Kligerman Joins Gaunt Brothers Racing for Coca-Cola 600

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer

After a four-year hiatus behind the wheel, Parker Kligerman will return to the driver’s seat in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Kligerman will strap into the Gaunt Brothers Racing No. 96 Toyota Camry at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600.

Kligerman last competed in NASCAR’s Premier Series for Swan Racing. In a short 10-race stint, the Westport, CT native earned an impressive 18^th-place finish in his debut at Texas Motor Speedway. Since the closure of Swan Racing, Kligerman has become a journeyman driver, driving for Obaika Racing, Ricky Benton Racing, Henderson Motorsports, and Precision Performance Motorsports, as well as an NBC Sports Analyst. He earned the best result for several of those teams.

“We’re pleased to have Parker join GBR for the 600,” said GBR owner Marty Gaunt. “He has experience at 1.5-mile tracks, as well as within all of NASCAR’s national touring series, which helps us grow our program. Our growth to date has been positive and consistent. Having multiple drivers pilot our car allows us the ability to evaluate our program’s strengths and weaknesses.”

Gaunt Brothers Racing debuted in the 2017 Daytona 500 with D.J. Kennington. The team earned its’ best result, 20^th, with Kennington at Talladega Superspeedway earlier this year. The Coca-Cola 600 will be GBR’s seventh start and Kligerman’s 11^th.

“I’ve known Marty a long time and have a tremendous amount of respect for his passion and professionalism,” said Kligerman. “I want to help him take GBR to the next level. I’m appreciative of the opportunity and am thrilled someone with his stature recognized and rewarded my effort last year in Trucks. I’m looking forward to driving in the sport’s longest event. It will certainly be challenging, but I’m confident in the team’s plans for the Charlotte race weekend.”

Kligerman has 10 victories in the ARCA Racing Series with two on 1.5-mile tracks. In 25 starts, he has 15 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes. Kligerman also has two victories in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, both at Talladega. While competing with the under-funded Henderson Motorsports, he earned five top-10 finishes in 10 races since the beginning of last year.

Now Kligerman and GBR will hope to continue their recent successes. Sponsorship will be announced later.