Parker Kligerman

Parker Kligerman

Kligerman at Road America in 2013
Born (1990-08-08) August 8, 1990
Westport, Connecticut
Awards 2009 ARCA Re/Max Series Rookie of the Year
2009 ARCA Re/Max Series Bill France Four Crown
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
10 races run over 2 years
2014 position 47th
Best finish 47th (2014)
First race 2013 AAA Texas 500 (Texas)
Last race 2014 Bojangles' Southern 500 (Darlington)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
52 races run over 6 years
2015 position 68th
Best finish 9th (2013)
First race 2009 Kansas Lottery 300 (Kansas)
Last race 2015 VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 (Darlington)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 18 1
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
54 races run over 6 years
Truck no., team No. 92 (Ricky Benton Racing)
2014 position 107th
Best finish 5th (2012)
First race 2010 WinStar World Casino 350K (Texas)
Last race 2016 Toyota Tundra 250 (Kansas)
First win 2012 Fred's 250 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 28 2
Statistics current as of May 6, 2016.

Parker Kligerman (born August 8, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. A former development driver for Penske Racing, he has been working for NBC Sports Network as a NASCAR analyst since his former race team Swan Racing suspended operations. He currently competes full-time in the Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 92 Ford F-150 for Ricky Benton Racing.

Racing career

As part of Penske's driver development program, in 2008 Kligerman drove the No. 77 Cunningham Motorsports Dodge in two races in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. He drove the car full-time in 2009, finishing second points in his rookie season. He made his Nationwide Series debut for Penske in their No. 22 car at Kansas Speedway that year and won the pole. He then drove in the season finale for Team 42 Racing.

He was slated to contest the first five races of the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series season with Team 42 with additional appearances possible.[1] However, he failed to qualify at Daytona and Bristol. After missing the show at Bristol he was out of the car until returning for the eighth race of the season at Talladega where he crashed on lap 113. He earned his first Top 10 finish at Bristol's second race with a ninth-place finish. Kligerman also earned a top ten with an 8th-place finish at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.[2]

Kligerman competed for Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2011, driving the No. 29 for Brad Keselowski Racing. He returned to the No. 29 truck in 2012, and also drove the Penske Racing No. 22 in the Nationwide Series on a limited schedule, sharing the seat with Brad Keselowski and Jacques Villeneuve.[3]

After the first eleven races of the 2012 season, Kligerman was released from his ride at Brad Keselowski Racing.[4] Shortly thereafter, Red Horse Racing announced that they had signed a contract with Kligerman to drive the No. 7 Toyota for the remainder of the season.[5]

Kligerman practiced and qualified the No. 22 Dodge for Penske Racing at Michigan International Speedway in the Sprint Cup Series in August 2012, as regular driver Sam Hornish, Jr. competed in the Nationwide Series race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve that weekend, returning for the race.[6]

Kligerman won his first Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on October 6, 2012.[7] A fringe title contender late in the season, Kligerman was officially eliminated from championship contention after being involved in a crash at Phoenix and finishing in 27th place. The next week he would make his final start for Red Horse Racing in the 2012 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, winning his second career pole and finishing in 7th place.[8] He finished 5th in the series points standings.

Kligerman's No. 77 Nationwide car

Announcing that he would not be returning to Red Horse Racing or the Camping World Truck Series in 2013, Kligerman signed with Kyle Busch Motorsports to drive their No. 77 Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Nationwide Series full-time in 2013.[9] He disappointed at KBM, only finishing in the top 5 three times and ending the year 9th in points.

In November 2013, Kligerman made his Sprint Cup debut at Texas Motor Speedway in the AAA Texas 500, driving for Swan Racing.[10] He finished 18th in the event, Swan's best result in 2013.[11] Two weekends later, at the Ford 400, Kligerman impressed again by finishing 25th, on the lead lap.

