Talladega

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Report

Saturday, October 1, 2022

Race 28 of 33 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series

Location: Talladega Superspeedway

Format: 113 Laps - 300.58 Miles

Parker Kligerman’s Finish: 6th

Welcome, N.C. - Parker Kligerman made his Big Machine Racing debut in Talladega, this last weekend. With no practice, Parker’s qualifying run was his first time in the Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Chevrolet. With a lap time of 52.966s, Kligerman sat comfortably in the top-10, advancing him to the second round of qualifying. In the second round, Parker ran a time of 52.97s - this would secure a 9th place starting position.

It was a busy day for Kligerman - running the Camping World Truck Series earlier in the day, where he finished 9th, Parker would have to hop right out of the truck and make his way to the Xfinity Series starting grid. Just a little after 4pm ET, we were Green Flag racing at the Talladega Superspeedway. By the end of Stage 1, Parker could be heard on the radio saying the car was a little loose on entry and experiencing a vibration in the final laps. A quick stop at the stage break would allow the Big Machine Racing crew to put on four new Goodyear tires, fuel and a quick adjustment before Parker’s return to the track.

Stage 2 began with Kligerman in the 10th position and played host to a long green-flag run. On the final lap of Stage 2, Parker made a push to the outside line moving up to 9th, this line would lose momentum and he would drop to 18th for the end of Stage 2.

With just 58 laps remaining in the race, our third and final stage, was underway. After a quick pit stop at the stage break, Parker would restart from 15th. At lap 69 of 113, a large group of the leading cars made their way to pit road for green flag stops - Parker included. The No. 48 Spiked Coolers Chevrolet took fuel and added some tape to the front. After the green flag stop, we would rejoin the field in the 17th position. It wouldn’t be long before the leading pack would make their way to pit road, moving Parker up to 6th place.

The last 16 laps of the race, we saw mostly single-file racing, making it hard for anybody to pass. Parker told the team that he was “running wide open” and was having trouble closing the gap with the car in front of him to push. Parker Kligerman would end the day in 6th place, in his debut with Big Machine Racing.

Results:
Start: 9th
Stage 1: 13th
Stage 2: 18th
Final: 6th