[JP1738]

Found this too. It could be grounds for justification of the decision that was made by your DD:

"The practice referred to as “deep staging” is prohibited in the
Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Super Street
categories (permitted in all other categories). Both pre-stage and
stage lights must be activated to constitute a legal start in those
categories."

In race procedures. Your guy never lit both stage bulbs so it was not a legal start and therefore not a legit run. At least that's how I'm reading it.