News

Parker Kligerman
No. 22 Penske Truck Rental Dodge Charger
Kansas Speedway – Kansas Lottery 300           
October 3, 2009

Penske Truck Rental Team News and Notes of Interest
• Parker Kligerman, driver of the Penske Racing No. 22 Penske Truck Rental Dodge Charger will make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut this weekend in the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway. The 19-year-old Kligerman races full-time in the ARCA RE/MAX Series and is a development driver for Penske Racing, in association with Cunningham Motorsports.
• In ARCA RE/MAX Series competition this season, Kligerman has a total of seven wins and 12 top-five finishes in 19 starts. Kligerman is currently ranked second in a close battle for the series championship, trailing leader Justin Lofton by just 25 points with two races remaining in the season.
• On Thursday, October 1, Kligerman will compete in the ARCA Series race at Kansas Speedway, making for a busy weekend of action for the promising young racer.
• Kligerman, a Westport, Conn. native, recently began his freshman year of college at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and is planning a course of study in Marketing.
• As he enters his first NASCAR race, Kligerman has proven he is able to succeed in the face of the unknown. Two of his ARCA Series victories this season came at dirt tracks venues, a surface on which he had never raced. Competing against some experienced racers like Kenny Schrader, Kligerman adapted quickly to the clay surface and led the field to the checkered flag in events at Springfield and DuQuoin.

Parker Kligerman on his NASCAR Racing Debut
”I’m certainly excited for my first NASCAR race this weekend at Kansas Speedway. If anyone would’ve told me a year ago that I would be making my first Nationwide Series start so soon, I would not have believed them. Everything has happened so fast in my racing career and I am focused on having fun and learning all I can for this weekend and for the future.

“I plan to keep an open mind this weekend and learn as much as possible. My crew chief for this weekend, Chris Carrier, has been a great resource for me in the ARCA RE/MAX Series and I am glad that he will be with me for the NASCAR race as well. People sometimes talk about ‘perfect chemistry’ and I believe that we have that as a driver and crew chief. His experience has been very valuable to me and having that consistency carry over to the Nationwide Series race will be a great benefit to me and the No. 22 team.”

Crew Chief Chris Carrier on Parker Kligerman and Kansas Speedway
“In my racing career, Parker is one of the brightest young people I have ever met. He has a tremendous amount of raw driving talent and ability and has been able to achieve a lot this season in the ARCA RE/MAX Series with little experience. Parker is a competitive young man who shows a lot of maturity. He races to win; he does not do this to finish second.

“Kansas Speedway is not an easy place. It’s a fast track that is slick and can be tricky for drivers and teams. I’m sure that there will be several Cup Series drivers in our race along with really good Nationwide Series regulars, which poses a stiff challenge to a driver making his debut. But, I have seen Parker accomplish a lot this year and he adapts well to new situations.”