NASCAR’s post-race inspection has somewhat stripped away the joy and excitement of the race finish in the modern era. But for some reason, the sanctioning body has taken a stricter stance in 2025, especially with the lower-tier series. It all started at Daytona when Parker Kligerman saw his win being snatched by a controversial post-race inspection, and the second one came just last week at the Rockingham Speedway. This time around, it was RCR’s rising star driver Jesse Love whose win was cancelled out over a technical rule.

The violation—about Rule 14.14.2.I-5.H concerning truck trailing arm spacers—might seem small to casual fans, but in NASCAR’s world of thousandths-of-an-inch precision, it meant the difference between celebration and heartbreak. Officials found that parts in Love’s Chevrolet weren’t properly aligned as required. What should have been Love’s second win of 2025 instead went to Sammy Smith, hurting the 20-year-old’s championship hopes.

With Rockingham serving as the first true test of driver skill since its return to the schedule, many saw Love’s fuel-saving victory as proof of his racing intelligence beyond his years. The post-race inspection results not only stripped him of the win but also reignited questions about whether Richard Childress Racing’s technical approach pushes too far beyond NASCAR’s increasingly strict tolerances.

However, there’s still a possibility that RCR can reverse this ruling and get Love’s win back with an appeal. And their intent was clear with this message on X, “Richard Childress Racing will appeal NASCAR’s decision to disqualify the No. 2 team’s win from the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Rockingham Speedway.”

Now, we’ve seen teams trying to bend the rules for a fraction of an advantage on the racetrack. It’s not just Xfinity or Truck drivers; NASCAR ruled with an iron fist against Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch at Pocono Raceway. In that case, the team tried to play smart with the front fenders to create an aero advantage, but both JGR drivers were caught, and in the end, Chase Elliott, who finished 3rd, was handed the win.

Love’s disqualification dropped him from what would have been second in the standings to fourth, now sitting 124 points behind leader Justin Allgaier. The penalty hurts more than just points—it raises doubts about his ability on technical tracks. With Talladega coming up—where Love won last spring—the timing couldn’t be worse for the young driver’s confidence. However, the fans weren’t sold on RCR’s stance of questioning the penalty, as they believe that they did cheat to win the race at the Rock.

NASCAR fans’ prediction comes true as RCR files an appeal over Rockingham debacle

“I think appealing this is reasonable—but from what we know so far, this was pretty obvious cheating and they have almost no chance of winning the appeal,” said one fan on social media, sharing what many hardcore followers think. This doubt makes sense given history—Childress has built a reputation for pushing limits and then seeming angry when caught. The specific nature of the violation makes it hard to argue against, as rear suspension issues usually leave little room for debate.

Others took a more practical view of Richard Childress Racing’s decision: “As much as we poke fun at RCR sometimes, the team has nothing to lose and everything to gain by appealing this penalty.” On the flip side, if they win the appeal, they will get their win back and along with it come the points. JRM drivers have been on a roll since the start of the season, and they would try their best in not allowing them to score another win, albeit at their expense.

To make matters worse, the Xfinity Series Director, Eric Peterson, felt confident about the decision. “I can’t go into too much details on it, but those parts all are together for sure and need to be tight and touching each other the whole time.”

Some fans even called out Richard Childress and his antics of living his the era of the 90s when his team ruled NASCAR. Last year, Childress even defended Austin Dillon’s antics of wrecking two drivers to claim a win at Richmond. Not to forget, having Austin Hill in his Xfinity Series lineup only adds to his troubles. “He thinks hes special like Hendrick when he isnt. He got lucky he had Earnhardt for so many years and runs his team like its still 1995. Plus fans have Hill for his own antics.”

This fan drew parallels with Hendrick Motorsports on how they didn’t appeal Alex Bowman’s Charlotte Roval DQ. His race car didn’t meet minimum weight and he couldn’t advance further in the playoffs. “Bowman’s team did not appeal last year when they were DQ’d from the Roval. I know it’s a different situation but they just ate the penalty because it would have wasted time and money to do so.”

What do you feel about this appeal by RCR? Do they have a strong argument to make their case?