Ryan Blaney, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion, reflects on the importance of diversifying the sport and securing the Cup title at Phoenix Raceway. (Photo by Natalie Lopez/Cronkite News)
AVONDALE – As the host of two NASCAR stops, including the Cup Series Championship, Phoenix Raceway has emerged as one of the premier tracks on the circuit. Now it hopes to flex its charitable muscle as a key figure in the community, too.
A recent luncheon at the track featured several drivers, including Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney, to recognize the 20th anniversary of the Drive for Diversity program. Additionally, the luncheon benefited the Fighter Country Foundation, a charity that helps those who have served at Luke Air Force Base.
In November, Blaney finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway, giving the driver of the No. 12 Ford the title in NASCAR‘s premier series. As the Cup Series champion, he travels the nation representing the sport at a variety of events.
“It’s weird coming to race tracks when you’re not racing at them,” Blaney said. “When we go to these places, I’m in race mode. Being here, it does motivate me now. I want to be back here. Try to do it again and answer the same (title defense) questions next year.”
Other rising stars at the charity event included Trucks Series driver Rajah Caruth and Mexico Series driver Regina Sirvent.
Regina Sirvent, a 20-year-old native of Mexico, was the first woman to compete in a NASCAR-sanctioned race in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. (Photo by Natalie Lopez/Cronkite News)
The event marked the first time the luncheon was hosted at Phoenix Raceway, which will be the home of the Shriner’s Childrens 500 March 10 and the Cup Series Championship Nov. 10.
Blaney was grateful to be part of the event.
“You have a great opportunity to represent your sport, you want to represent it well, not only the sport but yourself at the same time,” Blaney said.
In 2023, the NASCAR Championship Ignition Luncheon raised $50,000 dollars for Phoenix Children’s Hospital, azbigmedia reported.
During this year’s luncheon, Phoenix Raceway track president Latasha Causey said the event raised $100,000 for the Fighter Country Foundation.
Drive For Diversity
The Fighter Country Foundation was not the only topic spotlighted during the luncheon, as NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program was also a focus.
The program has given numerous underrepresented communities opportunities in NASCAR, from driving roles to pit crew roles to even executive positions.
Causey understands this well. She is the first female Black track president in NASCAR history.
Rajah Caruth, a member of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity development program, said the program is “the only reason why I’ve gotten to this point.” (Photo by Natalie Lopez/Cronkite News)
Caruth, a NASCAR trucks series driver, got his start through the Drive for Diversity.
In 2021, he graduated from the program and was given a part-time truck ride. Fast-forward to 2024, he is now a full-time Trucks Series driver and collected his first truck win earlier this year in Las Vegas.
Afterward, he celebrated with former Drive for Diversity graduate Darrell “Bubba” Wallace, who is also Black and and is Caruth’s mentor.
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The program is “the only reason why I’ve gotten to this point, to be honest with you. … I think it’s really special, and I hope that I’m not the last one that gets that kind of opportunity,” Caruth said.
NASCAR Mexico Series up-and-comer Regina Sirvent is also a graduate of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program and is one of the few females competing on the circuit.
“NASCAR Drive for Diversity has been a huge thing for me to start getting closer to my dreams,” she said. “I don’t know if I would be here today without that first step, and they opened the door for me to come here and start racing.”
Earlier this season, Sirvent, a native of Mexico City, was the first woman to compete in a NASCAR-sanctioned race in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. While Sirvent did not wind up winning the race, she instead focused on the importance of her participation.
“Being that face for all those people, it gives me inspiration,” she said. “I am not only racing for me, but for all those girls and boys and to show them that it doesn’t depend on your nationality or gender.
“It depends on how hard you want to work for that dream or for that goal.”
