Photo: Courtesy of @MHPhoto  

Caribbean-American Driver Rajah Caruth Displays St. Vincent and Grenadines Brand

On June 8, 2022, Rev Racing (the operator and manager of drivers in the ARCA Menard Series, NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, and a youth racing initiative) announced that the team and their NASCAR Drive for Diversity Development driver Rajah Caruth would partner with the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority in celebration of National Caribbean-American Heritage Month (tobychristie.com). For the entire month of June, Caruth, a second-generation Caribbean-American and rising-star motorsports racing driver, will run the St. Vincent and Grenadines brand on the hood and rear of his No. 6 Chevrolet (arcaracing.com). National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, which "aims to recognize the contributions of all Caribbean-American people and to teach people more about their culture and history" (nationaltoday.com), has been celebrated in the United States officially, annually every June since 2006. According to Rev Racing, "The partnership with the St Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority is a solid platform to continue the celebration and pay homage to Rajah's parental homeland" (caribbean.loopnews.com). Throughout June, Caruth will have driven the St. Vincent branded car in three races of the ARCA Menard Series: Iowa Speedway, Berlin Raceway, and Elko Speedway, respectively. "This sponsorship initiative hopes to bring attention to the archipelago nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines as it positions itself as 'The Caribbean You're Looking For' in vacation destinations" (arcaracing.com). 

Furthermore, this new sponsorship adds another level of importance to NASCAR's Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program. Now, the Program more than just represents its participants competitively; it also allows each minority driver to showcase their respective heritage in the sport (caribbean.loopnews.com). As Caruth describes it, "The fact that I can not only go out and race, but represent where I'm from is really meaningful...It means a lot to be a representative of the Caribbean islands, and I can't wait to make them proud" (caribbean.loopnews.com).   

Likewise, "CEO of the Tourism Authority Glen Beache said he is happy to support Caruth's progress in NASCAR and is confident that the partnership will be mutually beneficial and place St Vincent and the Grenadines top of mind in choice of a Caribbean destination by fans and the NASCAR organization as a whole" (caribbean.loopnews.com).   

Caruth was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to a Vincentian father and a Barbadian mother. In addition to racing fulltime, he currently is a sophomore at Winston-Salem State University, where he is a Motorsport management major (en.wikipedia.org). 

Sources: 

arcaracing.com 

caribbean.loopnews.com 

en.wikipedia.org 

nationaltoday.com 

tobychristie.com