(NEXSTAR) — Jessie Love was all smiles after seemingly winning the Xfinity Series North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at Rockingham Speedway.
However, Love’s mood changed dramatically after his car failed the post-race inspection, bringing him down to a 37th place finish.
This DQ made way for Sammy Smith to claim the victory, along with the $100,000 bonus from the final round of the NASCAR Dash 4 Cash.
The packed house at The Rock saw an action-filled race with 14 cautions across the 83 laps, including nine yellows in the final stage.
Ryan Sieg led for a commanding 77 laps, battling back and forth with Love for much of the race, but was taken out in a lap 241 crash, leaving Love and Smith contending for the win.
At the finish line it was Love in first and Smith in second, with Love finishing just 0.691 seconds ahead.
Love began his celebration before it was ruled that his car violated Rule 14.14.2.I-5.h, which covers trailing arm spacers and pinion angle shims.
This violation sent the victory down the line to Smith for his first win of the season and third career win overall.
With no NASCAR Cup race this week as the series takes a break for the holiday, the next race will be the Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300 at the legendary Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.
You can catch that race on The CW at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 26th.
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