Parker Kligerman Cup debut at Texas

3wideinturn1

3wideinturn1

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Per Jayski

Parker Kligerman will make his debut in the Cup series at Texas, driving the 30 car for Swan Racing.

I'm happy for the guy as I think he got a raw deal at BKR last year. Penske and Brad tossed him aside for Ryan Blaney without giving him a real chance IMO. I think this guy could actually surprise some people and do quite well if he's given a real chance. Obviously he's not going to win driving for Swan but I'm glad to see him get an opportunity nonetheless.
 
FLRacingFan said:
I like what Swan is doing.
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Agreed, I like how Brandon Davis has come in and said no more start and park. He's got that team running full races and trying to be more competitive. I think they should get themselves a young driver like Parker and then align themselves with one of the big dogs and see where they can go from there.

Either way, NASCAR is better off with guys like Brandon Davis, at least he's trying. He might lose all his money but the sport needs guys like that to come in and invest in some of these smaller teams, makes the field more competitive IMO and that's a good thing.
 
Captain Coyfish said:
If Klingerman were to go full time next year, it would be way too soon. I dont see that happening though.

Anyways good for Klingerman. If only he had a better ride...
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I agree, I am all for seeing the bright young stars succeed but he isn't exactly driving for a top tier or even a middle of the road team. Swan Racing usually runs around 30-35th place. I guess you could just call this a little practice session in a racing situation in the big car for him.
 
wilson89 said:
I agree, I am all for seeing the bright young stars succeed but he isn't exactly driving for a top tier or even a middle of the road team. Swan Racing usually runs around 30-35th place. I guess you could just call this a little practice session in a racing situation in the big car for him.
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That's all it is. If he finishes better than their average at the track, maybe he gets noticed by someone with a better ride to offer.
 
BobbyFord said:
Not with the lack of résumé he isn't ;)
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Jeff Gordon raced in the Busch he series for 2 years & earned 3 wins with a rookie of the year award. Look what he did in cup with a short ass résumé.

You never know unless you give these kids a chance. Everyone gets their chance at a big break sometime or another.
 
I see your point, but the real popular way is to win the championship in N'wide, and you are almost guaranteed a good ride in cup. Klingerman has been knocked around a bit, this year he has been running Kyles stuff and doing pretty good with it, haven't checked but I bet he is doing almost as well or better that Kyle did driving it. He gives that Swan car a good ride and at the least he will have a good payday.
 
Gone are the days when you had to be a Nationwide champion to even get a shot at the big show.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Jeff Gordon raced in the Busch he series for 2 years & earned 3 wins with a rookie of the year award. Look what he did in cup with a short ass résumé.

You never know unless you give these kids a chance. Everyone gets their chance at a big break sometime or another.
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I guess we'll see after Texas. My prediction is that it'll be obvious that he isn't ready for Cup.
 
StandOnIt said:
I see your point, but the real popular way is to win the championship in N'wide, and you are almost guaranteed a good ride in cup. Klingerman has been knocked around a bit, this year he has been running Kyles stuff and doing pretty good with it, haven't checked but I bet he is doing almost as well or better that Kyle did driving it. He gives that Swan car a good ride and at the least he will have a good payday.
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Totally agree, if you look at who he's running against and the teams he's competing with, I'd say he's overachieving. Lets face it, KBM still has a long way to go before they are an elite NNS team. Only a driver of Busch's caliber could take that car and actually compete against teams like JGR, Penske, Roush, Turner-Scott, JRM. I'd say Parker has done enough to warrant a showcasing in Cup. He's not going to run top 5, or 10 but if he can get a top 20 or 25 I think he'd open alot of eyes.
 
ted@economy said:
Gone are the days when you had to be a Nationwide champion to even get a shot at the big show.
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KevinWI said:
Was it ever that day, Ted?
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If that were a prerequisite we would have never seen the likes of Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, and on and on and on. The cream rises to the top regardless of who's running in Nationwide. That's true even with today's Cup participants in the Nationwide Series. Talent is noticed by the Cup teams that are in need of a new driver. And that's all that really matters anyway.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
If that were a prerequisite we would have never seen the likes of Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, and on and on and on. The cream rises to the top regardless of who's running in Nationwide. That's true even with today's Cup participants in the Nationwide Series. Talent is noticed by the Cup teams that are in need of a new driver. And that's all that really matters anyway.
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I think it's pretty telling that Bobby Labonte and Brad Keselowski are the only guys to be Nationwide champs and Cup champs.
 
Guys like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, etc., were champions in other motorsports.
Parker Kligerman, not so much. ARCA experience only.
 
BobbyFord said:
Guys like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, etc., were champions in other motorsports.
Parker Kligerman, not so much. ARCA experience only.
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Which kinda brings up that perhaps the Nationwide Series isn't the only avenue to the Cup ranks. Everyone seems so concerned about talent being overshadowed by the Cup drivers in Nationwide that they fail to understand that the talent in the seat can come from just about anywhere.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
If that were a prerequisite we would have never seen the likes of Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, and on and on and on. The cream rises to the top regardless of who's running in Nationwide. That's true even with today's Cup participants in the Nationwide Series. Talent is noticed by the Cup teams that are in need of a new driver. And that's all that really matters anyway.
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7 of the chasers were N'wide champions, so like I said, it is the most popular way to get a shot at the big time. Most of the field in cup has ran the N'wide first. So despite all the cup drivers beating up on the "regulars", most of the cup drivers racing today, came up thru the Nationwide series.

