Camrie Caruso’s Presence Beefs up KB Titan Racing NHRA Pro Stock Arsenal

• Union of Titan Racing, KB Racing strengthens Pro Stock class

• Newly blended team fields three rising second- and third-generation stars

• Headliner Greg Anderson welcomes newest teammate/rival

News this week that Titan Racing will sweep Camrie Caruso, the NHRA’s reigning rookie of the year, into its merger with KB Racing means the team with headliner Greg Anderson just got a boost in its perennial NHRA Pro Stock battle with Elite Performance.

Caruso, a 24-year-old third-generation driver, will join five-time champion and 101-time winner Greg Anderson, her rookie-of-the-year predecessor Dallas Glenn, and rising Next Gen star Kyle Koretsky when the 2023 Camping World Drag Racing Series opens March 9-12 at the historic Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla. And Caruso isn’t the only beneficiary of the new KB Titan Racing.

KB Titan Racing partner Eric Latino said the merger “was a substantial move that we believe will prove to be very successful. In her rookie season, Camrie really gained solid footing with the Titan Racing program and began to develop as a driver in this tough class. Now, she's part of a team with some of the best drivers in the class, and I think we're going to see even more great things in the future for this young woman. We're happy to have her on board."

Latino is a longtime Pro Modified standout, leader in green technology in the automotive industry, and owner of businesses in his native Ontario, as well as a member of the Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Fame. He struck a deal with KB Racing as its boss, Ken Black, announced his retirement in November. Caruso already had an affiliation with Titan Racing, so the new arrangement was a natural one.

Caruso’s father, retired Pro Modified hard-charger Marc Caruso, said, “This opportunity is a game-changer for Camrie. Initially we were looking for a motor maintenance and servicing agreement with KB Titan Racing, and the conversations took a turn that led us to this announcement. I want to personally thank Jim, Toni, and Jamie Yates for their expertise, support, and hard work last season. Our success would not be possible without them.”

Caruso’s crew chief last season was two-time Pro Stock champion Jim Yates, but she’s moving forward with Rob Downing and Dave Connolly as her tuners. Caruso, whose high point of the season was her No. 1 qualifier/runner-up performance at Houston this spring, said she’s learned so much from Yates “on the driving side of things.” And she said she’s “looking forward to continuing to develop with the guidance” from her new team members.

Although this move allows her to shift her focus from team management, driving, and sponsorship procurement to driving and sponsor retention, Caruso remains committed to seizing marketing opportunities. She said she’ll be announcing soon some new marketing partners to join Powerbuilt Tools, Tequila Comisario, Right Trailers, and VP Racing.

For Anderson, Caruso’s addition amounts to beefing up his arsenal. He already had taken on unapologetically ambitious young racers Glenn and Koretsky on his KB Racing team, and he knows that Caruso is cut from the same cloth.

said of Glenn and Koretsky, “They both are very talented, and they both have no problem whipping my ass. And they love it. They’re not afraid of nothin’, not afraid of anybody. I’ve got no problem with that. That’s how you’re supposed to be. I’m certainly not mad about it. I wouldn’t want somebody that doesn’t want to win racing with me.”

Caruso said that when she shared in the 2022 preseason that her goals were to qualify No. 1 and to win races and championships, Yates told her, “You need to chill out.”

Anderson knew that Yates simply was trying to prepare her for reality. But Anderson said as early as mid-season, “You absolutely got to have that. She’s taken it well. Her success hasn’t come in piles, but she’s taken that well. She hasn’t gotten shook up because it’s not coming as fast as she wanted it to. She’s done well. I think she’s kept her head in the game.”

Then, following the announcement, he said, “She's proven that she can hold her own, and this is just the beginning. To be part of her career at such an early stage is something we don't take lightly. We're looking forward to a bright future with an incredible group of young drivers who will be contributing to the health of this class and this sport for years to come."

Years ago, Anderson said he didn’t want to be “that guy” to “lose to a girl,” namely eventual five-time champ Erica Enders, when she earned her first victory – before doing just that. He has gotten over that, and now he has another aspiring young woman right inside his organization. And she, like Glenn and Korestsky, wants to beat everyone in her path to a title. And by supplying her with arguably the best horsepower in the class, he has become a little like Funny Car’s John Force. When Force realized the potential of his protégé Tony Pedregon a couple of decades ago, Force declared that he had “hired my own assassin.”

But eyeing an end one day to his impressive driving career, Anderson is rather energized by the fresh and ferocious talent he is surrounding himself with. He said, “It makes our team better. What it’s doing is making me keep striving to find a way to get better.”

The drag-racing-wars hero and the young guns can help each other improve. And the real winner is the Pro Stock class.