With Sam Mayer winning his second Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen on Saturday, JR Motorsports is basking under the limelight. Although the win did not come without some repercussions, the ball seems to be in Dale Earnhardt Jr‘s court in the Xfinity Series. However, Mayer’s victory and his feud with arch-rival Ty Gibbs were not the only highlights from the 86-lap long race.
A NASCAR pit reporter, who recently re-surged into the Xfinity Series, came face-to-face with a terrible act of injustice. It even cost him a precious spot in the playoffs, and he is not happy.
Former Truck Series driver turned NBC reporter blames NASCAR for making a wrong decision
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Back in 2011, Parker Kligerman drove the number 29 truck in the Camping World Truck Series for Brad Keselowski Racing. But due to unforeseen circumstances, he left racing and unleashed his prowess behind the microphone at NBC Sports. However, the itch to race made Kligerman return to the 2023 season of the Xfinity. The Connecticut native is fast and is worth a lot of prospects for Big Machine Racing.
But in Saturday’s race, he faced a dual challenge from Dale Earnhardt Jr’s driver for the #8 Chevy and NASCAR’s fatal flaw. An incident on lap 82 turned the race topsy-turvy for many drivers. Justin Allgaier spun and then Alex Bowman and Brandon Jones got tangled up too. Cole Custer, who had nudged Allgaier, avoided the commotion and got by.
Alex Bowman then made contact with Connor Mosack and went up the track. Meanwhile, Sammy Smith’s Toyota drove to the outside of Allgaier, and Parker Kligerman snatched the chance to get to the inside. But unfortunately, Josh Berry, driving for JR Motorsports, tagged Kligerman and hit the rear of his car. The yellow flag came out and NASCAR announced an overtime restart. And this is wherever things went southwards for Kligerman.
According to an NBC article, the restart had Josh Berry start 5th and Kligerman, 9th. Restarts are crucial at that stage of a race. Parker Kligerman lashed out at NASCAR for giving the upper hand to Dale Earnhardt Jr’s driver. He said, “Why we restarted ninth, I have no idea.”
“We?ve got to talk to NASCAR and somebody has got to explain this to me because I?m pretty sure the car that hit me in the wreck was (Berry), who then starts fifth.?If we start fifth, we win this race. That?s really disappointing,” he exclaimed.
NASCAR responded to this by saying that their goal has always been to hustle and give the fans as many green flag laps as possible. However, they also acknowledged their mistake and said, “In this instance, we should have taken the extra step and, potentially, the extra lap to ensure the correct lineup.”
The Big Machine Racing driver got a p3 in Shriners Children’s 200 and is three points behind the playoffs cutline. The restart line-up issue prevented Kligerman from securing his playoff spot. However, this speedster is not giving up without a fight. Earlier in a race at Indy, Kligerman revealed his sole strategy to make it into the playoffs.
Parker Kligerman spills his plan of action for the Xfinity Series
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Back at the Pennzoil 150 in Indianapolis, Parker Kligerman started 12th and scurried along to fourth place. Staying entirely on rain tires, he earned a bag full of stage points. Despite making a top-10 finish, Kligerman had revealed that he was not going for the win.
While talking to Frontstretch, Kligerman leaked his strategy for the races to come. “We gotta get stage points. It’s been our strategy,” he said.
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After finishing 7th at Indy, Parker Kligerman had also talked about last week’s race at the Glen. He said he would try to earn valuable stage points.
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Kligerman told the reporter, “At this point, we’ll just go do what we do. Be in the top 5, top 10, have top 3 speed, and hopefully put ourselves in position to go in at the end.”
Watch this story: Condescending Kyle Busch Once Brutally Trolled Arch-Enemy Brad Keselowski as Brother Kurt got Caught in Crossfire