Parker Kligerman has made a big announcement about his racing future. He will no longer compete as a full-time driver after the season finale at Phoenix Raceway in November.
Kligerman, who drives the No. 48 Chevrolet for Big Machine Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, revealed the career plan change on the Sept. 12 episode of the podcast he does with Landon Cassill, "The Money Lap."
Kligerman said that his biggest hope at the moment is to win a championship with Big Machine Racing, but after that, he will significantly scale back his schedule.
"I will not be returning to Big Machine Racing," Kligerman said during the episode. "And not only that, this year will be my last as a full-time race car driver in a NASCAR series and just in general being a race car driver.
"I'm no longer pursuing full-time rides."
— Parker Kligerman (@pkligerman) September 12, 2024
Kligerman made his national series debut back in 2009, the same year that he won nine races in the ARCA Menards Series.
The Connecticut native made two Xfinity starts and has since gone on to compete in 30 Cup Series races, 117 Truck Series races, and 113 Xfinity races. This stretch includes three Truck Series wins -- two at Talladega and one at Mid-Ohio.
And while Kligerman has made the most starts in the Truck Series, his three full-time seasons have all been in Xfinity. He drove full-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2013 and then he joined Big Machine Racing for 2023-24.
The driver/NBC Sports pit reporter continues to seek his first win in Xfinity, but he has put himself in a position to pursue the championship.
As Kligerman explained this decision to walk away from full-time racing came in a manner that he described as "cliche." He realized that he was done pursuing a full-time career during a trip out West for the Portland and Sonoma races.
"I went for a run. I ended up at the top of this, like, mountain overlooking the water there in San Francisco, basically," Kligerman explained. "And I just had this moment where I was like, 'I think I'm good. Like, I think I want to finish this year out, and then I want to kind of see what's next.'"
This moment led to months of internal debates, as well as conversations with team owner Scott Borchetta. Throughout this process, Kligerman said that he couldn't put aside the feeling that he was ready for the next chapter in his career.
What that next chapter looks like remains unclear. There will potentially be more opportunities on the TV side of the business. He will still try to make some part-time starts in NASCAR and he will continue recording his podcast, "The Money Lap."
For now, however, he will remain focused on pursuing wins, a secure playoff berth, and a spot in the Championship 4.