For 2014, Swan Racing announced Kligerman's hiring for the full 2014 season, as part of an expansion to two full-time teams, alongside Cole Whitt.[12] During a practice session for the 2014 Daytona 500, Kligerman was involved in an accident that saw his car overturned into the catch fencing, but was uninjured.[13]

Due to sponsorship woes and on track struggles including many DNFs and wrecked race cars in the first eight races, Swan was forced to sell off both of its teams prior to Richmond, with the No. 30 points being bought by Xxxtreme Motorsport, who already had a driver in J. J. Yeley.[14] Thus, Kligerman was without a ride. However, Swan continued to keep Kligerman under contract for the remainder of the year in the event they would resume operations.[15] On May 14, Stewart-Haas Racing announced that Kligerman would serve as a practice and stand-by driver for Kurt Busch in the No. 41 at the Sprint All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600 when Busch was attempting the 600-Indianapolis 500 "Double Duty".[16] Kligerman began working with NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) as an analyst later in the 2014 season. In September, he announced that he would test an Indy Lights car for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.[17]

In 2015, Kligerman continued his work with NBCSN, including commentary on tape-delayed broadcasts of the K&N Pro Series. At Darlington in September, he returned to competition, driving the No. 97 Chevrolet for Obaika Racing in the Xfinity Series.

On February 3, 2016, it was announced that Kligerman would drive the No. 92 Ford F-150 for Ricky Benton Racing at Daytona in the Truck Series.[18]

Personal life

Kligerman is the co-founder and president of Focus Now Solutions, the manufacturer of focus-enhancing beverage product Focus7 Shot.[19] Kligerman also is a writer at auto blog Jalopnik, and produces a weekly podcast called "Kickin’ it with Kligerman."[20]

He graduated from Staples High School in his hometown of Westport in 2009.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
2014 Swan Racing Toyota 41 29

Xfinity Series

Camping World Truck Series

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

ARCA Re/Max Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

References

  1. ↑ Kligerman to open season driving for Team 42 Racing, NASCAR, February 1, 2010, Retrieved 2010-02-06
  2. ↑ Fryer, Jenna. "Busch makes it 2 for 2 at Bristol". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  3. ↑ Utter, Jim. "Dodge seeking balance in 2012". Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  4. ↑ "Kligerman released from Brad Keselowski Racing". The Miami Herald. Miami, FL. August 6, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
  5. ↑ "Kligerman signs on with Red Horse Racing". NASCAR. Turner Sports. August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  6. ↑ Adamczyk, Jay (August 13, 2012). "Kligerman to help Hornish Jr. at MIS". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  7. ↑ "Parker Kligerman gets 1st Trucks win". ESPN. Associated Press. October 6, 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-08.
  8. ↑ Barend, Travis (November 16, 2012). "Parker Kligerman Wins Camping World Truck Series Homestead Pole". TracksideChatter.com. Retrieved 2013-07-18.
  9. ↑ Moody, Dave (November 21, 2012). "Kligerman To Run Nationwide For Kyle Busch Motorsports In 2013, Townley To Red Horse Truck Team". Godfather Motorsports. Retrieved 2012-12-08.
  10. ↑ Wilson, Steven B. (October 15, 2013). "Parker Kligerman to Pilot the No.30 Toyota at Texas". Speedway Digest. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  11. ↑ Hawkins, Stephen (November 3, 2013). "Johnson takes Cup lead with dominating Texas win; Westport's Kligerman 18th in series debut". The Hour. Norwalk, CT. Retrieved 2013-11-06.
  12. ↑ "Swan Racing announces 2014 Cup lineup". NASCAR.com. December 3, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  13. ↑ Hembree, Mike; Nate Ryan; Jeff Gluck (February 19, 2014). "Daytona practice crash damages fence, forces drivers to backups". USA Today. McLean, VA. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  14. ↑ Caraveillo, David (April 23, 2014). "Swan Breakup Leaves Kligerman Without Ride". NASCAR.com. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  15. ↑ Associated Press (April 23, 2014). "Swan Racing sells 2 cars, keeps Kligerman in fold". USA Today. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  16. ↑ Caraviello, David (May 14, 2014). "KLIGERMAN TO STAND BY FOR BUSCH IN CHARLOTTE". NASCAR. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  17. ↑ Reiman, Samuel (September 9, 2014). "Parker Kligerman to test an Indy Lights car this weekend". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2014-09-14.
  18. ↑ "Kligerman to drive for RBR in Daytona Truck race". The Fayetteville Observer. February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Focus7 Shot Homepage". Focus7 Shot. March 2, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  20. ↑ Hainsfurther, Adam (March 29, 2014). "Kligerman focuses on NASCAR's future". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved April 13, 2014.

External links

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