The start of her sophomore season on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series tour was a mix of emotions for Camrie Caruso, the 2022 NHRA Rookie of the Year. Driving the Right Trailers Chevrolet Camaro in her second NHRA Gatornationals, the young driver from Mooresville, North Carolina, was looking to get her season off to a strong start with her new KB Titan Racing team and teammates. Right off the trailer on Friday Caruso rocketed to the provisional No. 1 spot after the first qualifying session earning three valuable qualifying bonus points and putting her Chevrolet Camaro at the back of the pack for the second session. Caruso made another solid run and ended Friday as the No. 2 provisional qualifier.
On Saturday two more passes were added to the run sheet and Caruso made her quickest run of the weekend in the final session, a 6.547 second pass at 211.33 mph to head into race day against teammate Dallas Glenn. In the opening round on Sunday, it was a battle between the two most recent Rookies of the Year and Caruso knew she needed to make a strong move off the starting line. When the Christmas Tree flashed Caruso hammered the gas cutting a nearly perfect .005 to get the jump on Glenn. Unfortunately, her Right Trailers Chevrolet Camaro was not able to keep up with Glenn’s RAD Torque Systems Camaro as she was forced to push in her clutch midway down the track.
“The car set up is great and I’m more comfortable than I was last year,” said Caruso. “The experience I got last year also really helps. We came off the trailer with a really good run. In the first round I knew I had to get off the line first. That .005 gives me a lot of confidence and I can’t wait to get to the Arizona Nationals. We have a good race car and I’m just thankful and excited for the season. There are still a few things we are still working on. I can’t thank this KB Titan Racing team enough.”
The Gatornationals week was more than the race as Caruso joined the NHRA Fanfest on Wednesday night signing autographs for an estimated crowd of 5,000 race fans followed by a tequila tasting event at Hotel ELEO with sponsor Tequila Comisario on Thursday night.
“We packed a lot into our time in Florida,” said Caruso. “I raced the Baby Gators last weekend in Top Dragster and then we tested. I loved the FanFest on Wednesday and the Tequila Comisario tasting event at Hotel ELEO was amazing. Hotel ELEO is beautiful and I can’t wait to come back. I met so many fans throughout the week and this weekend it was great. I can’t wait to get to Arizona and turn on some win lights.”
Caruso will be back on track at the NHRA Arizona Nationals, the site of her first ever round win. The event will kick-off on Friday, March 24 and will be broadcast on FS1 throughout the weekend.
This story was originally published on March 13, 2023. 
