When a driver wins a NASCAR race, it is a matter of pride. But, in some cases, it is ruthless. Post-race inspections take a toll on winning drivers sometimes. This is what happened to Parker Kligerman in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Daytona, where he was disqualified because the #75 team’s truck was found to be too low in the rear on both sides. Corey Heim, 2nd in the race, won that race unexpectedly. To make matters worse, the appeal to overturn his disqualification was denied by the National Motorsports Appeals Panel. And since then, all teams have started to approach the matter cautiously. But, there is room for errors, right?

A similar error overturned the fate of Richard Childress Racing’s young star Jesse Love. In Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Rockingham Speedway, Jesse Love dominated his competitors, only to be pulled out of the winning spot after post-race inspection. But unlike Kligerman, at least he was allowed to appeal. But, with the recent development of the story, it does not seem fruitful.

Appeals Panel’s loveless actions towards Richard Childress’ star

A three-member panel was set to decide Jesse Love’s fate when RCR’s #2 team appealed the DQ. It consisted of Bill Mullis, Hunter Nickell, and Steve York. However, unfortunately, the panel upheld the penalty, which relegated Love to a 37th-place finish and a singular point earned for the event instead of the 45 points. Evidently, Sammy Smith and the #8 JR Motorsports team won the race, having cleared the post-race inspection. But, there is a catch. A NASCAR insider from NBC who closely followed the ruling pointed out something very unsettling for other drivers.

Dustin Long, writer for NBC’s NASCAR wing, posted a line by the panel on his X profile with these words: #NASCAR … Appeals Panel upholds DQ to Jesse Love from Rockingham: “The panel finds that it is more likely than not that there was a violation … The panel was unable to determine whether the violation was intentional or unintentional.” What does it mean by ‘was unable to determine’? Now this is an all-new concern. At high speeds where lug nuts make wheels slide out, a little U-bolt falling off could derail any racer’s winning dream. It is obnoxious, yet it is a violation of the rule, as Eric Peterson put it after the Wednesday ruling was concluded. 

NASCAR Xfinity Director Eric Peterson said, “Unfortunately, at the time of race and post-race teardown, (number) 2 car of Jesse Love for RCR failed post-race inspection. So the rule that they violated was 14.14.2 I5.h. So that’s truck trailing arm spacers and pinion angle shims, which is the area of that rule. And the way that rule reads is, all mating surfaces between the truck trailing arms and the U-bolt saddle must be in complete contact with each other at all times.” Well, even though rules are to be followed strictly for the sport to thrive, baseless judgments would derail the sport. It will upset both fans and drivers alike.

There should be a way to find whether vehicular changes were intentional or unintentional. Otherwise, how will NASCAR justify the ruling in a sense? The fact that the sport’s governing body is privately owned adds to the mistrust among fans and teams. If pre-race inspections are conducted correctly, why are there problems in post-race? There is a fair possibility that Richard Childress Racing and Jesse Love are victims of uncertainty. But one thing is clear: they have been robbed of their victory. However, there is a speculative solution that could help NASCAR tackle these problems in the future.

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Vigilance can stop attempts to cheat

To ensure no Jesse Love or Parker Kligerman incident takes place in the future, it is important to catch the changes while they are being made. ‘But how?’ You may ask. Well, if there is pre-race and post-race inspection, the gap is in the pits. So, maybe NASCAR should look forward to sending visiting ‘pit inspection officials‘. And, c’mon, we are saying it to the fans! If NASCAR needs to win its fans’ trust, it should provide them with a perspective of looking at things.

It will involve a bit more care, and one new job role opening in the team. The role of ‘in-race maintenance record-keeper’. And as the name suggests, they will just have to coordinate with the technical team and the crew chiefs to fill up the details of changes being made to the car in between the inspections. The visiting pit inspectors can take this sheet and match it with their own pre-race figures. If the numbers do not match post-race, it will exhibit an ‘unintentional change’ brought forth by in-race conditions. But what if the figures matched previously, yet the number in the post-race changed?

Well, in that case, there is a fair possibility that the change was ‘intentional.’ Yes, it might not be completely accurate and can have its gray areas, but this is the most accurate it can get as a quick solution. If not this, NASCAR should figure out something fast. How long will they keep stripping winners of their honor? And for a team like Richard Childress Racing, it would be a big blow to their comeback story!

What do you think about the idea? If you agree or find gray areas, let us know in the comments below.