“Mature” Rajah Caruth Wont Follow Denny Hamlin’s Reckless $3 Million Path Claims Veteran Insider

After NASCAR’s trip to Sin City, perhaps no driver is in the spotlight as much as Rajah Caruth, who became the third African American driver to win in the sport’s premier series. Naturally, now that all eyes are on Caruth, the pressure is higher than ever for the rising Drive for Diversity graduate to back up his win with another soon.

Because even though it’s all fairytales and rainbows for the 21-year-old right now, the prospect of being a one-hit wonder once daunted even the most prominent Hall of Famers today. However, veteran insider Ryan McGee shared a story from Denny Hamlin’s rookie season to prove how Caruth has the ideal mindset to become a regular visitor in victory lane.

Amidst Rajah Caruth’s rise, Ryan McGee reveals Denny Hamlin’s spending spree as a Cup rookie

Reflecting on Rajah Caruth’s historic win, Ryan McGee expressed his confidence in the future development of the young driver on the latest episode of the Dale Jr Download. Speaking of more wins coming his way, McGee shared, “I think, you guys know, once you get that first one, you just start getting them pretty quick… I think he has a lot of potential, and it’s not just about what he did in Vegas. It’s about what we saw from him in the races leading up to that.”

The veteran insider also felt that Rajah Caruth had a solid foundation for his partnership with Spire Motorsport and stable backing from sponsors such as HendrickCars.com. With that said, McGee felt that Caruth now had to answer a major question surrounding his ability to repeat such results. He stated, “I think the potential is through the roof, the question is how do you handle it?”

To expand on his comments, McGee brought up how Denny Hamlin had evolved into a global sensation who owns a NASCAR team from a rookie who may have gone overboard a little too early in his career. It all kick-started with Hamlin’s sensational first win at the Pocona 500 in 2006. The 23XI co-owner scored pole-position driving for his beloved Joe Gibbs Racing, later entering the Championship four as well and finishing third overall.

Recalling his experience with Hamlin during his rookie season, McGee shared, “We did a story for ESPN in a magazine where, the guy who wasn’t invited to go to Good Morning America and to go to The Tonight Show, because Gordon and Johnson and Stewart, those guys were flying all over the country, and Denny, literally, I was with him for three days. He went to great clips, got a haircut, he went and bought Madden, cus he had Madden in hold at the GameStop.”

But that wasn’t all, Denny Hamlin also infamously purchased a house worth $3 million, near Joe Gibbs’s home, that year which was in a way, poetic redemption for the mortgages his parents had to pull out to support his career through the early 2000s. With that said, Denny Hamlin was certainly on a big spending spree during his rookie season, leading many, including McGee, to believe the driver had a lot to figure out before the next season.

The veteran insider expressed concerns with Hamlin over the weekend as he witnessed the rookie spend way beyond McGee’s own means. He asked Hamlin, “So what do you do now? You really have only won one race, so.” McGee felt this was the moment that would decide the future of Hamlin as a driver. Would this be just a one-hit wonder? While the community and McGee got their answer soon enough, Hamlin cemented his ability to make his way to the top despite his younger years and exchanged words with McGee after his second Daytona 500 win.

McGee shared how Hamlin’s growth through the years had reflected well on how developed Caruth already was, “I remember when Denny won his second Daytona 500, I was in victory lane for SportsCentre and this is 15 years later when Denny grabs me and goes, ‘Well, wow. How did I handle that first win?’ and I go, ‘Pretty good’. So I don’t worry about a guy like Rajah because he is mature beyond his years. There are guys I worry about. Can they handle this? But he’s not one of those guys.”

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While it’s safe to say Denny Hamlin’s rookie years aren’t an example to lead by for many despite the 23XI co-owner’s success, McGee also highlighted how Rajah Caruth’s innocence is his biggest strength.

Despite becoming the talk of the town, Caruth maintains his humble demeanour

After winning an event as glorious as the Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, it wouldn’t be surprising if Rajah Caruth took a moment to gloat just like Denny Hamlin. However, McGee revealed how Caruth did just the opposite. While he may be a NASCAR winner, Caruth is still a student at Winston-Salem State University, and evidently, taking his education very seriously.

McGee shared, “The funniest thing was him in his post-race press conference. Basically lobbying his professors, he goes to Winston-Salem State just up the road. Told his professors, “Hey I’m a lil busy this weekend. Can I get an extension because you know, I got homework this weekend.” I need to ask him if he did, but that guy, that’s the nicest dude and he loves NASCAR.”

With such a wholesome and earnest request for his professors, who wouldn’t call Caruth an ideal winner for the future? But that’s not all. Taking a look at his past, too, the young prodigy’s ambitions were fairly evident. McGee pointed out his childhood photo with Fox’s presenter, Jamie Little.

McGee shared, “He was just a teenager on the race track with an infield pass, not even a press pass and had a Bubba Wallace shirt on, and had his red can headphones on going to listen to scanners and stuff, took a picture with Jamie Little. But that’s who that dude is, and he is just so focused.”

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After taking a look at how dedicated Rajah Caruth truly is both on the track as well as in college, it’s safe to say the road ahead couldn’t be more straightforward for the rising star. The ultimate destination? Cup Series success, of course.