Parker Kligerman may have stepped away from full-time racing after 2024, but he’s found a way to make his mark on NASCAR once again. He recently returned to the sport through Kaulig Racing, getting a firsthand look at Ram’s return to the Truck Series. After his latest outing with the manufacturer at Michigan, he shared his thoughts on the challenges of building a competitive program from scratch.

Parker Kligerman opened up about running Ram’s NASCAR program

The 35-year-old, who finished 16th on the weekend, told Fronstretch, “Yeah, it’s a work in progress. I think it’s the best way to put it, they all know that. They’re all very upfront about it. I actually find that really fun, it’s very cool, cool to be part of a factory organisation.

At least a fly on the wall, drop in here and see how they all get to operate, what they’re working on,” Kligerman added.

Kligerman wasn’t too happy with where they finished, but he also felt it was the best he could do. He accepted the blame, suggesting that his inputs and adjustments led the team in the wrong direction.

Nevertheless, he insisted that people trust the process and noted that his Ram teammates were actually performing decently. Kligerman gave a special shout-out to Corey LaJoie, who ran in the top 10 at one point but eventually finished 29th. Now, all the organization can do is get the trucks back to the shop and evaluate them.

He continued, “All these other manufacturers have a decade on them, on these Trucks. These Trucks haven’t changed in 10 years, so it’s a massive undertaking, what Kaulig and they have done. I really applaud them, I told Chris Rice earlier today. I was like, ‘We haven’t met with all the Ram folks and all the higher-ups. This is so impressive what you guys are trying to do. I’m honored to have been a part of it for a couple of races. Wish them the best, and how they built this up.'”

Ram only returned to NASCAR in 2026 through a factory-backed partnership with Kaulig Racing, marking its first effort in the sport since 2012. Its best result so far came at Texas, where Brenden Queen brought the No. 12 Ram home in 10th place. In hopes of climbing up the ranks and making a name for itself in the sport again, the manufacturer brought in Kligerman, who has more than 120 Truck Series starts and three victories to his name.

“I actually made my very first NASCAR Truck Series start in a Ram at Texas back in 2010, so returning here as part of the Ram factory team 16 years later is incredibly special,” he said before suiting up for his return race on May 1 at the SpeedyCash 250 in Texas. He finished 11th and admitted to being nervous and disappointed about missing out on a top-10 finish.

He hoped to secure a top-10 finish for Ram this weekend in Michigan, but sadly, in what was likely his final outing for the manufacturer for the time being, he fell short.

What lies ahead for the veteran driver and broadcaster?

Afterward, Kligerman was asked whether he would be back behind the wheel for Ram again. It was a fair question because the season is long, and the OEM will want as much data as possible. Unfortunately, Parker Kligerman confirmed that Michigan was his final race in Ram truck machinery.

Going forward, other drivers will pilot the No. 25 truck as the OEM pursues a potential full-time presence. The end goal is to reach the Cup Series and challenge Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota.

On the bright side, he is expected to race again in 2026. According to Kligerman, he is contracted to run two more races, but in different Truck teams. The driver actually found it amusing that even though he is retired, in a sense, he is still finding short gigs in NASCAR as a racing driver. He couldn’t help quipping, “Somehow, people want me to come drive their stuff. I guess when people retire, they go play golf; I just get paid to drive race cars, which is pretty cool.”

As for the Michigan race, Parker Kligerman was the second-best finisher among the five Ram trucks. Leading the group was Queen, who finished 14th, while Kligerman came home two places behind him in 16th. Mini Tyrrell rounded out the top 20, and Justin Haley finished 28th ahead of Corey LaJoie in 29th.

Meanwhile, at the front of the field, there was no stopping Corey Heim, who went on to win the race. One can only imagine that signing a full-time deal with 23XI Racing for the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season will do wonders for his confidence.