In June, fresh off an eighth-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Portland International Raceway, Parker Kligerman embarked on a unique adventure. He'd spent years navigating the highs and lows of motorsport, reaching the top levels only to fall out and climb again. During this time, waves of emotions washed over him as he pondered the end of his driving career. When morale was low, self-doubt crept in, thinking, "Damn it, maybe it's time to stop chasing this."

Clarity at the Top

This year, amidst a steady Xfinity Series career and a top-10 run in the series championship, Kligerman finally reached the summit. He had a moment of clarity as he told Motorsport at Phoenix Raceway, his final race as a full-time driver. "I was just like, 'I think I'm good,'" he said. A couple of weeks later, at 34 years old, he had a heart-to-heart with Scott Borchetta, his team owner at Big Machine Racing. Borchetta was very supportive, and they worked out the details of Kligerman's departure. The team then signed 23-year-old Nick Sanchez for 2025. Kligerman announced the end of his full-time driving career in September, three months after that post-Portland run.When it came to the final race of the season in Phoenix, Kligerman didn't show visible sadness. Instead, he felt mostly grateful and accomplished. Meeting fans over the weekend who thanked him for his presence in the sport made him realize the impact he had. "Like, I did this," he said. "I got here. Even though I'm not racing for a championship today and haven't achieved all I wanted, I do feel accomplished to have reached this level and worked with some of the best in the sport. The kid who saw this on TV at 9 years old somehow made it all work."

Rookie Season in ARCA

Kligerman's career has been a rollercoaster. At 19, he ran his rookie season in NASCAR's fourth-tier series, ARCA, as a development driver for powerhouse team Penske Racing. That year, he won nine out of 21 starts, setting the stage for his future in motorsport.In the following decade, he raced in every NASCAR national series - Trucks, Xfinity, and Cup - for major teams like Penske, Brad Keselowski Racing, and Kyle Busch Motorsports. He also competed for underfunded teams like Swan Racing. The number of races he ran varied each year, and he supplemented his racing with other work, such as presenting on NBC's NASCAR broadcasts.

Steady Ride with Big Machine

For the past two years, Kligerman had a stable ride in the No. 48 car for Big Machine. He announced his retirement with specific wording: "I will no longer be pursuing racing full-time." The reason he chose these words was that throughout his career, every off-season and every year, he was constantly chasing the opportunity to go full-time again. There would be several deals in the air, like, "I'm going to get this, I'm going to get this." But then, they would fall through.Kligerman's journey - and his final day at his job - is relatable. People often find meaning and self-definition in their work as they spend a significant portion of their lives doing it. Leaving a job can be unsettling, even if there's freedom on the other side.

Near-Win in Charlotte

Kligerman won three races in the third-tier NASCAR Truck Series and 10 in ARCA. He always wanted to add an Xfinity win to his list. In October, he led late in the Xfinity race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval, driving with intense focus to stay ahead of a field filled with road-course specialists. He had to win to advance to the next round of the NASCAR playoffs, and it seemed like he was on the verge of achieving it.Kligerman ran out front for 12 of 72 laps late in the race, charging toward the white flag. The white flag signals the last lap, and in NASCAR, a caution before it results in a restart, while a caution after it ends the race. He was inches away from victory when a caution came out, and his lead vanished. The field stacked two-wide for a restart."I knew it was close," Kligerman said. "But then, I came around the corner, and they had a big screen. I saw [my crew chief] Patrick [Donahue] come down from the pit box. I was like: 'We won! We did it!' I definitely cried. Then they were like: 'We didn't get the white.' I just went back in the zone. I was like: 'Alright bud, just got to nail this restart. Two more laps.'"Kligerman nailed the restart and got ahead of the field. But not long after, eventual winner Sam Mayer caught him and made contact, which damaged the car and caused him to fall back and finish sixth. Even without the win, he's "happy about it.""That is the best 10 laps I've ever driven, under the most immense pressure," Kligerman told Motorsport. "That's my favorite race I've ever driven. I tell people the coolest thing about the NASCAR playoffs is that in no other form of racing will you be put in a race that's like: 'Hey, you have to win this to go on.' It's only in NASCAR, and I hadn't experienced that yet. I'd seen it from the TV side, and I'm like: 'That must be the most insane feeling.' There's no higher pressure you're ever going to be under in a race car than when you're leading and you must win that race. You've got to put it all on the line and perform, and we did."After the near-win in Charlotte, people asked if it made him want to keep going. He told them: 'If one result could affect my decision, it wasn't very powerful.' This is because his decision was based on a realization that he should enjoy life more and not take racing too seriously.

Uncertain Future

Kligerman isn't sure what's next. He will continue his television career, film for his YouTube channel, and try to run bucket-list races like the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. In terms of next year, he said, "We're letting the universe provide.""Hopefully, I'll be successful at what I'm doing next," Kligerman said. "I am someone who probably values career progression way too much. I definitely have grown up a lot in this, and I think in the last two years, I've learned a lot about myself and my capacity for pressure. That gives me a lot of comfort in this next phase, no matter what I do. It's like: 'Hey, you've done it under the highest possible pressure there is. You performed.' And that makes me very excited for what's next."In Phoenix, Kligerman said he couldn't be sad about retiring because he got to race for so long. Plus, it was "so unusual and ridiculous that it ever even came together in the first place." He said his childhood self would wonder why he was retiring now and why he didn't win more races, but he'd be proud to know that the adult version of Kligerman became more like his racing idols than he ever thought possible.Kligerman also wants others to know that if they're thinking about chasing a motorsport dream, "they absolutely should." "It's an irrational game that makes no sense," he said. "There are tens of millions of reasons you shouldn't do it. But if you can find one reason to, then go. There's so much to be learned in doing something like this, that requires so much of you in so many different capacities. No matter how successful you are, you would be able to look back at chasing something like this and know it was worth it, no matter what the success level was."