TRUCKS: Kligerman, Carrier Say Improper Tech Procedure Caused Daytona DQ

Both Parker Kligerman and Henderson Motorsports crew chief Chris Carrier say that improper inspection procedures led to the No. 75 Chevrolet being disqualified at Daytona.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

It’s been 11 days since the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series kicked off its 2025 campaign with the Fresh from Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway, an event that originally finished with a dream-fulfilling victory sequence for Parker Kligerman and Henderson Motorsports.

Though, approximately two hours after the race took the checkered flag, and Kligerman performed his celebratory planting of the checkered flag in the infield grass, what was a career-defining evening quickly turned into a devastating nightmare.

After celebrating his monumental win, Kligerman’s No. 75 Chevrolet Silverado RST went through a post-race inspection, where it was determined the truck was too low on both sides, resulting in a disqualification from the event. Thus, the win was stripped from Kligerman and given to Corey Heim.

In the immediate aftermath of the situation unfolding, Henderson Motorsports and Parker Kligerman both believed that they had a strong case for an appeal to NASCAR’s penalty. But, unfortunately for the part-time driver and team, they did not prevail in the appeal.

Chris Carrier, the sole full-time employee at Henderson Motorsports, released a statement via social media on Tuesday morning addressing the entire situation.

A Statement from Our Crew Chief, Chris Carrier, Regarding Our Disqualification from Daytona. pic.twitter.com/WZFmKe88VI

— Henderson Motorsports (@HendersonTrucks) February 25, 2025

“In our minds, we won this race – fair and square,” Carrier said. “There were no illegal parts, and we never stepped outside the rules. No matter what, we take pride and joy in what we achieved.”

“We believe the post-race failure resulted from a misunderstanding between two NASCAR inspectors and our team, which led our road crew to follow incorrect instructions on the height stick process. There was no malicious intent; however, we firmly believe our truck was not measured correctly and was not held to the same post-race inspection procedures as the other trucks.”

Carrier continues, saying that because of this miscommunication, the front end of the truck was measured an inch higher than necessary to clear post-race heights, which led to the rear end being below its minimum clearance – which ultimately resulted in the disqualification.

“Had our truck been inspected the same way as everyone else’s, it would have passed,” Carrier adds.

“We believe NASCAR missed an opportunity to build confidence with its teams and fans by not overturning this ruling, especially given the clear miscommunication and inconsistent practices surrounding our truck.”

Parker Kligerman, driver of the No. 75 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet Silverado and broadcaster for The CW Sports, took to his podcast, ‘The Money Lap’ on Tuesday, to give a more in-depth explanation of what went down at Daytona.

“We went to Victory Lane, went to the Media Canter, Chris [Carrier] was asked to come to the Media Center, my crew chief, he is the only full-time employee at Henderson Motorsports, and during this time the truck went through tech, and this is where it gets interesting,” Kligerman said.

After finishing their post-race media duties, Kligerman says that he and Carrier went back to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series garage, where they were then subsequently informed by NASCAR’s Mike Forde via telephone that the No. 75 truck had failed post-race inspection.

Getting the opportunity to speak with the series director of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Kligerman explained:  “I was like ‘the crew chief wasn’t there’, and that’s another thing you find out, you don’t need to have the crew chief there to go through tech – which is something I will be requesting that NASCAR investigate that because it’s kind of crazy, especially on the smaller teams, to not have a person of authority there when the car/truck is going through tech, really is a tough thing to swallow.”

The official position of both Kligerman and Henderson Motorsports is that there was some form of miscommunication between NASCAR and the mechanics that were overseeing the No. 75 go through post-race inspection while the driver and crew chief were in the Media Center, which caused the entry to be inspected improperly.

“When you get done with the race and you’re going through tech, the first thing you do is the heights and this is where it gets very muddy,” Kligerman offered. “They changed the post-race process back in February 2023 in a bulletin to the teams, where you would be allowed to unhook the shocks and measure your front end to the level you wanted, which now in the post-race can be 5.5 inches on the front, so it can be an inch lower than pre-race, and you get a third of an inch in the rear more tolerance to be lower than pre-race.”

Kligerman adds that the No. 75 likely would have been within tolerance had the crew has been able to properly set the height in post-race inspection, with math dictating that the eighth and quarter of inch violations would have been corrected by having the truck an inch lower like they are permitted.

“What we’ve now discovered, is that when you set and measure the front end then you can no longer touch it once it goes on the height sticks, so you have to hope it’s correct, and what happened with our team was because Chris [Carrier] wasn’t there, and there was no person of authority, our mechanics have all said they were told to unhook the shocks and lift the front end up, which is not the procedure.”

Kligerman says that the team’s four crew members validated the same sequence of events, did as directed by NASCAR officials, and then let go of the truck before being told that they weren’t allowed to touch the truck anymore. Henderson Motorsports, having not scored a top-five since September of 2022, has yet to run through this post-race inspection procedure.

“That’s where it was a communication error, it was a lack of knowledge on our part, of course, on how this happens or how this process is done and that’s why when I say that this truck was legal when it raced, yes, it was, and it would have been legal had it been given the chance to set the front end properly – yeah, follow the procedure, we just didn’t follow the procedure.

“And in their defense, we are the first since February 2023 – when this rule was created and put in place – we are the first to fail heights through this procedure. Now, we also are a rare case, just to point some numbers to that, I believe [Tommy Joe Martins posted a breakdown] that there are only 12 part-time teams in NASCAR, and we are the only one in the last decade that wins races, so we’re the only ones that go through this thing.”

Even despite having the biggest win of his professional career yanked out from under him because of a questionable inspection call, Kligerman is still able to crack jokes about the situation, even if it might sting a little bit.

“I have the checkered flag,” Kligerman said with a smile. “The one I planted in the ground; they’ll never get it back. I don’t mind saying it, it’s mine, and I’m keeping it forever, you know what they say, possession is nine-tenths of the law.”

“I made the joke that I thought the hardest part of winning a race was winning the race, but this is the first time where the hardest part of winning the race, was trying to re-win the race, and you know how much time I spent on that appeal. I worked with the team, and witnesses, gathering info, data, and math and it was an all-hands-on-deck effort over three or four days, we presented that argument to the best of our ability, and I think we made some good points.”

What the entire has done, according to Kligerman, is allow Henderson Motorsports to be more aware of minor details, like this one, that could have a major impact on their organization, despite only competing part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

“We know now that moving forward, we have to be more up-to-date on all of those things and it’s disappointing. It’s the biggest win of my life, biggest win of the Henderson’s, you know, we’ll always have the memories, we’ll always know what it’s like to win there and I do think for us we will hopefully be better going forward.’

It’s definitely a bummer for Kligerman, who was competing in his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start since confirming that he would step away from full-time NASCAR National Series competition at the end of the 2024 season.

“So, all that I can say in terms of like moving it forward, I’m trying to move forward, I was definitely stuck on it last week and over this weekend, but I’ve slowly but surely been able to move past it and let it go.”

Kligerman says that his part-time effort with Henderson Motorsports will consist of about seven NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events, as he and the team worked around his television schedule with The CW Sports – where he broadcasts the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

The organization as a whole will attempt eight more NASCAR Truck Series events this season, the next of which will be at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 11.