(photo courtesy autostock)
This afternoon the weather, at the start of the Camping World Series Truck race at Talladega, was nearly perfect for the race. However, as the race approached the halfway point, I could feel the temperature beginning to drop, and the coolness sent a shiver up and down my body. From my seat, high up in the OV Hill South Tower, I could feel that there was about to be some magic performed on the race track!
Driving a truck for Tom Deloach’s Red Horse Racing in a truck nicknamed “magic”, Parker Kligerman pulled a little magic of his own! Saturday afternoon, in the Fred’s 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, Kligerman finally shed the old “bridesmaid” tag that he had acquired, as of late.
Johnny Sauter pushed Kligerman to the lead on the white-flag lap, and Kligerman held the top spot when a massive wreck on the backstretch forced NASCAR to throw the yellow before Kligerman reached the finish line.
The victory was Kligerman’s first after five second-place finishes during the past two seasons. It was a vindication of sorts for a driver who was jettisoned from his ride with Brad Keselowski Racing and found a new home with Red Horse Racing.
“When you get so close to something so many times, you can pick two paths,” Kligerman said of his second-place runs. “You can doubt yourself, you can doubt the situation you’re in, you can doubt everything around you. Or you can keep your self-confidence and look at the positive of what you did to get yourself in that position each and every time and say, ‘Hey, if I can do that, it’s just a matter of time.’
“I feel like switching teams — all the things that have happened — this team gave me a ton of confidence. Halfway through the season, it looked like my career was not on the upward slope I’d hoped it would be on. We were fifth in points, we weren’t really achieving a lot, we were getting slower as a team, and I felt like my career was looking at a position where I was not going to be a part of NASCAR much longer.
“There is a vindication ’cause we won. Winning fixes everything, I like to say.”
The truck Kligerman drove now has been to Victory Lane in three superspeedway races.
Check out the unofficial results from the Fred’s 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.
I can’t wait to return to the track EARLY Sunday morning. The anticipation of the 43 Sprint Cars roaring around the 2.66 mile Talladega Superspeedway may make sleeping tonight somewhat difficult for me!
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
