[autotag]Bubba Wallace[/autotag] has been a friend and mentor for [autotag]Rajah Caruth[/autotag] throughout his career, and his work finally paid off at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Caruth took his No. 71 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet to victory lane after winning the pole at Las Vegas earlier in the day. It was a popular victory as Caruth has been humble throughout his young career.
Following the Spire Motorsports driver’s victory, Wallace spoke to Sportsnaut’s Matt Weaver about the win and how he felt watching the race unfold. The 23XI Racing driver’s nerves turned into excitement when he realized Caruth would win the event.
“I got nervous with about, what 28 to go after final pit stops, I found myself, my fists were clinched. I’m like, ‘That’s weird, relax,’ and then 15 to go, sitting on the couch like super zoned in,” Wallace said. “10 to go, I got up, and that’s where I was. I just didn’t want [Rajah Caruth] to get ahead of himself. He had such a massive lead, and you could see him start to give it up a little bit, but that was more so him having a two-second lead and not needing to make a mistake.”
REPOST TO CONGRATULATE RAJAH CARUTH ON HIS FIRST CAREER NASCAR TRUCK SERIES WIN! pic.twitter.com/zfsdaoPDbX
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“I was really proud of that. [Tyler Ankrum] was closing in, but I was sure he was saving his stuff, and once he took the white, like, a sigh of relief. Once he made it through 3 and 4, home free, and that was really cool.”
It certainly was really cool as Wallace’s wife, Amanda, posted a video showing his reaction when Caruth took the checkered flag. It was a great moment for everyone involved as the 21-year-old driver finally captured his first NASCAR race. For Wallace, he hopes to have his moment at Phoenix Raceway next weekend with Caruth watching him in the same way.