BY: EDDIE KALEGI
What a way to wrap up 2023 for Motorsports Today. In a year that saw substantial growth for the show, including multiple trips to cover NASCAR weekends on site and interviews with several members of the auto racing community, Adam Tropper and I have our first full-length sit down conversation with a NASCAR national series full-time driver.
Calling Parker Kligerman's journey atypical would be an understatement. The Connecticut native, who says he "came out of the womb with a model car," long had a passion for motorsports, and eventually found his way over to NASCAR.
Kligerman's NASCAR tenure has been chock full of ups and downs, from making an impressive Cup Series debut in 2013, to flipping his car the next year at Daytona and eventually losing funding to run a full season for Swan Racing. The three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race winner finally returned to a full-time seat this past season, competing in the #48 Chevrolet for Big Machine Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, qualifying for the 2023 postseason. Kligerman is excited about the multi-year partnership he has secured with the organization, as he returns to the car in 2024, but has one goal: "I want to win a race."
At the same time, Kligerman has become synonymous with NASCAR media. After originally working as a columnist for an online publication, Kligerman earned an opportunity to work for NBC, becoming a contributor and pit reporter for NASCAR coverage. On some weekends, he has multitasked, racing one event and covering the other. Kligerman has thus become one of the most recognizable faces in the NASCAR garage, culminating in getting stopped by several fans this summer at Chicago, including, ironically, our own Adam Tropper!
Kligerman also shares something in common with both Adam and I: he's a podcaster! The 33 year-old co-hosts The Money Lap podcast weekly with fellow driver Landon Cassill, interviewing drivers and media members of the NASCAR community, providing an in-depth perspective on the sport from those who compete behind the wheel themselves.
You can watch the full interview on YouTube here, or listen to the entire episode on Spotify. Later in the episode, I spoke with Tim Catalfamo, a Rutgers University alum and current NASCAR public address announcer and turn announcer for Motor Racing Network about the biggest storylines entering the 2024 Cup Series season.
Thanks to all of our listeners who followed along throughout 2023! We'll talk to you next month!
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