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XFINITY: Rockingham Disqualification of Jesse Love Upheld Post-Appeal

Originally posted on Racing America on SI
By Toby Christie | Last updated Apr 23, 2025 4:44 PM ET

There will be no reversal of the disqualification to Jesse Love and the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing team following last Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at Rockingham Speedway.

Love was initially scored as the race winner, but the win was stripped away due to issues discovered in post-race inspection with the truck trailing arm on his Chevrolet. RCR indicated on Monday that it would appeal the disqualification. On Wednesday, Love and Richard Childress Racing had their chance to make their case in front of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel.

After the hearing, the panel, which included Bill Mullis, Hunter Nickell, and Steve York, concluded that the disqualification would be upheld as the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing machine had indeed violated the rules, whether it was intentional or not.

“The panel finds that it is more likely than not that there was a violation of 14.14.2 Rear Suspension, I-5.H. The panel was unable to determine whether the violation was intentional or unintentional. The panel finds that the mating surfaces between the truck trailing arm and the U-bolt saddle were not in contact with each other,” said the panel in an explanation sent in a press release on Wednesday evening.

Following the announcement of the ruling, RCR issued a statement indicating the team's disappointment with the ruling and indicating that the organization is ready to move on to this weekend's event at Talladega Superspeedway.

"RCR is disappointed in NASCAR's decision today to uphold the disqualification of the No. 2 team. We will focus our efforts on moving forward and being competitive at Talladega this weekend," the statement from the team said.

As a result of the ruling by the National Motorsports Appeals Panel, Sammy Smith will remain the official winner of last Saturday's race at Rockingham Speedway, the first NASCAR Xfinity Series event held at the legendary track since the 2004 season.