When ARCA Had Its Own Verstappen vs. Hamilton

In ARCA’s prime, the series had 1 of the most captivating title fights in the history of motorsport. But no one talks about it, so we will. Justin Lofton and Parker Kligerman are names not on the same level as Max Verstappen or Hamilton, but they gave us a preview of 2021 in 2009.

The Beginning of the 2009 ARCA Season

Ironically, the season started with a lot of different winners. Opening with Buschwhacking: James Buescher winning Daytona. In the first six races, Lofton and Kligermann combined to win only 2.

For the rest of the season, only 2 times did anyone else win, which included a bushwhacking Joey Logano, who was in his 2nd Cup season at the time. Lofton got things started.

When the 2nd-year ARCA driver won in the 4th ARCA race of the year at Dega, then, 2 weeks later, even when Lofton fully sent it into turn 3, rookie sensation Parker Kligermann would win his 1st ARCA race at Toledo.

Kligermann vs. Lofton

Starting at Michigan, Kligermann won 3 ARCA races in a row, putting the whole stock car racing world on notice. But Justin Lofton wasn’t going to take that lying down, of course.

And he went on a winning streak of his own, winning back-to-back races at Berlin and Pocono, but in Illinois, Kligermann would deny the Vegas native of doing his ARCA 3-peat with another win.

But the next 2 Midwest races at Chicagoland and Toledo would go to Lofton. This was super important, as the rookie Kligermann at the beginning of the season was getting used to the series, and it was costing him.

The Road Ahead

As he had only 2 top fives in the 1st five races, compared to 4 of 5 for his title rival in the same period, including 2 runner-ups and a win. So motivated by playing catch-up, he’d go on another great run.

Winning 2 of the following 4 ARCA races was interrupted once by Lofton at Salem and by RC ringer Patrick Long at the New Jersey Motorsports Park. One of these wins really showed how focused and talented Kligermann really was.That was his win at Kansas when, on the final restart, he had a handful of laps to go.

Lofton was the leader, but Kligermann jumped to his outside ASAP and got alongside him, passing him to take the lead and the win. Shades of Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson at Chicagoland the year before.

A Phenomenal ARCA Finale

Heading into the 2009 ARCA finale at Rockingham, Lofton entered with a 15-point advantage and added 10 points to his lead by qualifying second.  Kligerman, meanwhile, qualified fourth and missed out on bonus points.

Many were watching with held breath, afraid of a repeat of last year’s ending. With Scott Speed and Stenhouse wrecking each other multiple times, making ARCA into a disgrace… for the 1st time.

But no such things would occur, and in reality they should’ve been worried about the 2023 truck finale for entertainment like that. Kligermann and Lofton had perfectly opposite drives as well.

Kligermann charged from 4th early and then came back to lead late too, showing his mental toughness at only 18 years old. Lofton charged throughout the race, ending up 3rd after passing people on the last restart.

3rd would be enough to clinch Lofton the ARCA title even if Kligermann won. But the young and aggressive Lofton was never going to settle for 3rd. So he made an aggressive move on Roderick for 2nd.

The move failed, and the two made contact for a moment. Lofton was loose and looked like he was about to wreck if this were a movie where Kligermann was the main character.

This moment would be used to show how much he’s grown since the start of his rookie year, with his slightly more experienced title rival making a mistake he would’ve made at the beginning of the year.

Final Thoughts

Winning the title dramatically and ironically. But he isn’t the main character, so Lofton, the man who honed his car control in the Nevada desert, saved the car and went on to finish 3rd to clinch the title.

Kligermann, despite doing everything he could, lost the war while winning the final battle and more races overall, 9 to 6. Showing that it was consistency that mattered. Thanks a bunch for reading!