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DAYTONA BEACH — Parker Kligerman is making a point of it.
“Stop and smell the roses,” he keeps telling himself.
Though he won’t be able to linger for too long.
Not only is the 34-year-old Connecticut native returning to the NBC Sports broadcast of the Rolex 24 at Daytona this weekend, he’s driving in the race for the first time. Somewhere in there, he wants to catch some shut-eye, too.
Well, maybe.
“I don’t know when I’ll sleep, but I’m a pretty high-energy person anyway,” Kligerman told the News-Journal last week before admitting he pulled an all-nighter during his first Rolex as a TV commentator.
This all started when he retired from full-time NASCAR racing last fall. He finished his second season in the Xfinity Series with Big Machine Racing, and when he stepped back, he and BMR owner Scott Borchetta brainstormed “cool” collaborations.
The Rolex was their first idea. Kligerman will join teammates Misha Goikhberg, Mario Farnbacher and Franck Perera in the No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini in the GTD class.
“This has been a bucket-list race for me for 20 years, and I’ve tried so many times to make it happen,” Kligerman said. “It would get so close, and it would fall through, and I’d have to focus on the main job in NASCAR or whatever.”
Now, here he is.
Because he’s broadcasted the Rolex multiple times, he possesses a feel for the flow of the race.
“That’s really lowered my anxiety and nerves,” Kligerman said.
But he does have to adjust to the car, specifically the braking.
In a NASCAR stock car, he aims to hit the brake at 1,250 pounds of pressure. He never wants to exceed that. In his Rolex ride, that number has to jump closer to 2,000.
“At the test, the funniest part was, by the end of the second day, we looked at all my peak pressures — 1,250,” he said. “It’s like my brain knows that number really, really well, but I’ve got to now push myself to find more and be better.”
The car also features more settings than Kligerman is accustomed to. If his car wasn’t handling well in a NASCAR race, he changed his driving. If something isn’t going well in his Lamborghini, there’s probably a gizmo to fix it.
Another thing he’s learned: He’s had plenty of time to adapt. He jokes this race isn’t the 24 Hours of Daytona.
It’s the 24 Days of Daytona.
“I feel like all I know is Daytona now,” Kligerman said with a laugh. “I’m a resident, basically. Maybe I can pay Florida income tax, which would be great.”
Out of the driver’s seat, Kligerman still wasn’t sure exactly what his broadcasting duties would be this weekend. “Fluid” is the word he used. He’ll probably hit the Peacock Pit Box a couple of times. Might head to the booth, too, if time allows.
Two other drivers — Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe — are also filling dual roles, contributing to the broadcast, laying down laps and tagging in and out with Kligerman.
Kligerman has performed similar feats in the past.
He raced in the Trucks Series on the same day he contributed to the Cup Series broadcast, for example.
Busyness is the theme of his 2025.
Despite quitting full-time racing, he’ll run a part-time Trucks schedule with Henderson Motorsports. He’ll continue his Cup Series pit reporter work for NBC. He’s also posting to his own YouTube channel.
And earlier this month, he was announced as an analyst for the CW’s coverage of the Xfinity Series.
The Rolex is simply the beginning.
“I just feel like, in the motorsports world — and I don’t know how, none of it by design — I’ve got one of the coolest situations in America,” Kligerman said.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Rolex 24: Parker Kligerman will drive for Forte, broadcast for NBC
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