“Hardest thing I’ve ever done”: Parker Kligerman on converting his “super loose” start to a season-best finish at Atlanta

Two weeks after receiving a penalty at Michigan, Parker Kligerman finished second place in the Focused Health 250 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway as the Xfinity playoffs loom. While a victory would have guaranteed his playoff berth, his P2 finish still awarded him 74 valuable points in the penultimate race of the regular season, boosting him to ninth place in the standings with 674 points, now 192 points shy of the leader, Justin Allgaier.

Parker Kligerman started the race from the middle of the field, qualifying sixteenth with a speed of 171.386 mph, clocking a lap time of 32.348 seconds. He helmed through the pack, finishing Stage 1 in seventeenth place, improving to thirteenth by the end of Stage 2. But then in a dramatic final lap, while Corey Heim attempted an ambitious pass on Austin Hill in Turn 1 but failed to secure the position, Kligerman capitalized, surging forward to challenge Hill for the win.

In a post-race discussion with Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass, Parker Kligerman shared his thoughts on his near-victory, reflecting on the race's critical moments and his performance:

"The way we started today, we were way off. We were way like super loose and just I mean, it was the hardest thing I've ever done for this team of two years. Like trying to balance that race car for the first two stages; I couldn't believe we didn't wreck and then we worked on it and got it in the game and put ourselves in the position. [...] Despite of course Chevy was in the game and 74 points are good. I mean, we can be really aggressive in these two races," he said.

Delving deeper into his strategy during the final lap, Parker Kligerman elaborated on his decision to take the high line, acknowledging the limitations of his position on the track. He conceded that he wasn't strong enough to hold the lower line or to effectively push the #21 car. He shared:

"It still materialized how he thought it would, which is... If I could be the second or third car on the back with a run the way our car was, if I could get it to rotate in 3-4, which I was cranking the brake bias back and using the brake a ton and I did that with AJ pushing me, it just didn't stick," Kligerman added.

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Previewing Parker Kligerman's Mission 200 at the Glen at Watkins Glen International

Having narrowly missed victory in Atlanta, where he avoided a late crash to secure second place, Parker Kligerman has made it above the playoff cutline. With just two races remaining in the regular season, including this upcoming one at a favored road course, it would be expected of him to either win or at least accumulate significant points.

Parker Kligerman has an impressive record at Watkins Glen, where he has consistently performed well. In his two previous starts at the track, he has achieved an average finish of 4.5. His first appearance was in 2013, driving the #77 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports, where he finished sixth. His most recent race on the track was last year, navigating the #48 Chevy for Big Machine Racing team to a third-place finish.

Given his proven abilities on this track, Parker Kligerman is anticipated to be a strong contender for the win in the upcoming race.