Matt Crafton, who finished fifth in Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Dead on Tools 200 at Darlington Raceway, only to be disqualified and named the last-place finisher in the event after post-race inspection, is once again the fifth-place finisher of Friday’s race.
Confused?
Well, after their case was heard by the National Motorsports Appeals Panel on Thursday, Crafton and the No. 88 ThorSport Racing team saw their disqualification penalties rescinded after the NMAP made the following determinations:
- That the Appellants did not violate the Rule(s) set forth in the Penalty Notice.
- That the Panel rescinds the original Penalty assessed by NASCAR.
As a result, Crafton and the No. 88 team will receive credit for their fifth-place finish from Friday night at Darlington, and they will have their driver and owner point totals re-tallied to include the fifth-place finish.
The Appeals Panel members, who heard Crafton and Thorsport’s hearing were: Mr. Dixon Johnston, Mr. Tom DeLoach and Mr. Hunter Nickell.
Following Friday night’s race, Crafton’s No. 88 truck was found to be too low on the front end during the post-race height measurement, which led to the penalty.
No further statement was given in the National Motorsports Appeals Panel statement on why the penalties were overturned.
This reversal of the penalty is massive for Crafton, who has suffered through a difficult start to the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. Crafton had not recorded a top-five finish this season, until Friday night’s fifth-place effort.
As a result of the reversal, Crafton moves back into 10th in the NCWTS 2022 championship driver standings, from 13th, and the No. 88 ThorSport team is now 11th in the NCWTS Owner Points battle.
