On Wednesday Morning, NASCAR and REV Racing announced the 2021 Drive for Diversity Development Class, including eight young drivers from various backgrounds to compete for REV Racing in various series.
The 2021 Drive for Diversity Development Class contains returning veterans, a rising iRacer, to FB y BOHN Mikel’s Trucks drivers and the 2020 World Series Dirt Nationals champion.
Nick Sanchez, Rajah Caruth, Isabella Robusto, Lavar Scott and Regina Sirvent are REV Racing veterans, and will return to the prgoram in 2021. This season will mark the first year of participating for drivers Justin Campbell, Andrez Perez de Lara and Jaiden Reyna.
Nick Sanchez will race full-time in the ARCA Menards Series after a successful rookie season in the ARCA Menards Series.
Rajah Caruth – a prominent iRacer who made his transition to the racetrack in 2019 — will advance to the ARCA Menards Series East in 2021, while also continuing to race in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.
Scott and Sirvent will join Caruth in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, after racing Legend cars in the 2020 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Youth Development Program for REV Racing. Robusto will also compete in the Late Model division. Newcomers Campbell, Perez de Lara and Reyna will race U.S. Legend cars.
“We are thrilled to welcome these accomplished drivers to our successful development program,” said Jusan Hamilton, NASCAR Director, Racing Operations and Event Management. “We’re enthusiastic about their future and look forward to working with each driver as they advance their racing careers.”
Traditionally, drivers are selecting after participating in a two-day NASCAR Drive for Diversity Combine sponsored by Honda Generators that includes on-track assessments. Due to the impact of COVID-19, drivers were evaluated based on previous on-track performance, applications and references by a panel comprised of NASCAR industry members.
To apply, drivers were required to submit a racing resume and video highlight reel to NASCAR and REV Racing.
The NASCAR Drive for Diversity Development Program was created in 2004 to develop diverse drivers both on and off the track. NASCAR Cup Series drivers Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez and Kyle Larson are all alumni of this program, which is operated by REV Racing.
“We could not be more pleased with the 2021 class selection,” said Max Siegel, Rev Racing Owner. “Each year the competition in the sport continues to rise and so does the talent of our applicant pool. We feel very confident in our ability to be competitive and look forward to a successful season.”
The 2021 Drive for Diversity Development Class features:
- Nick Sanchez – ARCA Menards Series: The 19-year-old driver from Miami, Florida finished fourth-place in his ARCA East debut in 2020. He finished third in 2020 ARCA Menards Series East points, earning top top-fives and three top-10s in six starts.
- Rajah Caruth – ARCA Menards Series East and NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series: The 18-year-old returns to REV Racing in 2021 and will compete in the ARCA Menards Series East. The Washington, DC-native won at Greenville Pickens Speedway in a Late Model in 2020. Caruth also finished sixth-place in points at the Charlotte Summer Shootout racing in the Semi-Pro Division.
- Isabella Robusto – NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series: The Fort Mill, S.C. native, 16, returns to Rev Racing after finishing third at Hickory Motor Speedway in 2020. She also won the NASCAR Drive for
Diversity Young Racer Award for the second time. - Lavar Scott – NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series: Scott secured two podium finishes at the 1/5 Mile Trophy Dash at Charlotte Motor Speedway in a Legend car and won back-to-back races in a 600
Micro Sprint. The 17-year-old from Carney’s Pointe, N.J., also won the World Series Dirt Nationals. - Regina Sirvent – NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series: The Naucalpan, Mexico native competed in the FB y BOHN Mikel’s Truck Mexico Series, winning twice. The 17-year-old driver had a third-place finish at the Charlotte Summer Shootout with three top fives and five top 10s.
- Justin Campbell – U.S. Legend Car: The 15-year-old from Griffin, Ga., earned a top-10 finish in the standings at the 2020 Thursday Thunder Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In 2018, he competed in a Bandolero with two top-10 finishes and a win.
- Andres Perez de Lara – U.S. Legend Car: The Mexico City, Mexico native competed in Formula 4 and won four races. The 15-year-old driver also competed in the FB y BOHN Mikel’s Truck México Series and had one win. Perez De Lara was 2020’s youngest winner in Latin American Formula 4.
- Jaiden Reyna – U.S. Legend Car: Reyna earned two first place finishes at Lincoln Speedway in the Young Lion Division. The 14-year-old from Cornelius, N.C., also had ten firsts, one second and one third place finish at the 2020 Charlotte Summer Shootout in the Young Lion Division.
