Trackin’ Trucks: Brett Moffitt Wins at Iowa

Credit: Debbie Ross for Skirts and Scuffs

Brett Moffitt, who finished second, was declared the winner of Sunday’s postponed M&Ms 200 presented by Casey’s General Store after Ross Chastain failed post-race inspection.

Chastain and his No. 44 team are the first to be disqualified by NASCAR since rules were instituted at the beginning of 2019 stating that winning vehicles would be disqualified if they failed to pass inspection following the event.  

Niece Motorsports plan to appeal the decision after Chastain’s truck was found to be too low in the front. 

“Both of our Chevrolets passed opening and pre-race inspections.” said team owner Al Niece in a statement, “We believe that the No. 44 Truck sustained minor damage during the event, which left the truck too low following the race.”

That appeal process will be expedited. If the team loses the appeal, they cannot appeal the decision any further based on section 14.6.f of the rule book.

This is Moffitt’s first win of the season and eighth of his GOTS career. He did not lead laps on Sunday, while Chastain led 141 of 200 laps.

Austin Hill put the nose of his No. 16 Toyota to the back of Johnny Sauter on Lap 137. Sauter retaliated and put Hill into the wall under caution, resulting in NASCAR parking the No. 13 team of the remainder of the race.

Sauter finished 28th, while Hill finished in the 13th position. 

Chandler Smith made his series debut for Kyle Busch Motorsports while leading the first 55 laps on Sunday, despite not being able to communicate with his team. Smith went on to earn a top-10 finish with ninth place after fixing the issue. 

Ben Rhodes finished second, Harrison Burton third, Grant Enfinger fourth, and Stewart Friesen finished fifth. 

A Look Ahead

The Gander Otodoors Truck Series head to the World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway next weekend on Saturday, June 22, 2019. 

Justin Haley beat Todd Gilliland by .753 seconds one year ago. Can Gilliland earn the first win of his career? 

Six races remain in the regular season. Enfinger has the series points lead over Matt Crafton by 47 points and 49 ahead of Friesen. 

Sauter holds the eighth and final seed over Gilliland by 32 points. Sheldon Creed is 10th, 33 points away from Sauter.

Don’t miss the GOTS on June 22nd at 10 p.m/ET on Fox Sports 1.