A week ago, Bubba Wallace shared a huge milestone in life. He proudly declared that he had improved his mental health in 2025. With his now 1-year-old baby, Becks Hayden, stressful racedays don a rose-tinted shade. What is more, Wallace also cut back on social media and compartmentalized his professional and personal lives. As it turns out, even his NASCAR protégé has a good method to solve his internal struggles.
Bubba Wallace also won his way into the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs this season. He won the prestigious Indianapolis 500 and fought tooth and nail into the Round of 12. Similarly, his mentee is also on a rapidly rising trajectory – and one reason for that is prioritizing his mental health.
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Bubba Wallace’s mentee reveals his trump card
Over the last few seasons, Rajah Caruth has rapidly risen through the ranks. He finished in the top ten in 18 races during his 2020-21 ARCA Menards season. In 2024, he scaled up to the Craftsman Truck Series and immediately responded with glory. He won his first-ever NASCAR national series trophy in Las Vegas. In 2025, he won again in Nashville and has clinched 4 top fives and 12 top tens so far – what is more, he is currently 2nd in points, with a legitimate shot at the championship. Yet even while achieving so much, Bubba Wallace’s mentee also experienced mental health issues.
Juggling academic commitments and racing ambitions was far from easy. Now, Rajah Caruth will join JR Motorsports in a part-time capacity – spelling out more pressure. Yet Bubba Wallace‘s mentee fearlessly addresses his problems – with therapy. He said in a Dale Jr Download episode, “It’s super important, and especially for young drivers coming up through the ranks. You have so much information at your disposal with so many opinions thrown at you and people that have influence over your career, and not just your career, but your personal life.”
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What is more, therapy turned out to be the trump card in elevating Rajah Caruth in his career and academics. “It’s something that’s helped me graduate school, but also get to where I’m at now.” He added, “I only speak to them once a month, maybe. But good check-ins are great even if things are going good…Also, when things aren’t going good, it’s good to keep the consistency.”
Bubba Wallace has also been vocal about his mental struggles. A particular low point was witnessing his best friend, Ryan Blaney, clinch the 2023 Cup Series championship while he was eliminated. Nevertheless, he steered past those downers. His mentee revealed how therapy can help solve such issues: “I think it’s important to have a person or a vessel to talk through what’s going on in your mind. Because that’s what makes your money at the end of the day, right? The headspace you’re in, what you’re intaking – whether it’s what you have going on in the back of your mind…consuming from online or from the environment.”
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Clearly, Rajah Caruth is tapping every resource to make the best of his career. He has a unique background, something which he is proud of.
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A digital springboard
Dale Jr. discovered his speed on the short tracks of North Carolina. Jeff Gordon was trading sparks in quarter midgets 11 years before he was old enough for a driver’s license. For Rajah Caruth, however, it began by playing video games. Born in Atlanta to parents from the Caribbean, it was not so easy for Caruth to walk out and find a race car. But the family did have a computer and WiFi, though. And like Caruth, making use of therapy, he made full use of those limited resources. At age 16, he performed well in eNASCAR’s Ignite Series’ first season in 2018, and got selected for NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program.
He recently revealed his first digital racing experience on Dale Jr Download. “My first computer I had iRacing on was my school laptop,” he said. “It was a MacBook, and I had to split the hard drive to put Windows on it. I nuked that thing for sure and connected it with the HDMI to a small monitor that we had in the house. But that was my first time iRacing. And at that point, to get my first PC, we did a fundraiser with family and friends to get a PC, an $80 Thrustmaster wheel from Best Buy.”
From getting his first PC to driving an Xfinity Series car for Dale Jr., Rajah Caruth has come a long way. And we expect greater heights for Bubba Wallace’s talented mentee!
Bubba Wallace’s NASCAR Protégé Explains Why Mental Health Check-Ins Matter for Drivers
