NASCAR: Kyle Busch trend continues thanks to disqualification
By Asher Fair
Zane Smith’s disqualification appeal was denied, meaning that Kyle Busch’s impressive NASCAR Truck Series streak will continue.
Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith finished last Friday night’s NASCAR Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in second place, but his #38 Ford was disqualified and dropped to 36th (last) as a result of a lug nut issue.
That promoted Kyle Busch Motorsports team owner Kyle Busch into second place after he initially finished the 134-lap Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Las Vegas, Nevada in third.
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Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Chandler Smith won the race, the second of 23 races on this year’s schedule.
But Zane Smith’s disqualification prompted an appeal from Front Row Motorsports.
Unfortunately, their appeal was denied, meaning that Smith’s official result from Friday night’s race will remain 36th place instead of the runner-up finish he earned on the race track.
NASCAR-appointed panel denies disqualification appeal by Front Row Motorsports and driver Zane Smith (had finished second at Vegas). DQ'd for threading on lug nuts that did not conform to specifications. DQ stands. No more appeals allowed since it's a DQ.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 9, 2022
Smith responded to the rejection of the appeal on Twitter.
Left is illegal right is legal. 2/3 threads missing.
— Zane Smith (@ZaneSmith) March 9, 2022
Most people before supply issue would use them to have faster pit stops but most of our stops were fixing damage that were over 20 second stops.
(Just letting people aware of the situation we were facing)
Zane Smith indicates appeal based on the argument that they did not modify the lug nuts but some lug nuts they bought were non-compliant. The hard part for NASCAR is a history of teams removing threads. Teams likely would respond questioning availability of legal lugs at-track. https://t.co/xCbFjDhfnQ
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 10, 2022
Smith, who won the season opener at Daytona International Speedway and would have been in a second place tie in the point standings had his runner-up finish stood, now sits in 12th in the standings after he was stripped of all but one of the 35 points which he initially scored at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The rejection of this appeal also meant that Busch, who was making the first of his five scheduled Truck Series starts behind the wheel of his #51 Toyota this year, got to see an impressive streak remain intact.
Not since his 21st place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in June 2020 has the Las Vegas native finished behind a non-Kyle Busch Motorsports driver in a Truck Series race.
Later in 2020, he went on to win at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. He only won twice in five starts in 2021, but all three non-wins were runner-up finishes behind one of his own trucks.
He won at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway last year, and he finished in second place behind John Hunter Nemechek at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway and Pocono Raceway.
The runner-up finish behind Chandler Smith on Friday night makes it eight straight starts for Busch in which he finished ahead of every single non-Kyle Busch Motorsports track in the race.
Nemechek and Chandler Smith are in their second seasons as full-time Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers this year, with the former driving the #4 Toyota and the latter behind the wheel of the #18 Toyota. Nemechek, who made it to last year’s Championship 4, sits in 10th place in the point standings while Smith leads.
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The third race on the 2022 Truck Series 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. Busch’s next start is scheduled to come in the XPEL 225, which is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 from Circuit of the Americas beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 26.