“This is the biggest win of my entire life.” These words capture the heightened sentiment that Parker Kligerman associated with his short-lived victory in Daytona. Wheeling the No. 75 Henderson Motorsports truck from the back of the field to the front row was no mean feat. Yet Kligerman got to keep his fourth Craftsman Truck victory only for an hour, as NASCAR penalized him for failing the ride height specification.

According to the NASCAR Rule Book, Kligerman’s truck measured too low in the rear. Although the racer cum broadcaster appealed against the disqualification, he was turned down yet again. While others pointed out NASCAR’s discrepancy, one insider bashed the rule itself.

Parker Kligerman had no way out

NASCAR had implemented the ride height rule long back, but post-race penalties started recently. Since 2019, officials have been disqualifying drivers who failed the post-race inspection process. Before that the penalties included losing a playoff ticket, loss of points, or the imposition of monetary fines. But after 2019, wins were stripped away altogether if the winner’s vehicle was found to be lacking somewhere. Parker Kligerman fell prey to this strict rule in an unfortunate string of misfortunes. Last year’s Charlotte Roval misery seemed to follow him to Daytona this year.

That is what Cup Series spotter Freddie Kraft observed in a recent ‘Door, Bumper, Clear’ episode. “He’s such a nice guy, and it’s two races now…the Roval last year where he got burned by a caution or something, then lost that race, and now this year.” Former NASCAR driver Tommy Baldwin Jr. pointed out how Parker Kligerman had nowhere to go.

“Look, what the problem is with the ride height rule, is that you’re doing everything to the truck to make it drive low. To make it drive low as quick as possible and go around the racetrack. There’s so much money that’s been spent on Xfinity before the bump stops with the trucks and what they do now. If you just miss a little bit, something’s going to happen – a spring fail or something.”

Journalists like Jeff Gluck even reported recently that NASCAR had asked Parker Kligerman to increase the height of his truck’s front end. Therefore, Tommy Baldwin gave his cutting verdict: “The ride height rule to me is just so much a waste of time.” Yet Baldwin also admitted that overhauling this old rule would also take time. “But it will cost so much to change it…NASCAR doesn’t say, ‘Here’s a $100,000 because we changed a rule’…It would change all the bodies, the springs – you would have to just rebuild everything. It’s been a rule that’s been in place unfortunately for many years.” 

As a result, some in the NASCAR community believe teams are coming up with ways of fooling the inspection process by intentionally damaging the car in the cooldown lap after the race. William Byron’s contact with the wall after his Daytona 500 win began chatter along these lines before the HMS driver dismissed them. In its entirety, NASCAR’s visit to Daytona has been one filled with controversies. Whether it was Parkman’s disqualification or the lack of a caution flag on the last lap of the 500, fans came off the race hoping to gain clarity on NASCAR officiating.

In terms of Kligerman’s situation, he another driver chimed in on the argument.

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The rule is a heartbreaking one

There can be no doubt about that, as Parker Kligerman suffered a second crushing defeat in less than five months. The NBC and CW broadcaster had hoped to deliver a victory before retiring from his full-time seat, but NASCAR’s late caution did not allow him. This year in Daytona, even his part-time ride faced misfortune due to NASCAR’s ride height rule. This rule has always been a bit controversial because teams design the trucks to race as low to the ground as possible. Then they spring it back into place while at a pit stop to meet the ground-clearance minimum. This leaves room for discrepancy as drivers could fail the post-race checks.

Parker Kligerman faced that situation. So did Ross Chastain back in 2019 during a Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway. Following the penalty, Chastain lost his win, was credited with a last-place finish, and got a 55-point cut. 2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick harbored an opinion similar to that of Tommy Baldwin. While bashing the rule, he also said that changing it would be difficult. “I hate the height rules. I don’t think it affected Ross’ truck, and I don’t think it affected the way it performed. …. But rule’s a rule and they stuck by what they said. If you’re going to make something black and white, whether you like it or not, you need to stick by it.”

Parker Kligerman’s appeal fell through, and no hope is visible in the near future. Let us wait and see if NASCAR will take a step in this regard or not.