Kligerman Looks to Build on Top Finish at Daytona Second Time Around
The first time he was at Daytona this year, Parker Kligerman had to race his way in, then finished among the top drivers, placing 15th. This time, he’s looking to build on that finish, and his crew thinks that if he runs a clean race, he can contend for a win.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 2, 2019) – When the checkered flag flew at the 2019 Daytona 500, Parker Kligerman found himself finishing in 15th place, outperforming many of the top teams in the series.
“That whole 500 experience was exciting. From qualifying for the race by only a couple car lengths on Thursday night to finishing 15th on Sunday, it was a trip to Daytona I won’t soon forget,” says Kligerman. “And it’s not like our 500 was without incident. If we run a clean race this weekend, we could finish even higher.”
Coming off a 30th place finish at the June 23 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, Kligerman and the No. 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing team have been hard at work preparing for this extremely high-profile Super Speedway race.
Crew Chief Mark Hillman believes they’re capable of doing even better than what they accomplished in February. “Parker is a very smart and extremely patient driver,” says Hillman. “Those are two of the most important qualities you can possess when racing a track like Daytona. If we all do our jobs and stay out of trouble, we can certainly find ourselves competing for the win.”
The team will once again honor four decades of Toyota Racing Development on the Gaunt Brothers Racing No. 96 “TRD 40th Anniversary” Toyota Camry this weekend.
The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway will take place at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday, July 6 on NBC.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 38 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 47,000 people (more than 37,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2018 – and about 87 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 16 years are still on the road today.
Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
About Gaunt Brothers Racing
Gaunt Brothers Racing, owned by industry veteran Marty Gaunt, operates out of Mooresville, N.C. The Toyota team competes in select Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series events. GBR previously fielded teams in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Series, NASCAR K&N Pro Series and NASCAR Pinty’s Series, for drivers Alex Bowman, Jason Bowles and John Gaunt, recording a victory in the 2011 Toyota All-Star Showdown and a track-record qualifying time on the Toronto street course.