DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — John Hunter Nemechek’s road to advance out of the opening round of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase just got a little tougher.

NASCAR announced Thursday morning that it has issued a P2 penalty to Nemechek and the No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports team for a post-race technical inspection violation found after Saturday’s UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the opening race of the Round of 8 in the series’ inaugural Chase playoffs.

Nemechek’s truck did not meet minimum ride height specifications following the event, in which he finished ninth after a spin in the first half of the race.

The specific infraction is a violation of Sections 12.1 (Actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 20.17.3.3.2 (Top Spitter Shelf Height) of the NASCAR Rule Book.

As such, NASCAR officials have levied a loss of 10 driver and owner points to the team, dropping Nemechek to seventh on the Chase Grid and in danger of elimination with two races to go in the opening round. He now sits five points behind Ben Kennedy for the final transfer spot to the second round.

Crew chief Gere Kennon was also fined $6,000 and his probation continues through the end of the year.

The ride height failure is the second such violation for the No. 8 Chevrolet Silverado this season, following a similar P2 infraction at Iowa Speedway in June.

NASCAR did away with the established ride-height rules for its premier Sprint Cup Series ahead of the 2014 season, but ride height regulations and restrictions continue to remain in effect for both the XFINITY and Truck levels.

Nemechek will look to move back inside the top six in the Chase standings this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he finished fourth last year in his track debut.

The DC Solar 350 takes the green flag at 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday night, with live coverage on FOX Sports 1, the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

John Wes Townley is the defending winner of the Las Vegas event, having stolen the laurels on a successful fuel mileage gambit last October.

About the Writer

Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.

Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.

The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.

Email Jacob at: [email protected]

Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77

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