“I just really feel excited about the things I am doing outside of racing right now…but it would have to be life-changing.” Parker Kligerman retired from full-time racing last year, but his streak of bad luck continues. From missing a Charlotte Roval victory due to a late caution call to winning the Xfinity race in Daytona while handing all the credit to Connor Zillisch, that elusive victory is frustrating for Kligerman. But as the veteran hinted at recently, the problem is deeper than that – and Denny Hamlin reveals that.

The Joe Gibbs Racing star has consistently spoken highly of Parker Kligerman’s talents. When the latter won the Craftsman Truck Series race in Daytona and yet lost it due to a technical inspection, Hamlin analyzed the problem. Now, however, Hamlin sheds light on an issue greater than Kligerman’s misfortunes.

Denny Hamlin rolls out an unfortunate reality

Xfinity veteran Kenny Wallace had won nine Xfinity Series races during his career, yet had to live with a bitter truth. He revealed that in 2023: “If you’re running in the Xfinity Series, you’re gonna make anywhere between $250,000 to $400,000 a year…In the Cup Series, now, this is where you make a living, you’re going to make anywhere between $750,000 up to $8 million.”

This is why Corey LaJoie relinquished a chance to run Xfinity or Trucks when he lost his Cup Series ride. This is why AJ Allmendinger upgraded to Cup again at the first opportunity. And this is also why Parker Kligerman took an entirely different role in the NBC Sports booth and chose to leave Xfinity, as Denny Hamlin pointed out.

In a recent ‘Actions Detrimental’ episode, Denny Hamlin answered a burning question. He explained why, despite Parker Kligerman’s immense racing talents, the latter chose to do pit reporting instead of racing. Hamlin said, “Parker is one of the better racers in the Xfinity Series over the last few years…But why doesn’t he run Xfinity? Guys, this is a prime example of how broken this business model is.”

He further added, “The guy makes more talking about the drivers than actually being a driver… He could have a ride, but it doesn’t pay anything. And he would be taking a massive pay cut by being a star in the Xfinity Series vs being an announcer for the Xfinity Series. That…will continue to hamper the best talent.” 

Denny Hamlin is currently heavily embroiled in the NASCAR lawsuit, a battle regarding a similar issue. His team, 23XI Racing, is suing the sport for its ‘monopolistic practices’. These practices prevent brilliant drivers in the Xfinity Series from pursuing their dreams. To ameliorate the “broken system” of NASCAR’s financial scenario, Hamlin also presented a solution.

He said, “You’re gonna need something like this, where one of the top teams, like okay, I’m gonna be okay with 2-3 pay drivers and then one seat for whoever I actually…think is pretty good.” Parker Kligerman’s career remains a matter of mystery, which Denny Hamlin helped solve a little bit. Meanwhile, he also helped crack a dilemma in the Cup Series recently.

Tracking down the culprit to his own fold

Parker Kligerman dominated the storyline in the Daytona Xfinity race. However, the Daytona Cup race witnessed Ryan Blaney take the checkered flag. But before the Team Penske driver did so, a string of mishaps rocked his rivals.

Just 27 laps into the Coke Zero Sugar 400, a massive wreck unfolded when Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch got tangled together. It also collected Wallace’s teammate, Riley Herbst, and his boss, Denny Hamlin. The 23XI Racing co-owner could pull through to finish in 25th. However, this continues a sordid streak – he has zero finishes higher than 17th in all eight Next Gen era races at the track.

Hence, the three-time Daytona 500 winner seriously analyzed what cost him so dearly on Sunday’s race. And Denny Hamlin traced the culprit of the wreck to his own driver, Bubba Wallace. Hamlin said, “It looked like to me that Bubba just squeezed those two guys below him down. You could just see that they’re there, two cars on the inside. I don’t know what Freddie [Kraft, #23 spotter] was calling. Maybe he was saying three wide top or not — I’m not sure, but he [Wallace] just squeezed on down there, and there was no room. So he ended up wrecking himself, and obviously a few others.” Wallace landed a dismal 37th-place finish after a DNF.

As NASCAR proceeds towards its postseason, both Xfinity and Cup Series drivers are pumped. Parker Kligerman may be looking forward to owning a victory for himself. So let us wait and see what happens.