Did You Notice? … NASCAR Silly Season is heating up? So much talk revolves these days around Kyle Busch’s contract and if Corey LaJoie is in line for a larger opportunity. Then, 23XI Racing dropped a bomb Tuesday (July 12) with the announcement Tyler Reddick would join the team in 2024.
But as all those drivers work on their futures, there’s a built-in advantage: they already have jobs. Racing every week elevates them within a sponsorship-driven world that only offers so many chances.
The way modern NASCAR works is simple: you have a limited window to prove yourself. And if you fail? You’re sitting on the sidelines quicker than you can blink. It’s what makes the list below so special, the real gems of Silly Season buried behind the front pages. Each of these drivers have used part-time auditions, often underdog rides, to reposition themselves for the future. In nearly all cases, they’ve reconstructed what’s become a near-impossible second chance.
For each of these seven drivers, just putting themselves in the conversation for a full-time ride in 2023 is a victory in itself.
SEVEN DRIVERS POSITIONED TO GO NASCAR FULL-TIME IN 2023
1) Parker Kligerman. LaJoie’s last-ditch effort to unseat Chase Elliott pushed Kligerman’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win off the front pages. But that shouldn’t detract from an incredible finish to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course race for Kligerman and the No. 75 Food Country USA team. Relive that last lap if you haven’t seen it, Kligerman holding on for dear life against 2022 point leader and three-time winner Zane Smith.
Keep in mind Kligerman won with an organization that has one full-time employee. It’s his second victory for Henderson Motorsports but this season has been by far their best: five top-10 finishes in eight starts with an average finish of 9.8. Sitting 16th in points despite missing seven races, Kligerman’s points-per-race would leave him second, behind only Smith, if he ran a full-time schedule.
Turning 32 in August, the NBC Sports NASCAR pit reporter knows it’s now-or-never to get back in the game. Almost nine years ago, he moved up to the NASCAR Cup Series too quickly with an underfunded team (Swan Racing) that dumped him, then got sold by the middle of the year. He’s been bouncing around with underdog rides and one-off opportunities ever since before finally getting it right at the No. 75.
A rumored deal…
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