BobbyFord said:
Guys like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, etc., were champions in other motorsports.
Parker Kligerman, not so much. ARCA experience only.
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True, those drivers came from and raced in series that paid more then Grand National did back in the day. Very few come from other series outside Nascar now and do well, most disappear pretty quickly. IMO Nascar has the toughest, tightest competition of

any motor sports series. Klingerman has raced almost 120 Nascar races in the various series, not saying for a minute I can see the future and Parker will be a champion or even do well, but he has been able to do well enough with his talent in the lower

series, that sooner or later if you hang in there, you get a cup race or two. It is not a great shot with the swan car, but he will get a race in cup on his resume and a decent payday if he can have a decent top 20 finish.
 
StandOnIt said:
7 of the chasers were N'wide champions
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What kind of math are you using? Only 5 of the Chase guys have Nationwide championships. Of those five, only two were Nationwide champions before getting a Cup ride (Dale Jr, Greg Biffle).
 
StandOnIt said:
7 of the chasers were N'wide champions, so like I said, it is the most popular way to get a shot at the big time. Most of the field in cup has ran the N'wide first. So despite all the cup drivers beating up on the "regulars", most of the cup drivers racing today, came up thru the Nationwide series.



True, those drivers came from and raced in series that paid more then Grand National did back in the day. Very few come from other series outside Nascar now and do well, most disappear pretty quickly. IMO Nascar has the toughest, tightest competition of

any motor sports series. Klingerman has raced almost 120 Nascar races in the various series, not saying for a minute I can see the future and Parker will be a champion or even do well, but he has been able to do well enough with his talent in the lower

series, that sooner or later if you hang in there, you get a cup race or two. It is not a great shot with the swan car, but he will get a race in cup on his resume and a decent payday if he can have a decent top 20 finish.
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That doesn't really have anything to do with my statement. I was responding to someone else about having to be a Nationwide Champion to make it in NASCAR. It's simply not the case.
 
I disagree with what many are saying Jimmy Johnson wasn't any good in N'wide, he only ran full time one season, 2001, won one race that year, but had 4 DNF's and still finished in the top 10. He was good in the series, he wasn't great. Klingerman hasn't ran even one full year in N'wide, but he is in the top 10 with 3 DNF's, so comparing the two, Johnson and Klingerman stats at that point, it is entirely possible that Klingerman could be the next Jimmy Johnson.
 
Thought I'd bump this thread as Parker finished 18th at Texas in his Cup debut. To say that's a huge accomplishment would be an understatement. Nothing short of miraculous IMO, this guy could be a real gem if he's given a proper chance.
 
3wideinturn1 said:
Thought I'd bump this thread as Parker finished 18th at Texas in his Cup debut. To say that's a huge accomplishment would be an understatement. Nothing short of miraculous IMO, this guy could be a real gem if he's given a proper chance.
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I heard this morning that he's probably going to be back in the car @ Homestead.
 
3wideinturn1 said:
Thought I'd bump this thread as Parker finished 18th at Texas in his Cup debut. To say that's a huge accomplishment would be an understatement. Nothing short of miraculous IMO, this guy could be a real gem if he's given a proper chance.
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It was an outstanding performance. With KBM deciding to shut down the Nationwide program so late in the season he needed an audition like that.
 
Hopefully this gets him a good nationwide ride because there isn't really a good cup ride left and as much as his performance in the swan car was great, you can't expect that out of a small team every week due to reliability.
 
The chassis Kligerman raced Sunday? First ran in 2008.

http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.co...presses-with-p18-in-nascar-cup-debut/related/

An uneventful but consistent drive for Kligerman, who qualified 23rd, saw him in and around the top 20 all race. Kligerman finished ahead of presumptive 2014 Cup rookies Austin Dillon (22nd in a fourth Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet) and Kyle Larson (23rd in the Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet). Larson’s finish was his first in three Cup starts.

The machinery is a five-year-old ex-Ganassi chassis paired with a Triad-built engine, which is not a factory effort.
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I think he is a driver, he has improved every year, only has three full years racing, two with trucks and one N'wide, finishes almost every race on the lead lap, and hardly ever wrecks. Cole Witt has been doing well with what he is driving in N'wide, but in Cup he hasn't been doing that well. Only one race for Kligerman in cup, so it is too soon to tell, hope he does well at Homestead if he gets a ride. Kligerman got some ink for his effort too.
 
Eddie D'Hondt (Jeff Gordon's spotter) kept calling him "Klingerman" during the race.

He also pronounces Kvapil as Kroppel.
 
He did great. Not ready yet but I would love to see him get a ride in 2015, hopefully with a better team. I just hope he can secure a 2014 NW ride :(
 
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