The 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver analysis continues with Parker Kligerman.
Kligerman, the 27-year-old out of Westport, Connecticut made seven starts in the Truck Series this season, including grabbing an upset win at Talladega. This was his seventh season racing in the Truck Series. Before the 2017 season, he had 11 starts in 2016 scoring one top five and three top 10 finishes, with a best finish of third at the famous Daytona International Speedway.
However, 2017 got off to a rocky start for the No. 75 team of Kligerman and Henderson Motorsports. The team missed the first race of the season at Daytona by not being able to qualify for the event, which was disappointing not only for Kligerman who finished third in that race last year but for the team as well. A week later at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he qualified 19th but was relegated to a 31st place finish due to a fuel pump problem on Lap 28.
But, the season started to turn around little by little for Kligerman and the No. 75 team. At Charlotte Motor Speedway, he placed 10th after starting ninth. Then, there was another setback at Dover where he was involved in a crash on Lap 96 and finished 21st.
After a few rocky starts, the team started to pick up during mid-season. At Kentucky, Kligerman started 30th and finished seventh, and did the same thing at Bristol but finished one spot behind in eighth. He had a shining moment at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, where he had a shot to win the race on a late race restart after staying out but was shuffled to eighth.
Kligerman would not race for the next three races until Talladega. The last time he won was at Talladega in 2012 when he scored his first ever career win. On this very weekend, he would wind up in victory lane again at Talladega, to capture his second career win. It was a sort of redemption for Kligerman as he missed the race last year by not qualifying for the race. It would also be his last race of the 2017 season in the Truck Series.
At the end of the year, he averaged one top five and five top 10 finishes in seven starts. He led 11 laps and had two DNFs with an average start of 14.1 and an average finish of 12.3.
You can follow Parker Kligerman on Twitter @Pkligerman and on Instagram @Pkligerman. For team news, you may follow Henderson Motorsports on Twitter @HendersonMotor1.