Parker Kligerman holds off Zane Smith to win at Mid-Ohio
Brenden Martin recaps the O'Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio where Parker Kligerman held off points leader Zane Smith for his third truck series win and second truck win for Henderson Motorsports.
A last-turn passing attempt from Front Row Motorsports No. 38 Zane Smith was not enough to get through Henderson Motorsports No. 75 Parker Kligerman who turned an impressive weekend into his 3rd career NASCAR Truck Series win and first since 2017.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Kligerman told Fox Sports’s Jaime Howe. “I was really emotional on the cooldown lap because this whole team is like a team of second chances. Two years ago I thought my driving days were done. This team gave me a call. I wanted to get back to racing and it’s just been a steady improvement.”
Kligerman celebrated his win by planting the checkered flag in the grass next to the grandstands by the start/finish line.
Henderson Motorsports, a team that primarily runs in late models, has Kligerman in the No. 75 part-time this season with Chris Carrier as his crew chief.
Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 51 Corey Heim started on pole for the second time in his short truck series but was unable to stay with the two leading trucks of Smith and Kligerman, who pulled away from the rest of the field.
Kilgerman made contact with Heim to take the lead on Lap 4, a position he held onto for the rest of Stage 1. The race winner needed to defend his lead on a couple of restarts. The first caution of the race came on Lap 8 when G2G Racing No. 46 Mason Filippi stalled and didn’t get it restarted until just after the yellow flag came out.
The second caution came out when Young’s Motorsports No. 20 Trey Burke stalled a few laps after going through the gravel in his truck series debut.
That was only the tip of the iceberg for mechanical issues across a handful of teams.
Heim reported that his truck shut off just before the first caution. His crew chief, Mardy Lindley, said he needed to calm down after getting the car back running. However, his panic was warranted.
The No. 51 truck shut down again with seven laps to go with Heim running in the top five, setting him back with a 26th-place finish.
David Gilliland Racing No. 17 Taylor Gray, who won the ARCA race at Mid-Ohio the day prior, went under the hood early as well. He landed a 20th-place finish.
A driver that was set up well for a must-win situation was Rackley WAR No. 25 Matt DiBenedetto. The former Cup Series driver entered the race 62 points below the cutline for the playoffs, essentially needing a win with one race left in the regular season after Mid-Ohio.
DiBenedetto’s truck shut down on a straightaway on Lap 13, requiring him to shut it off and turn it back on to get it refired. He fell back to 32nd but worked his way back up the field to finish 19th.
Defending champion ThorSport Racing No. 99 Ben Rhodes had engine issues as well, severely hurting his chances at a regular-season title. He suffered a speeding penalty when pitting for his engine trouble but finished 23rd thanks to a late free pass in the final stage.
Stage 1 ended with a one-lap shootout that Kligerman held on to his lead for his second career stage win. Smith restarted 13th on the shootout and shot his way up the second to secure nine stage points and his points lead.
Neither Smith nor Kligerman would fall out of the top two for more than a few seconds for the rest of the race.
Another contender for the regular season title is Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 4 John Hunter Nemechek, trailing Smith by 21 points going into the race, Nemechek blew third gear on Lap 33. The No. 4 team worked on repairing the gear, allowing him to return to the race multiple laps down during the final stage.
Nemechek finished 28th, marking another all but sure end to his regular season title run as well.
Kligerman led all but the final lap of Stage 2 as Smith patiently followed him to see what lines he was running and find a good place to make a pass, which he did to win his seventh stage of the season.
Smith’s lead was short-lived as Kligerman passed him on the ensuing restart to begin the final stage.
A headliner for the race was the participation of Trackouse Racing co-owner and former Mid-Ohio winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Justin Marks, who took the reins of the No. 41 for Niece Motorsports.
Marks made his mark early in the race, finishing ninth in Stage 1. However, he was battling his truck all day and eventually it gave out on him as his brakes failed with 18 laps to go. Marks swerved around Niece Motorsports teammate No. 45 Lawless Alan.
He was running 13th three laps earlier before spinning as well. Marks finished 31st, unable to match his truck series best of eighth.
"I'll leave it to the professionals from here on out,” Marks said after being released from the infield care center.”
The playoff picture made itself more interesting with three laps to go when ThorSport Racing No. 88 Matt Crafton and Niece Motorsports No. 44 Kris Wright spun. Crafton, sitting in the last playoff spot, had a lot of damage which hurt his track position with the green flag still out.
Crafton finished 18th while his playoff-contention competitor, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing No. 19 Derek Kraus, finished eighth to close the gap from 29 to 19 points for the final playoff spot.
David Gilliland Racing No. 1 Hailee Deegan earned her second career top-10 finish with her 10th-place result. Only her seventh-place finish at World Wide Technology Raceway last season is better in her truck series career.
Kligerman and Smith battled to the 13th and final turn where it looked like Smith had a chance to move Kligerman out of the way for the win. He instead held back and finished second right on the winner’s bumper.
“It was gonna be hard for me to wreck the guy who pushed me to my Daytona win,” Smith said.
Kligerman entered the race having led three career laps in his truck series career. He leaves Mid-Ohio with 56 more laps led and his third truck victory.
His first two truck wins were both at Talladega Superspeedway in 2012 and 2017.
ThorSport Racing No. 66 Ty Majeski, No. 98 Christian Eckes and Niece Motorsport No. 42 Carson Hocevar clinched their playoff spots based on points.
Smith’s second-place finish was not enough to clinch the regular season championship outright. All he needs is a 35th-place finish in the CRC Brakeleen 150 at Pocono Raceway on July 23 at noon ET to secure the title and 15 extra playoff points.
The race will be aired on Fox Sports 1 and can be listened to on Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Race Results:
Points Standings:
Owner’s Points: