Kansas
Parker Kligerman is a NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs driver.
Kligerman finished fourth in the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway, snagging the final berth in the 12-driver postseason grid by 25 points over Riley Herbst. Herbst suffered a double dose of flat right-front tires and finished 23rd, two laps down.
Kligerman entered the day trailing Herbst by one point, collected a total of nine stage points and capitalized on a fast No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet. But all that effort nearly went for naught: Second-place finisher Brandon Jones was in a must-win situation to qualify for the playoffs, and a victory from Jones would have eliminated Kligerman from contention.
Instead, John Hunter Nemechek held on for the win, allowing one final position in the playoffs for either Kligerman or Herbst.
“I was the biggest John Hunter Nemechek fan on the planet,” Kligerman laughed. “As I saw the No. 9 (Jones) fire off, I was like, ‘Oh no! We’ve done all we should do on points. We’re so close. I don’t think I could beat the 20, but the 9 looks like he might.’ And then obviously the 20 was just so dominant.”
The last two drivers Kligerman raced Saturday were Austin Hill – the Regular Season Champion – and Sheldon Creed, teammates at Richard Childress Racing, which shares an alliance with Big Machine Racing. As Kligerman battled Hill inside the top five, Creed came storming around the top side to take third away from both of them.
“The 2 (Creed) kind of crept up on us and took third,” Kligerman said. “I really wanted third place, but … that last run, I had to just be smart, really, really smart. And so I drove the smartest race I thought I could drive that put us in a position to not have anything stupid happen, keep us the highest position if we get a late-race restart and go on in the playoffs.”
Kligerman’s triumph rewards a return to full-time competition for the first time since 2013 after years of piecemealing seasons together across NASCAR’s three national series. He and the Big Machine Racing outfit have been competitive all season, but particularly through the second half of the regular season.
Kligerman netted 10 top-10 finishes in the final 13 races of the 26-race regular season, capped with three top fives in his last four starts.
“I think it more validates like the last 12 (weeks),” Kligerman said, “where I’ve been telling everyone that we’ve been really good, we’re executing at a high level. And we just didn’t exactly have everything to show for it. But I could see it. I could see it happening. I could feel it. I could see it as we crept up on the bubble.
“And I just knew if we just did what we did today – that’s what we’ve been doing. You know, we just, we probably had a little faster car today. And this was a new car, so you hope to see that sort of thing. So yeah, I think today was a day where we executed at the highest level we ever have, for sure, from pit crew, everyone. My pit crew was on it today, thanks to them. And we had a fast car with it.”
The postseason officially begins Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Kligerman enters the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs as the No. 12 seed – last on the grid. But he’s in – and only six points shy of Sheldon Creed for the provisional elimination spot.
Overview
Event: Kansas Lottery 300
Date: Saturday September 9, 2023
Time: 3:00 p.m. eastern
Location: Kansas Speedway Kansas City, Kansas
Layout: 1.5 mile asphalt Tri-oval
Banking: Turns: 17-20° Tri-Oval: 9-11° Backstretch: 5°
Laps: 200
Miles: 300
Stage Lengths: Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 200.
TV: NBC
Radio: Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN. To find the station near you, click here.
Driver Points: 656, ranked #11
Notes of Interest:
“Although last week was unfortunate we are not going to let it take the wind out of our sails,” says Parker. “We’ve got the speed, and the ability to go out and challenge for the win at Kansas which would be the best way to ensure ourselves in the playoffs. With that, I love this race track, it has always been really good to me and I love going there. Mostly because of how you make speed right on the wall and all the different grooves available. Let’s go get this Spiked Light Coolers Chevy into the playoffs!”
Following the Yellow Brick Road all the way to Kansas Speedway
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will be wrapping up the regular season this weekend at Kansas Speedway with the Kansas Lottery 300 on Saturday, September 9 on NBC, the NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Kansas Speedway, located just outside of Kansas City, Kansas, is a 1.5-mile track with variable banking in the turns (17 to 20 degrees). It has hosted 23 NASCAR Xfinity Series races, producing 18 different race winners and 16 different pole winners. Only two races have been won from the pole or first starting position, most recently by Kyle Busch in 2016. Not only is Busch the last driver to win from the pole, he also holds the record for most wins (four), top fives (eight), laps led (544), and is tied with Justin Allgaier for most top 10s at 10.
