NASCAR announce shock driver DISQUALIFICATION as official statement confirms new race winner

NASCAR has officially announced that Jesse Love has been disqualified from Saturday night's Xfinity Series race at Rockingham Speedway.

Love, who recently made his Cup Series debut with Richard Childress Racing, won the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 out on track in his No. 2 Chevrolet, edging rival Sammy Smith by just 0.691 seconds in an exciting finish.

It had proved a chaotic race as NASCAR returned to 'The Rock', with 14 cautions occurring for 83 laps, with nine yellows thrown in the final stage of the 250-lap race.

Post-race, that has continued, with an official NASCAR statement confirming that Love's No. 2 Chevrolet failed post-race inspection, with the driver disqualified and losing his race victory as a result.

NASCAR has now declared Sammy Smith as the official race winner, with Parker Retzlaff, Harrison Burton, Brennan Poole, and Taylor Gray rounding out the top five. Love will be officially classified as 37th.

NASCAR's statement also confirmed a second disqualification, with Justin Bonsignore disqualified due to three loose lug nuts on his No. 19 Toyota.

Why was Jesse Love disqualified by NASCAR?

In their official statement, NASCAR revealed that Love's car had been disqualified following a post-race inspection at Rockingham Speedway.

The statement confirmed that Love's No. 2 Chevrolet was deemed to have violated Rule 14.14.2.I-5.h, which covers trailing arm spacers and pinion angle shims.

Explaining the decision further, series director Eric Peterson explained: "All mating surfaces of those parts need to be in complete contact with each other."

"Unfortunately, they violated that rule and were disqualified."

Following his disqualification, Love has dropped one place in the Xfinity Series standings to fourth, with Austin Hill taking his spot in third.

Justin Allgaier continues to lead the championship after Rockingham, with Sam Mayer currently in second.

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