Cover image by Rachel Schuoler / Kickin’ the Tires
(Las Vegas, NV) March 5, 2021 – Parker Kligerman earns the hard-charger award by clawing his way from a 40th place start to an eighth position finish in Friday night’s Bucked Up 200 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“I’m so proud of this team at Henderson Motorsports led by Chris Carrier,” Kligerman shared after the event.
Kligerman was second out of the ten trucks sponsored by Camping World, and the third highest Ford in the field when the checkered flag waved. He battled as high up as second, and though he was not able to lead a lap, he still showed strength throughout the night.
Earlier this week on Monday night, Marcus Lemonis posted on Twitter reaching out to Truck teams heading to Las Vegas without a sponsor. He followed up with a final offer of $15,000 to any team that would wrap their race truck with a Camping World scheme, and included incentives for better finishes: up to $50,000 for winning.
Hey @NASCAR_Trucks ..time running out … 15k for a wrapped truck.. the 15k turns into 25 with a top 10, 35 with a top 5 and 50 with a win instead of 15 …. IN or OUT ? #campingworldnascar pic.twitter.com/ISfzB8f54O
— Marcus Lemonis (@marcuslemonis) March 2, 2021
Henderson Motorsports was one of those that took on the offer, and the challenge that ensued.
“[Henderson Motorsports] brought another awesome truck in a short amount of time,” Kligerman added. “To add in the Camping World bonus, this was a big night for our little team.”
It was no easy task for Kligerman. The first half of the race was quiet with just one caution for a spin, and the only other times the field slowed under yellow was at the end of the first two stages.
But the final stage put the veteran on trial.
Six cautions waved in the final 65 laps, one of which included a seven-truck crash in Turn 1 when Raphael Lessard dove down too early, clipped the front of David Gilliland and sent the two spinning into the outside wall and collecting most of the outside lane in that pack. At the time, Kligerman was battling for second after outsmarting the field with a pit strategy that put him ahead of the wreck. It could have easily been the other way around.
“I was the only one who seemed to be ripping the wall because I just had to make something happen,” explained the 11-year Truck Series veteran. “No one else was there. It worked in the Cup car in 2019, so I thought it would work in Trucks and it worked alright.”
While it was a strong finish in the Truck race for Henderson Motorsports, they still have one question left unanswered. Will Lemonis take them up on their counter-offer and sponsor the No. 75 Chevrolet Silverado in the next event on the 2021 Truck schedule at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 20?
“We had a clean truck which allows us to now go to Atlanta.”
Hey @marcuslemonis, how about a wager? A top-10 for the 75 tonight and we double down with this same @CampingWorld scheme for @amsupdates?
Can’t hurt to ask, right? pic.twitter.com/Zfw5Mjvw9o
— HendersonRaceTeam (@HendersonRace) March 5, 2021