“You’ll never make it”: Parker Kligerman reveals AJ Allmendinger’s disbelief in the former’s NASCAR aspiration

Parker Kligerman went down memory lane and recalled when AJ Allmendinger downplayed the notion of the former becoming a professional NASCAR driver. Kligerman, ahead of the playoffs race at Talladega, revealed Allmendinger's disbelief.

Kligerman runs a full-time schedule for Big Machine Racing while Allmendinger fields #16 Chevy for Kaulig Racing. In 2002, when the former was 12 years old, he and one of his friends started sim racing. Their rival was Allmendinger, who, at that time, was racing professionally in the Barber Dodge Pro Series.

However, when Parker Kligerman mentioned his aspiration to be a professional race car driver to Allmendinger, the latter didn't believe it and claimed that the former wouldn't make it. The same year, AJ secured the Dodge Pro title.

Ten years down the line, both drivers became teammates at Penske Racing's Xfinity Series team in 2012, and are now rivals, running full-time for their respective teams. Before his second playoff race, Parker Kligerman reminisced on his conversation with Allmendinger, where the latter asked the former to "give up."

He said (via NASCAR_Xfinity on X):

"So, AJ and I met on the internet many years ago, when I was 12 years old or so, and we were sim racing, and we didn't believe it was him. This friend of mine and I started racing this guy, said his name was AJ Allmendinger. Eventually, we got a voice chat and it was actually him. I told him, 'I'm going to be a professional racecar driver, too. He said, 'Give up kid, you'll never make it'," Kligerman said.

"And then we found ourselves as teammates at Penske and raced each other in the Xfinity Series. So, I like to say, "Made it baby," the Big Machine Racing driver added.

Kligerman and Allmendinger are below the playoff cutline, with a 15 and 13-point deficit, respectively.

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Parker Kligerman will not return to Xfinity Series on a full-time schedule

On September 12, Parker Kligerman announced he would not run a full-time schedule after the 2024 season. Kligerman entered the NXS in 2009 and marked his debut run at Kansas Speedway for Penske Racing. He got his first full-time break in 2013 with Kyle Busch Motorsports and finished 9th in his rookie Xfinity year.

However, the #48 Chevy driver had to wait a decade before securing another full-time seat in the National Series, with Big Machine Racing in 2023. In between, he ran a handful of races for Obaika Racing, Precision Performance Motorsports, and Emerling-Gase Motorsports.

After posting a runner-up finish at the recent Atlanta race, Parker Kligerman broke the news of his upcoming retirement from full-time racing. He said (via Jayski):

“It’s not a small decision and definitely didn’t happen overnight. It was a lot of months of deliberating and thinking about it and going down one path and then another and going back and forth," Kligerman said.

“I find myself saying, I feel like I’ve done this. Not been nearly as successful as I’ve wanted to be. … I think that started sitting in my mind a little bit. My focus has been trying to win races and fight for this championship with Big Machine Racing,” he added.

The Connecticut native hasn't confirmed if and for which team he will drive in 2025.