{"id":6947,"date":"2019-06-16T15:25:42","date_gmt":"2019-06-16T19:25:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=6947"},"modified":"2019-06-16T22:09:10","modified_gmt":"2019-06-17T02:09:10","slug":"trucks-ross-chastain-disqualified-moffitt-winner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2019\/06\/16\/trucks-ross-chastain-disqualified-moffitt-winner\/","title":{"rendered":"Trucks: Ross Chastain Disqualified, Brett Moffitt Declared winner at Iowa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ross Chastain Disqualified:\u00a0<\/strong>Ross Chastain\u00a0declared for NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series points a week ago before the Texas race and needed a win to qualify for the playoffs in the next eight races remaining in the regular season.<\/p>\n

It looked like he got it in just his second race, since, leading 141 laps and crossing the line first at Iowa Speedway on Sunday.<\/p>\n

However, after the race, NASCAR announced that Chastain’s car was deemed too low and they disqualified Niece Motorsports’ No. 44.<\/p>\n

“Unfortunately the 44 was low on the front, extremely low. … They do get an opportunity to roll around, put fuel in the vehicle, they air in tires, and we give them at least 5-10 minutes to roll back on and check a second time.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Trucks: Ross Chastain Disqualified, Brett Moffitt Declared winner at Iowa<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Niece Motorsports released a statement on the matter, saying they would appeal the penalty.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is NASCAR\u2019s new protocol,” Moffitt said. “Obviously, they didn\u2019t want to be announcing encumbered wins on Tuesday\u2019s so they changed to this way of teching. I think this is the first time it\u2019s affected the race win.”<\/p>\n

It was the first time NASCAR has DQ’d someone in a premier series since Buddy Baker was called for an oversized fuel tank in 1973 at the National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo have it work out, that\u2019s awesome,” Moffitt said. “Obviously, that\u2019s not the way we wanted to win it. We want to win it on track and go to victory lane and be able to celebrate, but I\u2019ll take wins however we can get them right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The win was Moffitt’s first of the season, clinching a playoff spot for the No. 24 GMS Racing team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big shift in momentum,\u201d Moffitt said. \u201cI would say it was one of our smoothest races performance-wise and execution-wise. We just came up a spot short on the track. We were just hoping for something to build on. This changes the momentum, hugely going into the next few weeks.”<\/p>\n

Moffitt’s mood was on a completely different side of the spectrum prior to learning he had been the winner, though.<\/p>\n

There was no such thing as a good points day, and rightfully so with the winning-is-everything playoff format.<\/p>\n

\u201c[I feel] pretty shitty. All that matters is winning and we didn\u2019t [do] that,” Moffitt said after the race before learning he had actually been declared the winner.<\/p>\n

Second place stung for Moffitt with him being the first loser, being one spot away at his home track, and also, surprisingly, because of who he lost to.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bad [to come in second],\u201d Moffitt said. \u201cEspecially to that guy. I don\u2019t like that guy and he races like— an interesting person sometimes. I hate losing to him and I hate losing here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly two hours later, Moffitt<\/a> was declared the winner.<\/p>\n

He said that the only thing he could have done differently to get around Chastain was to wreck him, due to the tire fall off.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarly in the run, [would have been a better time to pass] for sure,\u201d Moffitt said. \u201cOnce the tires fall off, it\u2019s like they\u2019re good, slowly falling off, and then they level out and once they level out, you\u2019re kind of just along for the ride. \u201c<\/p>\n

During the first stage, a 16 year old named Chandler Smith <\/strong>was the big story.<\/p>\n

Smith, one of the up-and-coming Toyota Racing Development prospects, was making his debut in Kyle Busch\u2019s No. 51 truck that has won six races this season.<\/p>\n

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Making his #NASCAR<\/a> Truck Series debut on the pole is Chandler Smith – a 16 year old up and comer that won Friday's #ARCA<\/a> race at Madison. <\/p>\n

Owners points set the field for today's race and, as you can see, the 51 truck was primed for. (5 wins w\/ Kyle Busch, 1 w\/ Biffle) #NASCAR<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/GPE8g4JMK1<\/a><\/p>\n

— Connor Ferguson (@cfchangs9) June 16, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n