Amid all the hype surrounding the upcoming Daytona 500, racing fans were in for a shocking turn of events over in the NASCAR truck series. None felt the jolt more than race winner Parker Kligerman and his team, Henderson Motors, following a disqualification call made by the officials.
Roaring from outside the top ten in the closing stages to take home the chequered flag, Kligerman was ecstatic with the result. However, the ecstasy did not last for more than an hour, with NASCAR disqualifying him from the race. But what led to the disqualification?
Illegal Ride Height Spelled Doom for Parker Kligerman
During the post-race height checks, Kligerman’s No. 75 Chevrolet was found too low in the rear, leading to an instant disqualification. Per the NASCAR laws, a ride can be as low as 4.5 inches on all four corners, but the Henderson Motorsport truck was found to be lower than that.
Owing to the DSQ, the 34-year-old will be scored in last place (36th) in the final running. However, the team will still make an official appeal, hoping to overturn the decision in their favor.
With the No. 75 driver stripped of his fourth career victory in the truck series, Corey Heim was declared the official race winner. The TRICON driver marked his 12th career win in the Truck Series, taking home the chequered flag initially planted in the ground by Kligerman.
Commenting on the incident, the 22-year-old driver claimed he was “glad to be on the right side of it.” He added that the ruling “sucked” for Parker Kligerman and his team after they put themselves in the right place at the right time.
Notably, this is the second time in two days that a driver who crossed the finish line in first place was not declared the race winner. Earlier, the Daytona Duel 2 saw Penske’s Austin Cindric take home the race win despite Erik Jones crossing the finish line first.
