NASCAR and Rev Racing have announced the six drivers selected to take part in the 2020 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program.
Five of the drivers in the program’s newest class are returning to Rev Racing: Chase Cabre, Nicholas Sanchez, Gracie Trotter, Rajah Caruth and Isabella Robusto. Late model driver Perry Patino will debut with the NASCAR Drive for Diversity in 2020.
Caruth and Robusto competed in the 2019 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Youth Driver Development Program and raced Legends cars for Rev Racing at this year’s Bojangles’ Summer Shootout in Charlotte, N.C. They also ran five other races with Rev Racing as part of the youth program.
“We are very enthusiastic about the progress we continue to make with the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program, and the 2020 class exemplifies the evolution of the program,” said Jusan Hamilton, Director, Racing Operations and Event Management at NASCAR. “We were extremely impressed with the confidence, competitive drive and raw talent of the drivers who competed at this year’s combine, which made the selection process challenging for us. Our partners at Rev Racing work hard every year to develop the best diverse drivers around the world. To see familiar faces in this class who have grown and advanced through the youth ranks of the program bolsters our belief that we will see some of these same drivers at the top levels of NASCAR in the future.”
The six participants were chosen from a group of drivers who competed in the two-day NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Combine in October at Daytona International Speedway and New Smyrna Speedway. Including fitness assessments, evaluations of each driver’s marketing and media skills and an on-track portion to test the drivers’ abilities behind the wheel and proficiency in late model stock cars, the selection process was rigorous.
“We have seen great success this past year with our drivers having multiple wins in every series we participated in this season,” said Max Siegel, Owner of Rev Racing. “Our returning drivers have certainly set the bar high. We are all excited to welcome the new members of this year’s class to the Rev Racing family and continue the momentum moving into the 2020 season.”
Caruth, Patino, Robusto and Trotter will compete in a NASCAR Late Model, while Cabre and Sanchez will compete in the ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Showdown Series in 2020.
Competing in a late model stock car will be a first for drivers like Caruth, whose background is in iRacing, and Robusto, who has experience racing Legends cars.
Rajah Caruth is the first driver with an iRacing background to be selected for the program. He comes from the eNASCAR IGNITE Series – a first-of-its kind esports competition made to identify young talent by providing a low barrier of entry to the sport.
The 2020 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development team includes:
Chase Cabre: The 22-year-old from Tampa, Fla., will join Rev Racing for his fourth-consecutive racing season and compete in the ARCA Menards Series East. Cabre won twice in 2019 in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
Rajah Caruth: In just 42 starts, Caruth, 17, of Washington, D.C., has twice won races in the eNASCAR IGNITE Series, driving the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1/Ford Mustang. Additionally, he earned two heat wins with Rev Racing in the 2019 Bojangles’ Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Perry Patino: The 20-year-old, Montgomery, Ala. native will join Rev Racing for the first time with one Limited Late Model win at Montgomery Speedway and the 2018 Limited Late Model championship under his belt.
Isabella Robusto: The 15-year-old won the Bojangles’ Summer Shootout in the Semi-Pro class in 2019 and finished second in Semi-Pro points. The Fort Mill, S.C., native was honored with the Young Racer award at the 2018 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Awards.
Nicholas Sanchez: The 18-year-old Miami native returns to Rev Racing for his fourth-consecutive season after winning at Myrtle Beach Speedway and Langley Speedway in a Late Model Stock Car in 2019.
Gracie Trotter: Denver, N.C. native, Gracie Trotter, 18, returns to Rev Racing as the 2019 Winter Heat Series champion at Charlotte Motor Speedway. She also won Round 5 of the Bojangles’ Summer Shootout in the Semi-Pro Division.
My reply is this: It is never to late to start a Program of diverse candidates like
the people mentioned in this blog post! This has been needed for so long, but
no one was willing to take a chance and create a “feeder” system to train these
young people on how to get started to “learn” the ropes on how to become a NASCAR
driver in training and start at the entry levels of racing and proceed up through
the ranks to get to the top of being a NASCAR PRO Racing Driver! I thank you for
your efforts to train the next generation of NASCAR Drivers of color. This makes
me quite proud as I am A “Man of Color” who enjoys Drag Racing, but can appreciate
other forms of racing also!