NASCAR: Kyle Busch trend at risk with disqualification appeal
By Asher Fair
Zane Smith was disqualified from Friday night’s NASCAR Truck Series race, but Front Row Motorsports have appealed his disqualification, a move that could prove significant for Kyle Busch.
Kyle Busch made the first of his five scheduled NASCAR Truck Series starts of the 2022 season in the season’s second race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last Friday night.
The Kyle Busch Motorsports team owner finished in third place behind the wheel of his #51 Toyota in this 134-lap Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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However, that result officially became a second place finish following post-race inspection.
Original second place finisher Zane Smith, who pilots the #38 Ford for Front Row Motorsports, was disqualified and thus dropped to 36th (last) after his truck was found not to conform to rule book specifications on lug nuts.
As a result, it became a Kyle Busch Motorsports 1-2 finish, as full-time driver Chandler Smith won the race ahead of his boss.
Zane Smith’s disqualification meant that this was the eighth consecutive Truck Series start for Busch in which he did not finish behind a non-Kyle Busch Motorsports driver. That streak includes four wins and four runner-up finishes going back to 2020.
In 2020, Busch wrapped up his five-race schedule with wins at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.
In 2021, he won at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway, and he finished in second place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway and Pocono Raceway. But all three of those runner-up finishes came behind John Hunter Nemechek, his other full-time driver.
However, there is a chance that what is currently an eight-race streak may have actually already ended — at seven.
According to Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass, Front Row Motorsports have appealed Zane Smith’s disqualification over the threading of the lug nuts on his #38 Ford.
Front Row Motorsports has appealed the Zane Smith disqualification from Vegas over the threading of the lug nuts. All race DQs are expedited appeals so would think it will be heard this week. @NASCARONFOX
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 8, 2022
Smith, who won the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, currently sits in 12th place in the point standings with 47 points after losing all but one point he earned from Friday night’s race. If his second place finish were to be reinstated, he would be in a second place tie in the standings with 81.
And Busch would be re-scored in third place in Friday’s running order, behind teammate Chandler Smith as well as a non-Kyle Busch Motorports driver.
As of now, Busch hasn’t finished behind a non-Kyle Busch Motorsports truck since he finished in 21st place at Atlanta Motor Speedway in June 2020. But if this disqualification is overturned, he will have done that last Friday night, ending this streak.
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Busch is set to make his next Truck Series start on Saturday, March 26 at Circuit of the Americas in the XPEL 225, which is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET. The next race on the 2022 schedule is the Fr8 208, which is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 from Atlanta Motor Speedway beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 19.