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[/media-credit]As youth continues to be served in the Camping World Truck Series with first time winners conquering the headlines, Parker Kligerman is working hard to join the list. The 22-year-old Connecticut native has been knocking on the door to Victory Lane but has yet to have anyone answer.
Friday night in Kentucky he again was left out in the cold. Kligerman finished second to James Buescher, who won for the fourth time. His top five start and finishing position added to his already impressive resume, one that continues to be polished as his tenure with Red Horse Racing rolls on.
Friday’s feat was his 11th top 10 finish of the season and sixth top five. While never leading a lap, Kligerman again showed his worth by running up front and challenging for the win. Quite common for him these days – he’s finished a career best second on five occasions.
“That’s a terrible, terrible statistic. I know I’ve already said it but we just had one of those nights that everything that could against you, even with a fast truck, went against you,” Kligerman said afterwards, a bit dejected and taking the blame for letting the team down.
“We got the lead on the fuel stop and the 99 [Bryan Silas] stayed out and I don’t understand why those slow guys do that. It doesn’t make any sense to do that, they just wrecked our stuff. But he stayed out and then he tried to restart on the apron, which didn’t make much sense so I fell back.
“And we didn’t get to lead laps and we fought back from that and fought through the field and came up on the 09 [Jon Wes Townley] racing for third and tried to force the issue. It’s really hard to pass on the inside in these trucks.”
The lap 81 spin, in which Kligerman avoided hitting anything as he came off turn four and down through the infield grass, could have been the end of his night. Noting that the lack of side force for the trucks when trying to use the inside line, and with the high line being the dominant line of the night, Kligerman tried to use the draft to get by Townley. He took himself out instead and forced his team to go into recovery mode.
It was his fourth top five finish in the five races he’s run with Red Horse. Kligerman started the year with Brad Keselowski Racing, whom he raced for last season and since he joined the series. But the two parted ways before the race in Michigan, Kligerman citing better resources needed to compete for the championship.
Yet, he was sitting sixth in points and running competitively. Following the Kentucky race he sits fourth, 30 markers behind leader Ty Dillon heading into Las Vegas. His performance the last weeks, perhaps Kligerman has found better resources with Red Horse and the No. 7 team.
In the 11 races with BKR earlier this year he led just seven laps and finished in the top five just twice. In five races at Red Horse he’s led 110 laps and in a twist of fate, Kligerman led 107 of those laps last weekend in Iowa after he started from the pole. Looking to be headed to his first career win, he spun out with 21 laps to go and finished 23rd.
The winner of that race was Ryan Blaney, the kid who took over his truck at BKR and who was also put in the No. 22 of scheduled races that Kligerman was originally tabbed to run for Penske Racing – Keselowski’s Cup and Nationwide Series owner – in the NNS. Kligerman and Keselowski then split up and each seem to be better for it.
But Blaney became the seventh first-time winner of the year. Kligerman is still searching and has six races left in 2012 to make it happen. And even though he’s driven for two different teams, he still has a mathematically and realistic chance at championship, continuing at Las Vegas. A high speed and with plenty of banking grooves, which Kligerman enjoys and looks forward to.
“Las Vegas is at nighttime and we raced in the daytime last year so there’s not a lot to carry over from the first time we were there,” he said. “But everything I’ve seen at Red Horse Racing and these Toyota Tundra’s, there’s not reason this team hasn’t won at a mile that I can see.
“These trucks are amazing; the Joe Gibbs motors are up to par. I feel like Las Vegas is another opportunity for us to go out and get that first win and hopefully catch Ty in the points and get ourselves closer in that championship.”
