awareness of your emotions and you grow a lot of us athletes and and business professionals like grind so hard at our jobs that I think a lot of times people pass on how they're mentally feeling and checking in and so I think that's something that's super important what led you to it what led you to it there I had a lot of people or a few people in my life that really recommended me doing it and I Just was, I kind of just ripped the mandate off and said, why not?

And that was a great time. I was a second year at Winston-Salem State, and that was just a perfect time to add that to my life. What else do you do? I mean, I love going outside. So I'm, well, not hunting, but like I like being in nature. So going on runs, bike rides, hikes. I love going outside. Growing up in D.C., like Rock Creek Park is, like, right in the middle of the city.

So I spent a lot of time there, like biking and going on runs. for tracking stuff in school through there. And I love basketball and really just all DC sports. So I'm a sports fan. I also love like comic books and stuff. So all the MCU DC stuff. I saw the Spider-Man trailer this morning. It looks hard.

Yeah, it's so excited. So, but yeah, I love, you know, comic books and superhero movies and all that stuff too. And, yeah. Is I seen that? In the milestone? In the Milestone comics? Hmm.

Oh, I got to put you on the milestone comics. Static shock and hardware. I just got Static Shock, but I'm starting to absolute Batman right now. Oh, with Static Shock and, yeah, the other Batman, I got the first issue. Yeah, same. I just started that. And what's your relationship with Rock Nation? I see the PIN here.

Are you signed a Rock Nation? No, but I just, I mean, I get a lot of Plains merch, and I love the product. So, yeah, I've known Lenny and Tito and all of them for a while, and they've been super, super cool to me. and went to the gold party a couple nights to go in LA, and that was a lot of fun as well. You know, NASCAR is as much about sponsorship as it is about skill. How do you balance being authentic while still, while also being marketable? I think for it, I've been fortunate because I can just be myself

and that takes care of it. I think you have to be comfortable with doing things that are out of your comfort zone for the greater good of not only the sport, but your brand. And like I said, I'm pretty fortunate because I can just be myself. and naturally with my background and who I represent and my interest and whatnot, like that naturally happens. So like you mentioned with how the car is so important with our manufacturers and stuff,

the sponsorship is super important as well. So you've got to show these brands that, hey, you're getting not just a great driver, but a great spokesperson for your brand and a good athlete and all the intangibles that come with it. If somebody is like coming up and wants to be in your position with NASCAR, What should they be doing, like, branding wise, like on social and stuff like that, outside of his learning skill? I think you just got to set yourself apart where, for me, my background was sim racing. So, I mean, I've been Twitch streaming for years. I mean, from when I had five viewers to now, you know, a hundred or so where I'm just streaming while I'm driving and racing and talking to people in the chat.

And that's something that others can do, whether it's documenting their days at the go-car track or, hey, this is the workout I did, or this is the film that I studied. just kind of showcasing what makes them unique, I think it's the biggest thing that works. There's so much uniqueness out there that I don't think that people need to try to follow directly what other drivers or what other people do. I think it's important to keep that identity and just be themselves at the end of the day.

You know, there aren't a lot of black drivers at your level. Do you embrace that responsibility or do you wish you could ever just race without carrying that way? It's not weight. I think it's a responsibility I chair. I think it's for me to have more people like us at the track is fun because I have that love for racing. And if I can share that to more of us, then I can, you know, I can be very proud of that. And your line of work, do you ever experience burnout?

Like not physical burnout like the car, but you're not like, okay, because how do you do with that though? Because your job is so physical. That's a great question. I think for us, I mean, we go literally from Valentine's Day to the first week of November and like only a couple off weeks. And luckily, I would say probably a third of the schedule are. since we're all based in Charlotte or around the Charlotte area, there's a third of the schedule where we'll be able to just drive to the races where they're only like two or three hours at most away from the Mecca area.

So that helps with like the travel burnout. But that's why you got to have other things in a good like circle of life to go with you and not just be all work. Like for me, whether it's just to go to the Y and get shots up or play the game or watch other sports, I think you have to have that circle of life personally with your family, your friends to where you have other things going on and your emotions and your attitude isn't defined

by how good or bad the previous races go. That's why I ask you what you do, because I know this takes up a lot of your time, you know. Yeah, definitely, definitely. Well, I am proud to say that this weekend at the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Part series on Saturday, Araja will compete in a Black Effect podcast network

rat Chevrolete. I can't wait to see. all black effect running around that track so we can see it I would love to see it oh it's fire I got a right I can't wait to see it and you designed the rap with the brand personally like I did not personally design it but it's fire it's fine show him you went out there for the race I think I am I didn't want to tell everybody that but yeah what part of uh what's the race at it's in Darling Dalton South Carolina not too far from Charleston it's like uh it's maybe hour 45 I fall from Raleigh from Raleigh look at that

probably four hours probably I love this what's out of race five five on Saturday and it's like the jackets I'm gonna be out in the Carolinas this weekend

let me see passing it's very disruptive oh that's hard it's real sleek very disruptive hell yeah black and white

yeah black I like the black cars congratulations man I love that yeah I appreciate you guys I'm gonna see if I can pull up I would love to see that what's up when it when it's

well I got to say thank you. I got to say thank you. You know, I think for me, like, I met Chico last year, or actually a couple years ago, from 85 South at Richmond. Oh, Chico went to Winston-Salem. Yeah, Chico went to Winston.

