By David Winship (Contributing Writer)
The Charlotte Memorial Day race marked the half-way point of the NASCAR racing season, which runs from February to November for the Cup Series, until September for the Xfinity Series, and ending in August for the Craftsman Truck Series.
For Black NASCAR drivers at all levels, the season has included accomplishments and good track presence.
Bubba Wallace is driving the #23 Chevrolet for 23XI Racing in the Cup Series. After the Charlotte race, Wallace is 13th in standings, having registered one top-5 finish and six top-10 finishes. He has run 13 races and has led 89 laps. 23XI racing is owned by Michael Jordan, NBA basketball icon, and Denny Hamlin, veteran NASCAR driver.
Rajah Caruth, Winston-Salem State graduate in his 4th year of racing, drives for the #88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports and the #32 for Jordan Anderson Racing in the Xfinity Series. Caruth is 13th in standings mid-season, having scored one top-5 and 5 top-10s in 15 starts. Rajah started on the pole at Watkins Glen and he started on the front row at Martinsville.
Caruth drove the #7 truck for Spire Motorsports at the Nashville Allegiance 200 on May 29, substituting for Kyle Busch, who died shortly before the Charlotte mid-season race. Caruth is the defending champ at the Nashville truck race. Busch had won twice previously this season in the #7 Spire Chevrolet truck.
Dystany Spurlock became the first Black woman to drive in one of NASCAR’s three national series when she drove the # 69 Ford for MBM Motorsports and Garage 66 in the Dover truck race in May. Mechanical issues forced her out of the race. She began the year driving the #69 Foxtecca Ford for MBM Racing in the ARCA Menard Series. She first made history at Kansas Speedway in April when she became the first Black woman to compete in a national ARCA Menards Series event and earned a commendable 10th-place finish. She ranks 33rd out of over 100 drivers in the Menard Series.
Spurlock is building her speed career, having first started at age 17 by drag racing motorcycles. In 2023, Spurlock competed in Skip Barber’s Formula 4 series, finishing 13th in the final points standings. In 2024, Spurlock competed in the XDA Motorcycle Drag Racing Series, where she set track, series and world records in the Real Street class.
At the edge of the track, in the pits, Brehanna Daniels, the first Black woman to be a tire changer in a NASCAR pit crew, continues her barrier-breaking career. A former Division I basketball player at Norfolk State University, she joined the sport in 2016 through NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program and Rev Racing.
In 2017, Daniels became the first African American woman to work “over the wall” in a NASCAR national touring series, making history at the ARCA Series race in Nashville. She continued her racing career by pitting in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the Xfinity Series, eventually advancing to work in the top-tier NASCAR Cup Series. She works as an independent contractor.
In the Nashville weekend of races, May 29-31, Rajah Caruth narrowly missed a repeat win in the truck race, coming in second. Caruth finished 19th in the O’Reilly Series race and Bubba Wallace wrecked out in the Cup race, finishing 32nd.
Upcoming races include the Truck Series at Michigan on June 6, the Cup Series at Michigan on June 7, and the O’Reilly Series at Pocono on June 13.
From the heritage driving days of Wendell Scott through the Black ownership leadership of Brad Daugherty and Michael Jordan, Black NASCAR racers are building careers, running laps and staying the course. Demonstrating athleticism and determination, this next generation of racers brings excitement and involvement to the NASCAR universe.
David Winship grew up with NASCAR in Bristol, Tennessee, and has followed it his whole life. A retired public-school educator, he writes occasional public interest stories for The Source. He is a member of Winston-Salem Writers and Appalachian Community of Poets and Writers.