LOUDON, N.H. -- After posting a solid, 28th-place qualifying effort Friday afternoon at New Hampshire International Speedway, Team Red Bull driver Brian Vickers went home for the eighth time in 17 attempts after his car was deemed to be too low in post-qualifying inspection.

According to Nextel Cup director John Darby, the left front of Vickers' car was an eighth-of-an-inch outside the quarter-inch tolerance for being too low after qualifying.

Despite several attempts to make the car comply, it was still too low and its qualifying time was disallowed.

"It sucks," said Doug Richert, crew chief for the No. 83 Toyota. "All the non-top-35 cars go back through inspection [following qualifying]. When we went through, we found the front end of the car didn't meet their minimum height.

"We had several opportunities to roll back and forth and check the air pressure. They pretty much let us do everything except put gas back in it, as far as the way we ran through the original inspection."

The disqualification enabled Chad Chaffin, who was making his first attempt in BAM Racing's No. 49 Dodge, to take the 43rd spot in the lineup and make his first start of the season.

"It feels really good," Chaffin said. "But the thing is, we were disappointed, OK -- but we were all kind of positive because we came close, we missed the race by three-thousandths [of a second].

"They liked the input I was giving them, they've got a great bunch of guys, they're well-organized and the equipment is real nice. I have no negatives -- I was just honored to get the chance."

Moving Chaffin into the field also allowed Vermont driver Kevin Lepage to move from 43rd -- as the last non-guaranteed starter in the race -- into the 37th position on the grid he'd earned with his qualifying speed. (Continued)