The Wawa 250 was not meant to be Connor Zilisch’s race. The 19-year-old severely injured himself after winning Watkins Glen, needing surgery for his broken collarbone. Dale Jr. knew that asking for a second medical waiver – after Zilisch’s first one following his back injury in Talladega – might be risky. Hence, Zilisch started the race in Daytona, only to have Parker Kligerman replace him shortly after. But while Zilisch secured his playoff picture, Kligerman lost yet another chance to record a win.

The Xfinity Series veteran has been on an unlucky streak since 2024. Across races in the Charlotte Roval and Daytona, Parker Kligerman inevitably brushed fenders with NASCAR’s mind-boggling rules. And that is why a NASCAR insider recently called for the sport to follow a rival discipline’s norm.

Maybe Parker Kligerman would do better elsewhere?

Over a 16-year career span, Parker Kligerman has amassed 15 total top fives and 49 top 10s in Xfinity. Despite his fairly average stats, a race victory has eluded him throughout. He came close to it in October 2024 – he was inches away from the checkered flag when NASCAR threw a controversial caution, stripping him of a chance at glory. Then, Kligerman lost a Truck victory in February this year due to a post-race technical inspection. Now, despite actually winning a race in Daytona, Kligerman cannot flaunt it as his own, as NASCAR’s record books credit Connor Zilisch for it.

This unfortunate scenario left The Athletic journalist, Jeff Gluck, crestfallen. “Parker Kligerman, twice in a year, he finishes first at Daytona and gets zero credit in the record books,” Gluck said. Yet if Parker Kligerman had raced in IMSA, the situation would have been different.

Contrary to NASCAR’s race-starting rules, the sports car racing series would give Kligerman his due credit. Gluck continued, “In IMSA Sports Car, when…they win the race, the record books say 2-3 drivers. And it says, so-and-so slash so-and-so slash…They all get credit for the win.”

If NASCAR adopted this utopian policy, even Denny Hamlin would have benefited. Back in 2007, Hamlin replaced Aric Almirola at the Milwaukee Mile and won it for Joe Gibbs Racing. Almirola scored his first career Xfinity (then-Busch) Series win, although it was Hamlin who drove to victory lane.

Hence, Jeff Gluck pressured NASCAR to work more towards handing deserving drivers like Parker Kligerman and Hamlin more credit. He said, “It’s modern-day NASCAR now, it’s modern era. Could NASCAR not just go and say, the winner of this race was Connor Zilisch slash Parker Kligerman?”

While such a shift in rules may take some time, the fans can celebrate Parker Kligerman’s victory nevertheless. After all, the veteran would not have agreed to race if not for one reason.

Striking a solid rapport

Dale Jr. may have left NBC Sports at the start of 2024, but he left a lot behind. A six-year career behind the broadcast booth struck friendships that would last beyond his time at NBC – one of them was with Parker Kligerman. The pit reporter is mainly known for his in-depth analyzes of races on track or on his podcast, ‘The Money Lap.’

However, when Dale Jr. needed a replacement for Connor Zilisch, he tapped the other side of Kligerman’s talents. Kligerman matched Zilisch’s size in the driver’s cockpit and was available due to his 2025 part-time role. But even more than that, Dale Jr. wanted Kligerman to redeem his lost victories in Daytona and the Charlotte Roval.

This trust of Dale Jr. mattered to Parker Kligerman immensely. In fact, the veteran said that was the primary driving force behind his decision to fill in at Daytona. Kligerman said, “You know, I think I kind of made peace with the decision I made last year. Then when this came along, I thought if it was anyone other than Dale Earnhardt Jr. calling, I probably would not have done it.”

He added, “Yeah, I think so. Like, I didn’t have this burning desire to jump in and run an Xfinity Series race. But these are the best cars in the series right now, and they are winning all these races with (Zilisch)…So I think all those circumstances added up to make me want to do it. And it was cool that CW (Network) allowed me to do it because I basically had to ask for this weekend off to do it.”

Clearly, Parker Kligerman has a lot to celebrate following his victory on Saturday. Although NASCAR does not recognize it, it was a win in many ways for the Xfinity veteran.