On Wednesday, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel upheld the disqualification penalty issued to the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing team after Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Rockingham Speedway.
Driver Jesse Love was first to the checkered flag in the North Carolina Education Lottery 250, but during post-race inspection, his No. 2 Chevrolet was found in violation of Section 14.14.2.I-5.h in the NASCAR Rule Book, which states: “Spacers/pinion angle shims must have single planar mating surfaces. All mating surfaces between the truck trailing arm and the U-bolt saddle must be in complete contact with each other.”
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The three-person panel’s ruling upholds the penalty, which relegated Love to a 37th-place finish and a singular point earned for the event instead of the 45 points he would have otherwise received. Their decision also confirms Sammy Smith and the No. 8 JR Motorsports team as the race winner after their Chevrolet cleared post-race inspection without issue.
In denying RCR’s appeal, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel stated: “The panel finds that it is more likely than not that there was a violation of 14.14.2 Rear Suspension, I-5.H. The panel was unable to determine whether the violation was intentional or unintentional. The panel finds that the mating surfaces between the truck trailing arm and the U-bolt saddle were not in contact with each other.”
The ruling of the panel is final with no further appeals available because the hearing was an expedited appeal of a disqualification.
The three-member panel was comprised of Bill Mullis, Hunter Nickell and Steve York.