And Dolly Bishop, the president of the Black. Yeah, that's dope. Yeah, so, yeah, I've definitely been familiar with you guys, and I'm super excited to showcase y'all this weekend. No, man, I love what you represent. Like, you know, even outside of just, you know, driving the car, just the fact that, you know, the way you carry yourself and just how smart you are.

I just think that's great. I appreciate that. You know? Yeah. What does success look like for you beyond trophies? I think for me, I've really learned, and this is something therapy has helped me with, is that to define success outside of the accolades and the stats on the track. So I think for me, if I can leave the sport whenever I'm done driving,

which is hopefully a long time from now, not only better than it was when I got here, but to where we have a renowned presence in the sport, then I can be proud of how, I guess that would be success for me. Because, of course, every driver, every athlete wants to be the best and be great at their profession from a stats or achievement perspective. But there's more, I guess, out there than just getting those results on the track. And they're still important because I think a lot of times without those results, you can't have the other things.

But I would say the success for me is deeper than just getting the dubs on the track. And the other thing I want to ask you, you went to Winston said, and you got a degree in motor sports management? I'd never even heard of that. What did you graduate? 24. Okay. That's very progressive of a school to have.

Like, that's a fire maybe. Yeah, for sure. What does that major entail? So it was, it's a sports management, but it's focused directly on racing where we would have classes about facility management of running a racetrack and learn how to like do, like I made my own sponsorship deck recently,

and that was from stuff I learned at school. Same with writing press releases and getting tours of race shops and really just learning the business side of racing. That makes sense. And that was super valuable. Not really for my driving side of things, but honestly for knowing everything else that makes the sport go around. That makes sense because it's such a big town for races. Just like Hampton has a sale team where they teach kids how to do the sales and do the boats for because it's on the water where they're on the boat. Now that your alumni, like how helpful has your HBCU community been in what you do?

It's been so cool. I mean, it's funny because every time I go to, whether it's Richmond or St. Louis or Atlanta, any place where we have a visibility, I like to just, you know, poke fun at whoever's alma maters are there. My dad, he went to Clark and he teaches at Howard, for example, and two of my best friends, one went to Jackson State, one went to Hampton. So I just, it's great to feel that love because although there's obviously everybody has their different rivalries, it's all one family at the end of the day. So it's super, it's. It's a great. It's super cool. And any time that, I mean, even going to Atlanta a couple years ago and do an event there with Clark and Spelman and Morehouse, I think it's a one big family. So I love every aspect of it. How do you think the world of NASCAR? I only got a couple more questions. How do you think the world in NASCAR would change if more black viewers gravitated towards it? I think it'll just, you know, get some more flavor, more seasoning, and it is great.

I think it will just be great because the thing about racing is that the equalizer is the car. And I think there's not limited, I mean, it's co-ed, it's not limited by physical stature or background. As long as you can get your foot in the door and you have that love for the sport, then, I mean, anybody can be a part of it. So I think that's one beautiful thing about racing is that if you have that passion for it, it's a, it's a barrier breaker and it's a unifying thing in that sense. Are you ready for all this national spotlight you're about to get? I'm going to have to be. I love it. I'll have to be.

Okay. Driving a car that says black effect around the track at now. car yeah I can't wait I can't wait I cannot wait and I remember when Baba Wallace there was a noose in his locker yeah his garage or something you ever worry about stuff like that I mean no I think that I mean we'll handle whatever comes my way I know that I've got a team or a great team and family around me to where in the very low chance that anything crazy would happen like I mean I've got a good circle of trust around me to where things will be handled so have things improved on the inside

like since everything with Bubba Ba? I think for sure, for sure, especially in the industry. Like every industry is going to have their, I don't know how to say, just things that could be better for sure on the inside. But I think for the most part, and from what I've experienced, it's been solid. So especially with really the progress we've made since really Bubba made a lot of improvements for us and statements.

And I think it's just going to continue to grow over overtime. So I'm super proud of big row for sure. shore and paving the way for guys like me coming up. Well, good luck this weekend. We're going to be watching. Make sure you check it out. What channel is it on? Shall I mean, you know?

CW. CW. Or the CW. So definitely check it out. Roger Caruth. Good luck. Thank you guys. Appreciate you for joining us this morning.

If they want to follow you or anything, what they do that at? Yeah. My website, rogercrooth.com or on my socials, Roger Caruth, underscore, IG, Twitch, YouTube, the whole nine. If you go on Twitch, you'll watch me racing on my simulator or playing other games and stuff like that. Otherwise, tune on the CWs pretty much every Saturday this year. Watch him race in that Black Effect Podcast Network, rap Chevy Camaro, number 32.

There you go. You ain't going to be able to miss it. Nope, not at all. This Saturday, at what time again? I think it's 5 or 5.30. 5 o'clock, yeah, 5 o'clock. All right. Is Raja Carrouf?

It's the breakfast club good morning. Roger Raja? Who's Roger? My bad. You don't know. You're all finished or y'all's done? I'm Bailey Taylor, and this is it girl. This podcast is all about going deeper with the women's shaping culture right now.

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