Caesar Bacarella will partner with Tommy Joe Martins to create a new NASCAR Xfinity Series team next season and the team has tapped NASCAR Driver for Diversity driver Rajah Caruth to drive for the organization next season.
Martins’ current Xfinity Series team Martins Motorsports will be rebranded into Alpha Prime Racing with Bacarella, Martins and Caruth all sharing the driving duties of the team’s No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro in 2022.
Bacarella, 45, currently drives for Mario Gosselin’s DGM Racing but when Martins recently announced he would take a step back from full-time driving duties to concentrate on growing the family-owned team for the future, the successful Florida businessman quickly reached out to Tommy Joe Martins about the idea of a partnership.
“I want to build something,” said Bacarella who finished 36th at Daytona on Saturday. “I love this sport. That’s why I do it. “I’ve known Tommy and his dad since 2018, and when I saw the news about them going part-time, I started asking questions. It led to a discussion about ownership, which is something I’d already been thinking about.”
Bacarella’s business Alpha Prime, an apparel and activewear company will continue to support Bacarella’s Xfinity Series efforts, while also serving as a partner for Caruth.
“Caesar is such a great dude,” Martins said. “He actually called me asking about what would it take to start a team. I told him a whole lot,” Martins laughed.
“I mentioned my dad and Rodney [Riessen, co-owner of MMS] wanting to take a step back and proposed the idea of a partnership,” Martins continued. “It’s a perfect situation for both of us. He brings so much business knowledge and marketing savvy to the table for us, and obviously, I’ve been through the school of hard knocks racing-wise. I think we complement each other really well.”
Bacarella says the strength of the Martins Motorsports team this season on a limited budget is what peaked his interest.
“They’ve been running so good,’ he explained. “I mean, they’re fast every week. They’ve got great people. They’re doing it the right way. That’s what I want Alpha Prime Racing to be. I want to help take it to the next level.”
While a firm schedule has not been announced for the 2022 Xfinity Series season, Caruth is expected to drive the car at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Dover (Del.) International Speedway and Richmond (Va.) Raceway.
Alpha Prime Racing will leave the possibility of adding additional races to his schedule, particularly at the tracks of Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and Kansas Speedway if additional sponsorship can be found.
The team is focused on maintaining Caruth’s rookie status in the Xfinity Series for the 2023 season, as he’ll return to Rev Racing as part of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program for a sophomore season in the ARCA Menards Series.
Caruth, 19, has been a member of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Program since 2018.
He currently competes full time in the ARCA Menards Series East for Rev Racing, where he has scored two top-five and four top-10s in six starts this season. The Washington, D.C. native has also competed part-time in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly series scoring wins at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway and Tri-County Motor (N.C.) Speedway.
“I’m extremely honored to have the opportunity to continue my progression as both a racer and a young man in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2022 with Tommy, Caesar and Alpha Prime Racing,” offered Caruth. I’ve had the great fortune of having such great people surrounding me thus far in my career, and I’m ecstatic to add some more to that circle with APR.”
Almost immediately, both Martins and Bacarella knew they wanted to have Caruth a part of their vision for 2022 and beyond.
“Rajah is the future for us,” added Martins. “I’ve had the privilege of getting to know him and his dad, Roger, over the last few months and they are exactly the type of people we want to be a part of Alpha Prime Racing. Rajah has his whole career in front of him. I’m just honored they trust us to be one of his first steps.”
Bacarella who will continue to compete in the Lamborghini Blancpain World Challenge America GT3 championship with TR3 Racing next year was more matter of fact about the addition of Caruth to their stable.
“He’s going to be a star,” Bacarella said. “No question about it.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
