Parker Kligerman was in the lead on the final lap of the Fresh From Florida Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway Friday night with the field stacked up 3-wide behind him coming out of turn 2. Parker had to be watching in his rear-view mirror as the pack behind him seemed to start a choreographed wreck halfway down the backstretch that collected several trucks and finally ended in turn 4 with only Kligerman and Corey Heim to battle it out coming to the checkers. Heim got his front bumper to Kligerman’s front door when the caution flew just yards before the start-finish line, thus ending the race.

Kligerman was ecstatic after the event as he climbed out of the No. 75 Spiked Chevy Silverado. Parker exclaimed that the win was the biggest win of his entire life. The celebration in victory lane went on… for a while. About an hour after the checkers had waived and it was all said and done, NASCAR broke the news that Parker had been disqualified due to his truck failing post-race inspection, and Corey Heim had been declared the winner. According to NASCAR, the No. 75 did not pass the required post-race ride height minimums. Henderson Motorsports stated that they do plan to appeal the disqualification. When told of the decision, Heim said that it was the first time that he had been in this situation but was just happy that the decision went his way.

The disqualification vaulted Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Gio Ruggiero to the runner up spot. Gio led 11 laps and was very happy about the result considering that it was his first time ever competing on a superspeedway. reigning champion Ty Majeski finished third, Grant Enfinger fourth and Justin Haley rounded out the top 5.

Next up for the Craftsman Truck Series is the FR8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, February 22nd, at 1:30 PM Eastern. You can catch all the action on FS1.

Image Sourced via Parker Kligerman X