Veteran Insider Publicly Slams NASCAR’s Botched Call After Xfinity Star’s Roval Robbery

Five feet—that is the distance that Parker Kligerman needed to secure his first NASCAR win. After 118 Xfinity starts dating back to 2009, he strongly believed his time had finally come. But little did he expect the tower at the Charlotte Roval to act up just at his moment of glory. Things went wrong after Leland Honeyman rammed his No. 42 car into the tire barrier with two laps to go. Then NASCAR froze the field with a caution flag late, just when Kligerman was about to grab the white flag.

Subsequently, the No. 48 team garage, which was enraptured in celebrations, fell silent. The restart saw Sam Mayer swiftly overtaking Kligerman for the lead and eventually the victory. However, drivers and fans acknowledged Kligerman’s spectacular run, including an insider who ridiculed the delay.

NASCAR’s questionable call riles up insider

Executive decisions have been generally under fire in the sport recently. For instance, when Ryan Blaney and Josh Berry lost chances to continue racing at Watkins Glen and Kansas, respectively, NASCAR ruled them ineligible as they could not move their cars. However, the sanctioning body attracted criticism when it contradicted its own rule in Talladega when it towed Chase Elliott’s car to the pit road while 20+ wrecked Cup cars lay idle. Similarly, the Xfinity series also bore the brunt of such faulty decisions when Parker Kligerman was robbed of his glory.

If only Honeyman’s wreck had prompted NASCAR to push the caution button quicker, Kligerman could have clinched his first-ever win in his final season. NASCAR Journalist Bob Pockrass, for the first time, sat down with Freddie Kraft and his team, and he didn’t shy away from bashing the caution delay, which would have been wrong even in Kligerman’s absence.

Bob said on the October 15th episode of the ‘Door, Bumper, Clear’ interview: “Take Parker Kligerman out of it, it shouldn’t take 20 seconds to get a caution for somebody who’s buried in the tires. I mean, now granted, on TV you kind of saw him moving…But if a car gets buried.” To this, Freddie Kraft replied, “He wasn’t getting out of that.” And, Pockrass continued, “Yeah. And so, whatever the process is, it needed to improve.” 

Pockrass also acknowledged that NASCAR attempted to investigate the situation. “Actually, during or before the Cup race, you can hear them talking to spotters, their officials, and saying, okay. ‘Where can you see, tell me what you can see?’ …I think to make sure that they had the whole track covered.” 

But then again, Honeyman’s hopeless situation should have convinced the officials that it was time to wave the yellow flag. “Wherever Parker Kligerman is or the impact on the race shouldn’t take 20 seconds to throw a caution for a car buried that deep.” As insiders debated NASCAR’s critical decision, fans bashed the sanctioning body for its slip-up. That was because it meant a winning storyline gone awry for Kligerman.

It did hurt Kligerman to be on the other side

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In his quest for the Charlotte Roval win, Parker Kligerman overcame large hurdles. He beat the likes of some road course racing legends—AJ Allmendinger, a perfect 4 for 4 on the Roval in the Xfinity Series—and Shane van Gisbergen, who won three road course races this season. Kligerman found himself in the first car on fresh tires on the restart with 11 to go. He ran down and passed van Gisbergen just two laps later. Both Mayer and Allmendinger were hounding the No. 48 with four laps to go, but a slight bobble from Mayer paved the path to success for Kligerman.

This incredible battle for the win was all for naught. NASCAR called the caution just as Kligerman was 5 feet away from the white flag. “The laps leading up to that were some of the best that I’ve ever driven my entire career, and I just knew I had to be perfect, and I was,” Kligerman said.

The pit road reporter further added that he could finally relate to countless drivers who underwent similar heartbreaks. “I’ve done this interview you’re doing, and it’s always tough on that side. It’s really tough on this (driver’s) side. I might have teared up when I thought we got it there at the white flag. Caution comes out, had to refocus.”

Evidently, NASCAR would continue to receive shots for its Xfinity Roval decision for some time. Kligerman’s stellar progress was nullified, but the driver still has four more chances to prove his mettle. Let us hope for the best for this Xfinity star!