Two previous winners are entered in this weekend’s Kansas Lottery 300 – John Hunter Nemechek (2018) and Brandon Jones (2019, 2020). The track is as equally special to both drivers as Kansas Speedway is home to their first Xfinity Series wins.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will have an action-packed Saturday, kicking off with practice at 10:05 a.m. ET followed by qualifying at 10:35 a.m. ET on the USA Network, the NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Playoff Clinch Scenarios: Kansas Speedway
Time is up for drivers still vying for their spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. A total of 10 drivers have clinched their way into the post season already, leaving just two spots up for grabs this weekend. Here’s a look at the clinch scenarios as we had into the Kansas Lottery 300:
Already Clinched
The following 10 drivers have clinched a spot in the 12-driver postseason field: Austin Hill, John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer, Sam Mayer, Josh Berry, Sheldon Creed, Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith, Jeb Burton.
Can Clinch Via Points
If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the Playoffs, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the 5th winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among Josh Berry, Sheldon Creed or Daniel Hemric.
Daniel Hemric: Would clinch regardless of finish
Riley Herbst: Would clinch with 54 points
Parker Kligerman: Would clinch with 55 points
The following drivers could clinch on points with a win by Riley Herbst:
Daniel Hemric: Would clinch with 1 point
Parker Kligerman: Could only clinch with help
If there is a new winner from Parker Kligerman or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the playoffs, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the 4th winless driver in the standings.
Daniel Hemric: Would clinch with 1 point
Riley Herbst: Could only clinch with help
Parker Kligerman: Could only clinch with help
Can Clinch Via Win
The following drivers would clinch on their win alone: Daniel Hemric, Riley Herbst, Parker Kligerman, Brandon Jones, Brett Moffitt, Parker Retzlaff, Kaz Grala, Ryan Sieg, Jeremy Clements, Anthony Alfredo, Josh Williams, Joe Graf Jr.
Can Clinch Regular Season Championship
Additionally, the Regular Season Championship could be clinched by the following drivers:
Austin Hill: Would clinch with 38 points
John Hunter Nemechek: Could only clinch with help
Justin Allgaier: Could only clinch with help
One race. Two spots. Who’s in?
There are only two spots left up for grabs in the Xfinity Series Playoffs this weekend at Kansas, but 12 drivers will be trying to race their way in on Saturday.
2021 Xfinity Series champion Daniel Hemric has set himself up nicely to make his way into the post season, currently 55 points above the cutline, as he looks to secure his spot in the postseason for the sixth-time in his career (2017, ’18, ’21, ‘22). Hemric has made six starts at the Kansas track, posting two top fives, three top 10s, one pole and has led 143 laps. The 32-year-old has come extremely close to finding Victory Lane at Kansas Speedway, finishing runner-up in 2018 and 2020.
Riley Herbst, who currently holds the final Playoff spot on points, will also be looking to lock himself in this weekend with a win. Herbst holds a slight edge (one point) over Parker Kligerman in 17th the first spot outside the Playoffs cutline. In Herbst’s’ four starts at Kansas Speedway, he’s posted one top-10 finish (2020).
Sitting in 14th in the Playoff outlook standings, -79 points below the cutline, Brandon Jones could very well clinch his way into the 2023 Playoffs with a win this weekend at Kansas, which would mark his seventh Playoff appearance (2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022). He’s done well at the 1.5-mile Kansas track, posting two wins (2019, 2020), three top fives and five top 10s.
The remaining eight drivers below the postseason cutline will have to win their way into the Playoffs this weekend.
Double duty drivers at Kansas Speedway – Two drivers who have already secured their spots in the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs will be sticking around Kansas Speedway on Sunday to run in the Hollywood Casino 400 – Cole Custer and Sheldon Creed.
Custer will be getting behind the wheel of the No. 51 for his fifth Cup Series start of the season. The 25-year-old driver has made six Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway in his career, posting a best-finish of seventh in 2020.
Creed will be piloting the No. 78 Chevrolet for his career debut in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“I’m excited to race a Cup race for the first time as that’s been the dream for a long time,” said Creed.
Sunoco Rookie of the Year update – The NASCAR Xfinity Series 2023 rookie class will be wrapping up its first full regular season this weekend at Kansas Speedway and two contenders will be heading to the Playoffs in their debut season – Chandler Smith and Sammy Smith. Chandler Smith continues to lead the pack as he has all season long with one win (Richmond), five top fives, nine top 10s and 706 points. Sammy Smith still sits close behind with one win (Phoenix), four top fives, 10 top 10s and 629 points.
Parker Retzlaff has posted one top five and six top 10s this season, accumulating 483 points.
Closing out the competition is Blaine Perkins with 199 points.
Truck Series regular Rajah Caruth will once again be getting behind the wheel of No. 45 Chevrolet for his seventh Xfinity Series start of the 2023 season. This will be his second start in the series at Kansas Speedway. In his debut last season, he posted a 25th-place finish. In his six previous Xfinity Series starts this season, he posted a best-finish of 16th at Darlington Raceway.