TRUCKS: Parker Kligerman’s feel-good win at Daytona stripped away in post-race inspection

Written By Brock Beard

by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

PHOTO: Jared C. Tilton, Getty Images

Parker Kligerman picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Friday’s Fresh From Florida 250 at the Daytona International Speedway when his #75 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet finished first, but was disqualified for a technical infraction after he completed all 100 laps.

The finish came in Kligerman’s 118th series start. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 9th for the #75, the 10th by disqualification, and the 455th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 48th for the #75, the 59th by disqualification, and the 1,973rd for Chevrolet.

Kaden Honeycutt picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Friday’s Fresh From Florida 250 at the Daytona International Speedway when his #45 AutoVentive / Precision Chevrolet crashed after 4 of 100 laps.

The finish came in Honeycutt’s 35th series start. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 9th for the #45, the 199th from a crash, and the 455th for Chevrolet. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 48th for the #45, the 1,405th from a crash, and the 1,973rd for Chevrolet.

The peaks and valleys of Kligerman’s night in Daytona were symbolic of his racing career. He was a top prospect in ARCA, where in 2009 he stormed to nine wins for the late Briggs Cunningham, then lost a close title contest with Justin Lofton. From there, he steadily built a presence across all three of NASCAR’s national divisions. In the Cup Series in 2013, he attempted a rookie campaign with Swan Racing. That same year in the XFINITY Series, he ran a full season in a second car for Kyle Busch Motorsports. And around this time in Trucks, he developed with Brad Keselowski Racing, Red Horse Racing, and RAB Racing. But in the decade since, all those teams have left the sport, leaving Kligerman with only piecemeal deals since then.

All, that is, except Henderson Motorsports and its single #75 Chevrolet fielded out of Abingdon, Virginia. Kligerman has driven part-time for Henderson nearly every year since 2017, the year he broke through with his first NASCAR victory at Talladega – and the first for Henderson since his days fielding Busch Series cars for Rick Wilson in 1989. Kligerman has since planted another checkered flag in infield grass – this one at Mid-Ohio in 2022. And it was this victory that again opened the door for full-time rides. Together with team owner Scott Borchetta, Kligerman raced full-time the last two seasons in the XFINITY Series. In that time, the Big Machine Racing team came closer than it ever has to victory. None came closer than last fall at the Charlotte “Roval,” where Kligerman had not only brought the team into the Playoffs, but potentially to the Round of 8. He was leading with two laps to go. But a caution thrown a mere instant before Kligerman took the white flag cost him the victory. By then, the driver had already announced he would be stepping away from full-time racing, and would continue to develop his broadcast career with The CW.

But racing came calling again earlier this year – first in the 24 Hours of Daytona, where he served as both broadcaster and racer in the GTD Class for Forte Racing. Then came an offer to run for Henderson in the Truck Series opener at Daytona – a ride sponsored by Borchetta through the same Big Machine Spiked Coolers company that backed him in XFINITY.

When rain washed out practice on Thursday, Kligerman and the 37 other entrants had to make their first laps in qualifying. There, Kligerman earned 23rd on the grid with a Round 1 lap of 51.634 seconds (174.304mph). Sent home were both Justin S. Carroll, making his first superspeedway attempt in his family’s #90 Carroll’s Automotive Chevrolet, and Bryan Dauzat, whose #28 FDNY Racing / OB Builders Chevrolet suffered a rear end failure on his timed lap.

Securing the 36th and final starting spot was frontrunner Tyler Ankrum in the #18 LiUNA! Chevrolet as both he and 35th-place starter Stewart Friesen in the #52 Halmar International Chevrolet failed to complete a lap in qualifying, but were ranked ahead of the part-timer Dauzat in Owner Points. Joining them in the back were 5th-place Jake Garcia for an unapproved tire change on his #13 Quanta Services Ford, plus unapproved adjustments penalties for both 34th-place Giovanni Ruggiero in the #17 JBL Toyota and 30th-place Connor Mosack in the #81 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Chevrolet.

Mosack didn’t get the chance to drop to the rear before the start as his truck couldn’t get out of reverse gear on pit road, forcing him to pull out of line just past pit entrance. First crew members, then equipment trucks arrived at the scene, and the truck was behind the wall as the green flag dropped. By Lap 2, the team appeared to find a fix and radioed “We’re coming to you.” But the truck only got rolling in second gear, so the team jacked up the truck once more. By then, the race was under its first caution. On Lap 4, Honeycutt had just taken the lead on the inside line when contact from Chandler Smith’s #38 Long John Silvers Ford sent him hard to the left. As is so common on tracks with a paved infield, Honeycutt’s truck went straight into the inside wall, damaging the left-front. Honeycutt tried to come back to pit road, but the starter died and he couldn’t get the rescue crew to give him a push. By the time Honeycutt came to his stall on Lap 6, the crew said, “Yeah, we're screwed. We're screwed. We're done.” The tow truck towed him to the garage, done for the night.

