JR Motorsports’ three Xfinity drivers are now in the Round of 8 after Sam Mayer claimed the Cure 250 race win. While Mayer engaged in smoke show celebrations on Victory Lane, his rival Parker Kligerman watched a replay of the whisker-close incident that pushed him outside the playoffs. And despite his team’s glory, Dale Earnhardt Jr. found his heartstrings getting pulled by Kligerman’s painfully unfortunate situation.

This solidarity with his driver’s rival stands to reason. While Mayer is just kickstarting his career, he already has seven Xfinity victories under his belt for 2 years. On the other hand, Parker Kligerman has been winless since he first entered the series in 2009 and came close to breaking that trend last weekend. So Dale Jr. understands his pain.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. throws shots at NASCAR

1. The sanctioning body has been under fire recently for botched-up race calls. In the Cup Series, we saw Josh Berry wrecking on lap 1 of the Kansas race and NASCAR nullifying the rest of his run based on DVP.
2. Then immediately after, the officials contradicted their own rule in Talladega, where they towed out Chase Elliott’s wrecked car and allowed it to be repaired. These instances of egregious inconsistency affected Xfinity too.
3. NASCAR took a 15-20 second delay to wave the yellow flag after Leland Honeyman wrecked, only to call it right before Kligerman took the flag.

Being on the cusp of his departure from the series, Kligerman drew support from fans. Even Dale Earnhardt Jr. joined this bandwagon, ridiculing NASCAR for its slip-up. The 26-time Cup Series winner clearly stated his idealistic priorities on an episode of the Dale Jr. Download, saying, “This just sucks, I’m being ripped in two. Because I’m thrilled that Sam won the race – this was a perfect outcome for me. What’s even more important to me than any of that is the integrity of the sport. It is hard to see that happen to Parker or any other driver. You’re a foot from the white flag…if the caution comes out after you cross it, would determine the race is over.”

Kligerman overcame mountains of hurdles to get to that winning position, like storming from 6th to 2nd and passing road course ace Shane van Gisbergen. After outdueling masters like SVG, Justin Allgaier, and even Sam Mayer, Kligerman could have won but could not due to NASCAR’s faulty call.

So Dale Earnhardt Jr. supported him, as he noted, “You have spent your entire day busting your ass to put yourself in this position. And this silly chain of events is going to take it away.” He demanded NASCAR wake up from this sloppy slumber of mistakes. “I think, some very tough things happen in race control. I’m hoping that this off-season, NASCAR, let’s all get together and try to avoid that thing happening again.”

As it turned out, even the race victor and other rivals lined up to congratulate Kligerman’s run.

Recognition amidst heartbreak

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If only NASCAR had waited 0.05 seconds more, then Parker Kligerman would have proudly flaunted his Charlotte Roval trophy now. The sanctioning body’s VP of competition, Elton Sawyer, admitted to the delayed caution call, saying, “It did take too long.” 

But now the damage is done. The heroic battles Parker Kligerman waged at the race became futile—no amount of apology from NASCAR would heal his wounds. However, something did uplift his mood following the race. His rivals and even Sam Mayer, who clinched the win, acknowledged Kligerman’s superior performance.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s mentee celebrated on Victory Lane but at the same time shared words of sympathy. “I have so much respect for Parker because he is one of the coolest guys in the garage,” Mayer said. “He’s a really good race-car driver, and he’s driving for a team that the owner, Scott Borchetta, I respect highly. So me in that spot, I’m like, ‘God dang it, really? Am I really gonna be behind the 48 on this last restart?’”

Then van Gisbergen, Aric Almirola, and AJ Allmendinger came to offer their support. Even Austin Hill came to shake Kligerman’s hand. The latter admitted these drivers uplifted his drooping spirits. “That’s pretty cool. Especially guys like Aric and AJ have won Cup races, and Austin Hill won a million races, and SVG, who’s best in the world. You know, that means a lot to have your peers’ respect.”

Although he lost his victory, Parker Kligerman earned recognition from his fellow peers. With Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s blessing, he may even clinch a victory before his season comes to an end.