NASCAR Xfinity driver speaks candidly about impending retirement following unexpected announcement
NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Parker Kligerman recently made a surprising announcement that he is set to retire from full-time racing at the end of the year. Kligerman, who currently races for Big Machine Racing, shared his decision to step away from the sport in an emotional message to his fans. Announcing his retirement, Kligerman posted, as Newsweek Sports previously reported:
When I was nine years old, my family got cable,” he wrote. “Naturally, I immediately found a channel called SpeedVision, where I saw men in multicolored pajamas, with sweaty faces and stern looks – er, racing – for the first time. Right then, I knew; I want to do that! I will be a professional race car driver. “And for the better part of a decade and a half, I have been just that. The fire-retardant pajamas, sweaty face, and all. It’s been 22 years since I first begged and borrowed my way into a go-kart (Really, my mom couldn’t take any more begging) and started a journey that, for an endless amount of reasons, should never have made it further than go-karts. Let alone afforded me multiple chances, a career, and possibly a purpose.”
Kligerman made his debut on the NASCAR scene in 2009 as a promising 19-year-old development driver for Penske Racing. Competing in the ARCA Series, he quickly proved his mettle by securing an impressive nine wins out of 21 starts in his rookie year. Reflecting on the early stages of his career, Kligerman commented to Motorsport.com: “I like to say if ARCA was Cup, I’d have a private jet. But that’s not the case.” Throughout his career, Kligerman amassed over a hundred starts in the Truck Series and participated in 30 Cup races. However, the seasoned driver revealed that his perspective on racing underwent a significant evolution over the years.
When you’re thinking about doing this as a career, it’s your sole objective to try and win races. “All you think about are the great passes, the wins, the championships. The part that comes afterward is so far away in many ways. It could never happen to you. Like, ‘There’s no way that ever ends that sort of thing.’ “[But] you get older, and you start to understand the world better. I think sometimes I perform better than I ever have, because I’m not afraid of the other side. I’ve been there, I’ve already seen it. I know you don’t die. There’s life out there. You’re not that young phenom anymore, but there are a lot of awesome things in growing up.”
He added: “As I got older, it was like: ‘I don’t care, screw it. I’m just going to be me.'” Kligerman’s career was marked by experiences with both well-funded teams and smaller operations.
“[Driving for] the smaller teams often was out of necessity to keep going. “When you’re at the big teams, what you’re fighting for is tiny fractions of a second to outdo the other top teams: to have a dominant race car and to find things three months in advance of where you’re actually going to be going.”