Meanwhile, Mosack’s crew continued to work on the #81. At the time, they were just three laps behind the now 35th-place Honeycutt, meaning they could gain at least one spot if they came back out. Mosack returned under the Honeycutt caution on Lap 6 with instructions to go back to the garage if it didn’t feel right. Mosack said it shifted into fourth gear, but the drivetrain felt rough at 10% throttle, so he went ack behind the wall on Lap 8. By then, he’d completed just one lap which, as Seth Eggert reported, clocked in at just 430.541 seconds (20.904mph). At last, on Lap 23, during the caution at the end of Stage 1, Mosack returned to the track 21 laps down. He dropped Honeycutt to last on Lap 26, just as the field took the restart.

Mosack ultimately climbed to 33rd at the finish, still 21 laps down at the checkered flag. He first passed Tyler Ankrum, whose truck lost an engine in Turn 1, causing Dawson Sutton to spin his #26 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet. Clay Greenfield qualified a strong 9th for his GK Racing effort, but on Lap 70, he spun his #95 Backyard Blues Pools Chevrolet into the wall off Turn 4 in a similar manner to Honeycutt. Ahead of Mosack came Nathan Byrd, whose #02 Sonesta International Hotels Chevrolet was collected in a multi-truck pileup down the backstretch on Lap 83.

The race ended under the caution flag as two separate pileups broke out among the leaders coming through Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap. Coming out on top was Kligerman, whose team owner Charlie Henderson was unable to make it to the track due to illness. Kligerman led just two laps all night, apparently headed to his third career victory and a sweep of the two oldest superspeedways. But in post-race inspection, Kligerman’s truck was found to be too low in the rear on both sides, leading to a disqualification that handed runner-up Corey Heim the victory.

As of this writing, the Henderson team is planning to appeal the disqualification.

Benning beats lead-lap record as Reaume team excels

Finishing a strong 2nd was Giovanni Ruggiero, who led all rookies in the TRICON Garage #17 JBL Toyota. Ruggiero, who was among the drivers with pre-race tail-end penalties, rallied to lead 11 laps in the closing stages. Not far behind him in the rookie battle came actor-turned-racer Frankie Muniz, who in just his fifth career start earned a career-best 10th place in the Reaume Brothers’ #33 The Electric State Ford. Two spots ahead of him in 8th came teammate Jason M. White in the #22 United Associations Ford. White had lagged behind the lead pack on the final lap, and was rewarded with a new career-best finish, improving on his first career top-ten run in this same race four years ago.

The other feel-good story involved Norm Benning, who brought back the fleet Chevrolet that was once owned by the race-winning Henderson Motorsports team. This time, Benning overcame an early pit road penalty for a crewman coming over the wall too soon that put him a lap down on Lap 35. He got the lap back on the Stage 2 ending yellow on Lap 41, then like Jason White stayed within shouting distance of the lead pack. He started to make his move in the final seven laps, and on the final lap managed to escape the wrecks to take home 16th. At age 73, Benning has beaten his own record as NASCAR’s oldest driver to finish on the lead lap, and did so where another six lead-lap cars were behind him at the finish.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish for the #75 in a Truck Series race since July 19, 2017, when Caleb Holman’s own run in Charlie Henderson’s #75 Food Country USA Chevrolet at Eldora saw him fall out with transmission issues after 12 laps.

*Curiously, the most recent Truck Series last-place finisher by disqualification was Corey Heim – who inherited Kligerman’s win on Friday – when Heim finished 2nd at Charlotte on May 24, 2024. The #75 had never been last by disqualification in this series.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

36) #75-Parker Kligerman / 100 laps / disqualified / led 2 laps / finished 1st

35) #45-Kaden Honeycutt / 3 laps / crash

34) #18-Tyler Ankrum / 48 laps / engine

33) #95-Clay Greenfield / 68 laps / crash

32) #81-Connor Mosack / 79 laps / running

2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Henderson Motorsports (1)

2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (1)

2025 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

Brock Beard https://lastcar.info
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