Chandler Smith and the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports team were disqualified after Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway. The No. 38 Ford, which finished fourth, failed to meet minimum height requirements in post-race inspection.
Because of the inspection failure, Smith’s finish is as 36th and last. Just hours earlier his truck crossed the finish line fourth. Smith was sent to the rear of the field at the beginning of the race due to the No. 38 team replacing a shock that broke in qualifying.
Along with his 36th-place finish, Smith received just one point instead of the 33 he’d have received otherwise. With his initial fourth-place scoring Smith would be first in the standings, 15 points ahead of second place. Now he’s fourth in points, 17 back of the lead.
Friday’s race winner Corey Heim is the points leader despite only racing in three of the series’ five races this year. He sits alongside Tricon Garage teammate Kaden Honeycutt, who nearly passed Heim for the win in the final laps of Friday’s race. Front Row Motorsports driver Layne Riggs is third, 11 points behind Heim and Honeycutt.
“Man, what a race,” Smith said following the race. “Started dead last and ended up driving up to 4th. Truck was pretty good, just a game of track position all race. Unfortunate what happened following post race inspection but we’re going [to] keep chipping away with our heads up headed to Bristol.”
