Preston Peltier, once a key player in crafting the No. 24 car of Jeff Gordon, found himself in hot water at the Snowball Derby. Despite a zooming run to third place during the pole qualifier run, he was disqualified, sending him to the back of the pack to start from scratch. Now, he’s gearing up for an uphill battle in the Last Chance Qualifier on Saturday, aiming for a spot in Sunday’s main event at Five Flags Speedway.

The issue that led to his disqualification stirred mixed reactions among fans: unauthorized part usage in the car. Many rallied behind him, feeling the penalty was a bit over the top for what they saw as a minor slip-up. On the flip side, some couldn’t help but wonder how a seasoned fabricator like Peltier could let such a hiccup slip by.

Caught in a storm of controversy, the former fabricator of the #24 car Jeff Gordon is far from pleased

Preston Peltier, a veteran with nine starts at the Snowball Derby and a personal best of fifth in 2019, recently faced disqualification. Post-pre-qualifying inspection, officials flagged an unauthorized tweak to the No. 48 car’s deck lid. Garrett Wallace, Peltier’s crew chief, expressed their initial relief at avoiding the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) this year, only to find themselves back in the fray.

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Wallace argued that the deck lid issue was trivial and didn’t enhance the car’s performance. Echoing this frustration, Peltier, caught by Matt Weaver post-disqualification, vented, “There’s too many people who are worried about little sh*t like that and not worried enough about working on their stuff to make it better.”

However, some argue that Peltier’s background with Hendrick Motorsports fabricating the car for Jeff Gordon should have made him more aware of the rules. Despite the setback, his team remains hopeful about making it to Sunday’s main event, having come through the LCQ before, including last year. But facing the LCQ was an unexpected hurdle after their impressive third-fastest qualifying time.

Regardless of whether they believe the deck lid was advantageous, Peltier now faces starting at the back in the 19-car LCQ on Saturday. He’ll be in the company of drivers like Jett Noland, Sammy Smith, Derek Kraus, and others. Adding to the drama, this isn’t the first time this year Peltier and his team faced disqualification for using non-compliant car parts, having been DQed during the summer showdown championship as well. It’s a repeating pattern that raises eyebrows and challenges.

At the 11th Evergreen Speedway race, Preston Peltier hit a speed bump when his car failed the post-race tech inspection

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Preston Peltier took the lead for the last two-thirds of the Evergreen Speedway race, sailing to what seemed like a sure win despite a less-than-ideal start from the 19th position due to an early exit in his Friday night heat. But his victory lap was cut short when his car was flagged for having an incorrect part, leading to disqualification.

The accusation was a “chip limit violation,” but Peltier’s team was quick to defend, stating, “THE PRINTED RULES AS WE HAD THEM HAD NO SET LIMIT FOR THE PARTS MOTOR PACKAGE WE WERE RUNNING. Nowhere in the rules did it specify a ‘chip limit’ for the Super Late Model in the Summer Showdown 150,” as per twofourmedia.com.

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They claimed the chip was set during routine race prep, and no further thought was given. Post-race, they learned from track officials that the rules had been updated on July 2nd but weren’t directly communicated to the race teams. The crucial update was missing at the race’s outset, during tech checks, and even at the driver’s meeting. Now, who do you think is at the wheel of these repeated mishaps for Preston Peltier? Is it a case of oversight or something more?