Just three days ago, Rajah Caruth secured his 2026 plans. The 23-year-old NASCAR Truck racer announced his new ride in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. He will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet while flying the prestigious banner of JR Motorsports. Before he embarks on this new chapter, Caruth had a mission to accomplish. Yet as things came to pass in Martinsville, Caruth will end the 2025 season on a sad note.

All 8 playoff drivers started the Slim Jim 200 Craftsman Truck Series race with a lot of passion. Rajah Caruth was arguably the best in contention right after Corey Heim. What is more, he was getting comfortable with Martinsville Speedway – before a playoff rival got in his way. But Caruth chose to be calm.

Rajah Caruth blames it on Martinsville

Granted, the half-mile ‘Paperclip’ track of Martinsville has a notorious reputation. Known for its numerous paint-trading incidents, it is a track where a single missed corner can end in disaster. Unfortunately, Rajah Caruth became the latest victim – yet rival Kaden Honeycutt seemed to have a hand in it.

The incident happened on lap 73, when Caruth was running in the top ten. Exiting Turn 4, Honeycutt’s No. 52 made incidental contact with the No. 71, flattening Caruth’s left-rear tire. Caruth spun into Turn 1 and into the SAFER barrier, suffering damage at both ends of his truck.

Yet Rajah Caruth measured his words in the post-race interview.

“Yeah, just the nature of this track,” he said, avoiding any blame game directed at Kaden Honeycutt. Caruth continued, “I mean, he did the same thing to Cory in spring, but neither was on purpose. And just tight racing with steel bodies and stuff you can’t really rub. We’ll cut a tire. As soon as they cut it, it was all rims, so I kind of went out of control. So not anything a villain said. Obviously, just things happen. And I was on the bad end of it.”

The Washington, D.C. native entered the Round of 8 finale in Martinsville 14 points above the elimination line. While the incident with Kaden Honeycutt derailed his title chances for good, Rajah Caruth experienced trouble before as well.

A Lap 29 restart in Stage 1 resulted in heavy nose damage for Caruth, shortly after Layne Riggs missed a shift. The contact altered the handling of his No. 71 Chevrolet for the rest of the evening. And after Honeycutt’s damage, Caruth could end in 34th place and out of the title contention.

Although Rajah Caruth avoided blaming his rival, he could not conceal his disappointment. “Definitely heartbroken, for sure,” he said. “It’d be different if it was something that I did, if I messed up, but it was pretty much out of my control. Definitely a heartbreaker.”

Meanwhile, his playoff rival opened up about the incident while basking in glory.

Regretting the misadventure

Kaden Honeycutt had his hands full today. The Halmar Friesen Racing driver had recently parted ways with his former team, Niece Motorsports, and had a point to make. Honeycutt entered Martinsville with 5 points above the elimination line and was willing to fight tooth and nail.

He did so, narrowly edging Layne Riggs for the final Championship 4 spot with a spectacular runner-up finish. Corey Heim could only slip away from him by 0.451 seconds in overtime. Yet while rejoicing in his success, Honeycutt reflected on the earlier events of the day.

Rajah Caruth remained tight-lipped about the incident on lap 73. However, his rival opened up. Kaden Honeycutt admitted his wrongdoing.

“I was pretty mad at myself, to be honest. I really hate that. I didn’t want any of that to happen. I know me and him came off the corner pretty close, and I really just need to look and see if he tracked out enough or if I just came up into him. So I’m definitely going to talk to him about that. I hate that it happened. He’s a good buddy.”

Evidently, no shots were fired from either side. With Rajah Caruth’s 2025 Truck Series ambition dashed, the racer can now focus on his big plans for 2026.