Rajah Caruth hits the wall at Martinsville, NASCAR Playoff hopes in jeopardy

Tonight is likely the end of Rajah Caruth’s NASCAR Playoffs. He hit he wall in Stage 2 after contact from Kaden Honeycutt. Martinsville is a track where one missed corner can end in disaster. Caruth’s 71 truck is more or less destroyed.

Rajah Caruth came into the race +14 points on the cutline. He was going to be in a good position as far as points were concerned as long as the winner didn’t come from below the cutline. Now, he’s out of the race and has no chance to fight for his spot at Phoenix.

Caruth had earlier damage towards the end of Stage 1 on a restart stack-up. This incident with Honeycutt, who he is racing against for a spot at Phoenix, has ended his day.

The No. 71 goes around in Turn 1! @rajahcaruth_'s #Championship4 hopes are in jeopardy. pic.twitter.com/Hi04MH19eG

— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) October 24, 2025

This is going to be the fifth DNF of the year for Rajah Caruth. It is his first since Watkins Glen. The last few races had gone well for Caruth, with top-10 finishes at New Hampshire, the Roval, and Talladega.

Caruth had his tire cut by Honeycutt. From there, he couldn’t slow the truck down enough to get it around the corner. This is the last full-time season in the Truck Series for Caruth, at least for the foreseeable future. So, he misses out on his first-ever Championship 4.

Good news, he has a ride for next year. He will be racing with JR Motorsports in the 88 car part-time. There is word floating around that he is going to find another team to fill out the rest of the Xfinity Series schedule for 2026. That has not been confirmed at this time.

Rajah Caruth out of Championship 4 contention

It just wasn’t meant to be for Rajah Caruth tonight. He got into an incident that happens often at this track. Martinsville is known for contact and bumping and rubbing on track. This was just a little too much, and his tire got cut. If that tire holds up, he’s likely still racing.

After leaving the care center, Caruth spoke on the FS1 broadcast about the wreck. He brushed it off, mostly.

“I mean, I was feeling really good about our chances,” Caruth said. “Our truck was, our HendrickCars.com Silverado was turning very well tonight and started with the 34 missing the shift on the restart and knocking the nose up, and kind of was battling the handling from that point. Obviously, watching it here, it’s just racing.

“I know it wasn’t on purpose, you’ve seen it. I mean, he did it to Corey [Heim] by accident in the Spring. Cup guys have done that same thing, so it obviously wasn’t on purpose. Just bummer it was me. Yeah, heartbreaker for sure. We were in a really good spot, but it is what it is. So, we’ll keep on pushing, and the sun will still come up tomorrow. Sucks now, but yeah, it’s part of it.”