Mooresville, NC (Sports Network) - Parker Kligerman has signed with Kyle Busch Motorsports to drive the No. 77 Toyota full-time during the 2013 Nationwide Series season, the team announced on Tuesday.
Kligerman, 22, completed his second full season in the Camping World Truck Series. He drove the No. 29 RAM for Brad Keselowski Racing in the first 11 truck races this year and then finished the remainder of the season behind the wheel of the No. 7 Toyota for Red Horse Racing. Kligerman finished fifth in the point standings and scored his maiden win in the series on Oct. 6 at Talladega.
KBM will announce the crew chief and primary sponsorship for Kligerman's No. 77 team at a later date.
"When you think of Kyle Busch and Kyle Busch Motorsports, you think of an owner and a team that have established a tradition of winning and pride themselves on it, so I feel honored to be given the chance to come in and continue in that tradition," Kligerman said in a team statement. "I feel that running full-time in the Truck Series the last two seasons and coming close to a championship last season has prepared me to be able to do the same in the Nationwide Series next year."
At age 19, Kligerman captured the pole in his first Nationwide start in Oct. 2009 at Kansas, becoming the 10th driver in series history to accomplish that feat. That same year, he earned rookie-of-the-year honors in the ARCA Series after winning nine races and finishing second in points. Kligerman has competed in 18 Nationwide races, with his career-best finish of seventh coming this past July at Chicagoland.
In its inaugural Nationwide season this year, KBM recorded one win (spring race at Richmond) and 22 top-10 finishes, en route to an eighth-place finish in the owner point standings.
"Once Parker got behind the wheel of a Toyota halfway through the season, he proved that he was capable of running up front week in and week out in the Truck Series and comes to us with a lot of confidence," Busch said.
Red Horse Racing revealed that John Wes Townley will take over driving duties of the No. 7 truck next year.
