By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer
Overcoming the odds, Parker Kligerman drove through the field with an underfunded team to finish inside the top-five at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The part-time NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series driver broke into the top-10 late in the second Stage of the UNOH 200. Kligerman’s No. 75 Luck’s Beans Chevrolet Silverado blew by Truck Series regulars and Playoff drivers alike.
The 30-year-old followed fellow Chevy Racing driver, and race winner, Sam Mayer as the duo picked off positions. Both drivers had the fastest trucks on track and looked to be in position to battle Brett Moffitt for the win. A caution with 44 laps to go separated the two drivers.
Kligerman chose the bottom lane while Mayer took the outside lane. The GMS Racing driver went on to battle his teammate, Moffitt for the win. Meanwhile Kligerman was left to battle with Tanner Gray, Trevor Bayne, and Chandler Smith. The Henderson Motorsports driver briefly slipped to seventh before surging forward.
The Westport, CT native battled side-by-side with Gray for third. While the Ford Performance driver fought on the outside, Kligerman was glued to the bottom. When the checkered flag waved, Gray edged out the No. 75, which has just two full-time crew members, crew chief Chris Carrier and Josh Reeves, for position.
“We finished fourth tonight, really good run after starting dead last,” explained Kligerman. “Wow that’s cool. Luck’s Beans was onboard, check them out on Instagram. … Hopefully we get to see this beautiful machine, the bean machine, in a couple more races. Great job by this whole Henderson Motorsports team, Food Country USA.”
4th place for the BEAN MACHINE!
Thanks to #lucksbeans & @HendersonRace for the awesome truck. Catch my whole race break down 👇 pic.twitter.com/oUOSY5uScq
— Parker Kligerman (@pkligerman) September 18, 2020
The NASCAR on NBC Analyst had to drive through the field not once, but twice. He started 35th due to the metric qualifying formula. At the end of the first Stage, Kligerman was lapped by race leader Moffitt. However, he stayed on the leader’s tailgate, attempting to stay in the free pass position.
When the Stage ended, Kligerman edged out Smith for the free pass in a photo finish at the start-finish line. He then restarted at the tail-end of the field and had to work his way back through traffic to reach the top-10 prior to the end of the second Stage.
The fourth-place finish was the first top-five for Kligerman in 2020 and the 17th of his Truck Series career. His last top-five finish in the Truck Series was also at Bristol in 2018. The finish is also the 20th career top-five for Kligerman across NASCAR’s three National Series.
Photo by NKP / NKP Photo
