For the first time since Front Row Motorsports' Layne Riggs was stripped of his second place finish at Kansas Speedway in May, a post-race technical inspection failure forced NASCAR to take action and change the results of a Truck Series race on Friday night at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP).
This time, it was Riggs who took the checkered flag at the four-turn, 0.686-mile (1.104-kilometer) oval in Brownsburg, Indiana.
But while he retained the victory, his second in the three most recent races, to bolster his playoff seeding, third place finisher Stewart Friesen did not retain his third place finish (nor his second place finish in the second stage).
Stewart Friesen disqualified for the first time in his Truck Series career
The No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota failed post-race technical inspection when it was discovered to be too low on front heights. So instead of scoring 43 points, Friesen scored only two, as he was officially scored in 35th place after the disqualification.
Despite the magnitude of the penalty, it didn't actually affect much in terms of the playoff picture. While Friesen did drop from 10th to 13th place in the point standings, he is already locked into the postseason for the first time since 2022, thanks to his June win at Michigan International Speedway.
Additionally, all drivers who picked up additional points (everybody but Riggs, who also won both stage one and stage two to score a maximum of 60 on the evening) due to Friesen's disqualification only gained either one or two points. Friesen still has five playoff points, tied for fifth-most in the series.
Two races remain on the Truck Series regular season schedule, with the next being the United Rentals 176 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International following an off weekend next weekend. Fox Sports 1 is set to provide live coverage of that race beginning at 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday, August 8, so begin a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss any of the action!