Nascar Driver Parker Kligerman Will No Longer Be A Part Time Driver In 2023

Parker Kligerman has lived on the fringes of the sport of NASCAR as a driver for over a decade. The Connecticut native has raced in NASCAR since 2009. He’s also raced sports cars, and served as a TV analyst during that time, but only raced one full season, that coming in 2013 for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity series.

Kligerman has scored three wins, the latest this season at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, all in NASCAR’s Truck series competing for various teams. Since his last fulltime season however, Kligerman has made no secret of the fact that he wants nothing more than to race fulltime once again.

The popular 31-year-old will finally get that chance to go fulltime racing again. Saturday at Martinsville Speedway Kligerman was introduced as the fulltime driver in NASCAR’s Xfinity series for Big Machine Racing starting in 2023.

Kligerman made one start for the team earlier this season at Talladega where he started 9^th and finished 6^th. Kligerman said the call for him to race for the team at Talladega literally came when he was in victory lane at Mid-Ohio. He said after he got his phone back there was a voicemail from Keith Barnwell, the general manager at Big Machine Racing.

“I listen to it,” Kligerman said. “And he’s like, ‘Hey, this is the call you’d like to get after winning. I know you’re in Victory Lane, but would you like to race Talladega?’”

Out of that race the team, and Kligerman, began to build a foundation that would see the team go from a roster of various drivers running their No. 48 Chevrolet, a roster that included Cup series driver Tyler Reddick winning for the team at Texas Motor Speedway, but will have Kligerman becoming the sole occupant next season.

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“You know, I’ve always been a fan of Parker,” team owner Scott Borchetta said while sitting beside his new driver. “I think he’s coming to us at the perfect time. With your talent and your experience, your great inside the car and outside the car.

“I think we’re going to have a lot of fun too. We’re going to make a lot of noise in this series. We’re going to make a lot of noise about our products, and we’re excited to get going. I wish you were in the car today.”

After years looking for a fulltime opportunity, Kligerman said he still felt like he was dreaming.

“You know,” Kligerman said. “I think it’s been such an interesting, gosh, what, eight years of doing part-time and TV and jumping around different rides and trying to find a home and a place to set up a situation where I felt like it was a place, one that had the intention to go win, that accepted what I like to do outside the car, which is sort of promote the sport in a lot of ways and could set me up for potentially a future in terms of growing with that organization.

“I’ve been close at times as you know but this happened so fluidly, so seamlessly. It felt like we mentioned that, you know, when we did Talladega, it just was so seamless.”

Through the years of trying to find parttime rides, Kligerman has become very adept and finding the sponsorship needed to race. Those days, however, are behind him as his new ride comes fully funded.

That doesn’t mean Kligerman won’t still be selling.

“I think that part of my brain doesn’t turn off,” he said, adding that his job now includes spreading awareness of his new brand Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers, owned and distilled by Borchetta who founded Big Machine Records and most notably signed superstar Taylor Swift when she was 14 as the labels first artist.

“That part for me never stops, right?” Kligerman said. “I want to continue to grow that and help these partners use racing to the best ability possible.

“I think it’s a wonderful sport. There’s a lot of reasons for partners to be a part of it. And, you know, the best way to prove that is to have the ones that we have be successful using it. So I intend to continue that.”