DOVER, Del. (May 13, 2011) – Rookie Parker Kligerman, driver of the No. 29 Penske Truck Rental Dodge Ram for Brad Keselowski Racing (BKR), drove a near perfect 191 laps at Dover International Speedway in the Lucas Oil 200 on Friday night, before a late-race spin cost him a top-five finish, and perhaps a chance to win in the closing laps.
After qualifying ninth in the Penske Truck Rental Dodge, Kligerman felt good about his chances leading into the sixth race of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship. After the first yellow flag pit stop, the No. 29 truck was on the move, slotting into the sixth position and racing hard with the No. 88, No. 5, and No. 33 trucks for fourth position. After a caution flag, Kligerman found his way around all three trucks with a great move to the bottom of the track, as he set off toward the No. 2 truck of Cup Series star Kevin Harvick. On lap 90 Kligerman reported that the BKR Dodge Ram was a little tight in traffic and a little loose on its own. During a scheduled green flag pit stop on lap 112, the Penske Truck Rental team went to work, giving him four fresh Goodyear Wrangler tires and making a slight chassis adjustment. When the green flag pit stops cycled back through Kligerman was shown in the sixth position and he was quickly making up ground on the leaders.
A late-race caution on lap 180 resulted in Kligerman taking the race restart from the third position after his car took only two tires in pit lane. After that it was a three -truck battle between the No. 18 of Kyle Busch, the No. 60, and the No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Dodge. Kligerman was charging hard and gaining on the No. 60 truck for second, and pulling away from the rest of the field. Another caution would stack the trucks back up for a 10-lap dash to the finish. Starting on the second row on the inside, right behind Kyle Busch, Kligerman made a strong start and pulled alongside the No. 60 truck of Cole Whitt heading into Turn 1. He maintained that position on the back straight and stayed to the inside of the No. 60 machine as they headed into Turn 3, but at that point Kligerman lost control of the No. 29 truck and he was hit by the No. 3 of Austin Dillon as he spun through the middle of the track as he ended up making slight contact with the outside wall.
Kligerman would pit to fix the damage and rejoin the race, however he was three laps down at that point and a solid top-five day turned into a 21st-place finish for the rookie.
“Well, our finish at the Monster Mile was not indicative of the entire Penske Truck Rental Ram effort,” said Kligerman. “We were a solid top-three truck throughout the weekend and into the race. I’m so proud of the pace we showed this weekend, although we have little to show from it. I can’t wait to be back on track in Charlotte and prove our BKR team is a force to be reckoned with.”
Kligerman will be back on track this Friday, May 20, as the No. 29 Penske Truck Rental Dodge Ram and Brad Keselowski Racing will contest the Camping world Truck Series N.C. Education Lottery 200. Catch all of the action on SpeedTV at 8:00 pm ET.
For more information, please contact: Bob Perona, Parker Kligerman Racing, at bob@bobperonacoaching.com or 720-937-6209.
