NASCAR’s Parker Kligerman calls out “the ultimate test of mental fortitude” on Red Bull F1’s driver question

Parker Kligerman called out the negative reaction Liam Lawson received on his full-time debut in Formula 1. He replied to the ESPN tweet where the broadcaster had questioned Lawson’s Formula 1 future.

Lawson gained recognition in Formula 2 as a talented driver, finishing third in the championship in 2022, which led to his being signed by Red Bull Racing for the 2025 season. In his first race as a full-time driver at the Australian Grand Prix, the Kiwi faced significant challenges. After experiencing issues during practice, Lawson struggled to advance past Q1 and earned the 18th spot on the grid. During the race, the decision to stay on slick tires during a rain-laden race led to him crashing out on lap 47.

ESPN put out a post on X, questioning whether Red Bull might consider replacing Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda.

"How soon could Red Bull switch Liam Lawson for Yuki Tsunoda?"

Kligerman replied to the post and defended Lawson against the criticism.

"The guy has done 1 race for the team. 1 race. Being a Redbull driver not named Max, must be the ultimate test of mental fortitude in professional sports," he wrote.

Parker Kligerman’s racing career began at a young age and he came into prominence in 2009 when was named the ARCA Re/Max Series Rookie of the Year after finishing second in the championship. He made his Xfinity Series debut in the same year and then moved to Camping World Truck Series. He achieved his first NASCAR victory at Talladega Superspeedwag in 2012.

This year, he is competing part-time in the Cup Series for Henderson Motorsports, while maintaining a strong presence as a television analyst and pit reporter.

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Parker Kligerman on the ‘tough thing’ about his Daytona ordeal

Parker Kligerman spoke out regarding the controversial disqualification of his No. 75 truck after winning the NASCAR Truck Series race at Daytona. Despite celebrating in Victory Lane, his truck failed post-race inspection due to rear height falling below regulation, leading to the victory being stripped away. Henderson Motorsports, Kligerman's team, filed an appeal, but it was ultimately unsuccessful. On his Money Lap podcast:

"We went to Victory Lane, went to the Media Canter, Chris (Carrier, #75 team's crew chief) was asked to come to the Media Center, my crew chief, he is the only full-time employee at Henderson Motorsports, and during this time the truck went through tech, and this is where it gets interesting,” Kligerman stated.

“I was like ‘the crew chief wasn’t there’, and that’s another thing you find out, you don’t need to have the crew chief there to go through tech – which is something I will be requesting that NASCAR investigate that because it’s kind of crazy, especially on the smaller teams, to not have a person of authority there when the car/truck is going through tech,” he added.

Parker Kligerman expressed his disappointment with the outcome and revealed that he intends to request NASCAR to investigate the inspection process further.