Daytona beach – Parker Kligerman makes it a point of honor.
“Stop and feel the roses,” he repeats.
Even if he will not be able to linger for too long.
Not only does the native of Connecticut, aged 34, return to NBC Sports broadcast of the Rolex 24 in Daytona This weekend, he participated in the race for the first time. Somewhere in there, he also wants to sleep a little.
Well, maybe.
“I don’t know when I’m going to sleep, but anyway, I’m a fairly energetic person,” Kligerman told News-Journal last week before admitting that he had spent a white night during his first Rolex As a TV commentator.
It all started when he retired from full -time work. Nascar races Last fall. He finished his second season in the Xfinity series with Big Machine Racing, and when he withdrew, him and the owner of BMR, Scott Borchetta, thought about “cool” collaborations.
Rolex was their first idea. Kligerman will join his teammates Misha Goikhberg, Mario Farnbacher and Franck Perera in the Lamborghini Forte Racing n ° 78 in the GTD class.
“It’s an essential race for me for 20 years, and I tried so many times to get there,” said Kligerman. “It would be so tight, and it would fail, and I should focus on the main work in nascar or other.”
Now here it is.
Because he broadcast the Rolex several times, he has an idea of the course of the race.
“It really reduced my anxiety and my nerves,” said Kligerman.
But it must adapt to the car, especially to braking.
In a stock because Nascar, it aims to brake at 1,250 pounds of pressure. He never wants to exceed this. In its Rolex race, this number must get closer to 2,000.
“”On the proofThe funniest thing is that at the end of the second day, we examined all my maximum pressures-1,250, “he said. “It is as if my brain knew this figure very well, but I must now force myself to find more and to be better.”
The car also has more settings than those to which Kligerman is used to. If his car did not behave well in a Nascar race, he changed driving. If something is wrong in its Lamborghini, there is probably a gadget to remedy it.
Another thing he learned: he always had to adapt. He jokes saying that the race is not the 24 Hours of Daytona.
It’s 24 Days de Daytona.
“I have the impression that everything I know is Daytona now,” said Kligerman laughing. “Basically, I am a resident. Maybe I could pay income tax in Florida, which would be great.
Outside the driver’s headquarters, Kligerman still did not know exactly what his diffusion tasks would be this weekend. “Fluid” is the word he used. He will probably hit the Peacock Pit Box several times. I could also go to the stand, if time allows.
Two other pilots – Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe – also fulfill a double role, contributing to the broadcast, establishing towers and entering and outgoing with Kligerman.
Kligerman has produced similar exploits in the past.
He ran in Series trucks the same day he contributed to the dissemination of the Cup Series, for example.
Activity is the theme of its 2025.
Although he stopped the full -time race, he will run a part -time truck program at Henderson Motorsports. He will continue his work as a journalist at the Cup Series stand for NBC. He also publishes on his own YouTube channel.
And earlier this month, it was announced as an analyst for the CW coverage of the XFINITY series.
The Rolex is only the beginning.
“I just have the impression that, in the world of motorsport – and I don’t know how, none of this is intentional – I find myself in one of the coolest situations in America”, said Kligerman.
This article was initially published in the Daytona Beach News-Journal: Rolex 24: Parker Kligerman will pilot for strong, broadcast on NBC
