The Big One 2 Collects Caruth, DiBenedetto, Others

February 17, 2023
10:31 pm

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 17: Daniel Dye, driver of the #43 Giuseppe's Steel City Pizza Chevrolet, Rajah Caruth, driver of the #24 Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet, and Matt DiBenedetto, driver of the #25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet, spins after an on-track incident during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Let us know what you think

Join the conversation on socials

Cody Williams

Cody Williams is the author of BUNNY BOY and THE FIFTH LINE. He lives near Bristol, TN.

All Posts

North Carolina Moonshine and Motorsports Trail

Very Loose Conditions Trigger A Second Big One To Close Out Stage 2

What’s Happening?

To close out the second stage of the NextEra Energy 250 a second big one took out another sentimental favorite in Rajah Caruth and fan favorite Matt DiBenedetto. Caruth, in the number 24 truck, seemingly got loose coming out of turn three, thus collecting Matt DiBenedetto and Daniel Dye.

You Need To Know:

Rajah Caruth is a young rookie driver competing in his first full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Season. He competed in one previous race at Daytona in the ARCA season opener of 2022.
Drivers have been complaining about loose conditions all night and it certainly seems like Caruth just got loose, thus triggering a multi-car pileup.
Fans seem to like Caruth and have a lot of faith in his abilities despite his misfortunes here tonight.

The Nos. 24, 25, and others are involved in an incident. pic.twitter.com/09wxIzLm8S

— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) February 18, 2023

The Main Characters

Rajah Caruth (#25) made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Daytona tonight in the number 24 truck owned by GMS Racing. Caruth has only made one start at Daytona before in the ARCA Menards Series. Here, speaking to Matt Weaver, he explains why he went three-wide:

Rajah Caruth says he apologized to his team and took responsibility for that incident but also explains why he felt like he needed to go three wide pic.twitter.com/tZrqgsBd2Y
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) February 18, 2023

After the wreck, Caruth came over the radio and said:

“I’m sorry guys, that one was on me.”

Daniel Dye (No. 43) explains the crash from his perspective:

Daniel Dye went as high up the track as he could go until he ran out of space to avoid the crash

Daytona pic.twitter.com/eLowymAVzX
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) February 18, 2023

Wrong place. Wrong time. x2.
Still learned a ton and had great speed.

Can’t wait for @LVMotorSpeedway in a couple weeks! pic.twitter.com/McUwnhTI8S
— Daniel Dye (@danieldye43) February 18, 2023

Matt DiBenedetto has elected to stay in the race and repair the truck. He is certainly still in this thing.

In The Stands

Caruth clearly has some fan support, including Dave Varnell, who understands that he’s going through a learning curve.

Other fans, however, are not so forgiving of the youngster, such as jctool11.

Everyone involved in the crash were able to walk away safely or are still competing. Caruth is a young driver and is bound to make some mistakes in his young driving career. The only thing to do now is watch his progression through the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this season.