Kligerman, left without a ride when Swan Racing discontinued operations last month, was a teammate of Busch while a development driver at Penske Racing from 2009-2011 and they are roughly the same physical build.

“Parker and I were teammates a few years ago when we were together at Penske and his feedback was always really good,” Busch said in a news release. “Plus, we’re built about the same, and that’s really important as we don’t want to have to adjust seats or pedal positions inside the racecar.

“I’m confident in Parker’s abilities.”

The only event that Busch will miss for sure is practice Friday for the Sprint All-Star Race as he will be practicing for the Indianapolis 500 at that time. That is the only time where there is a direct conflict with on-track activity at both tracks.

It is possible that Busch could miss qualifying for the all-star race Saturday as qualifying is set to begin at 7:10 p.m. ET and first-round qualifying for the Indy 500 ends at 5:50 p.m. ET, although it is possible that Busch could leave Indianapolis earlier. Busch will have no problem making it for the 9:10 p.m. start of the all-star main event.

The Indianapolis 500 should end at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Sunday May 25, with Busch likely having enough time to make the start of the Coca-Cola 600 at 6 p.m.

If Busch misses the start of any of the NASCAR events, the plan is for Kligerman to start the event and then for Busch to replace him at the first opportunity.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity and want to thank everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing for entrusting me with the Haas Automation Chevy,” Kligerman said.


DILLON'S FAN VOTE


Austin Dillon has a famous number on the side of his racecar, but he doesn’t expect the No. 3 to carry him into the Sprint All-Star Race.

For the first time since the death of Dale Earnhardt on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, the No. 3 has returned to the Sprint Cup Series this season with Dillon behind the wheel.

A grandson of car owner Richard Childress, Dillon has embraced driving the number made famous by his grandfather’s driver, who won six of his seven Cup titles for Childress.

But while the No. 3 still is a popular number in NASCAR, Dillon doesn’t think he has a chance against Danica Patrick in winning the fan vote for the all-star race Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“We’ve got a lot of loyal fans, and it would be great to see us get in,” said Dillon, who has pledged his all-star winnings to the Armed Forces Foundation if he wins the fan vote. “But Danica obviously has the upper hand on that. So we’re really focused on driving into the race. … I’m pretty much giving Danica the fan vote at this moment.”

The top two finishers in the Sprint Showdown Friday will qualify for the Sprint All-Star Race the next day. Of those drivers left, the lead-lap driver with the most votes will earn the final sport in the all-star event. Drivers who won points races in 2013 or 2014 already are qualified for the main event.

Dillon, 14th in the Cup standings but with just one top-10 this year, thinks he will have a little more fan support because of the No. 3.

“It has a little bit of a role,” Dillon said. “But performance is big in our sport. We have got to perform better right now to gain more support. That’s a bigger part of it. When you perform, you get those votes.”


ELLIOTT'S UNIQUE WEEKEND


It’s not unusual for top NASCAR drivers to occasionally miss some practice time or qualifying as they and jet between venues to make a race.

But few have missed practice for high school graduation.

That’s what Nationwide Series points leader Chase Elliott will do Saturday morning, attending his high-school graduation before flying to Iowa Speedway for Saturday’s race.

Elliott, 18, will graduate from Kings Ridge Christian School in Georgia in Alpharetta, Georgia. He will participate in all three practice sessions at Iowa on Friday before flying home on Friday night.

Elliott, who has two Nationwide wins this season, will fly back to Iowa immediately after graduation ceremonies Saturday morning. He is expected to arrive in time for qualifying and the 2 p.m. race. He is schedule to miss only one practice session Saturday morning.

“Graduation will be exciting to participate in,” said Elliott, the son of NASCAR great Bill Elliott. “I mean, I’m really excited for both parts (graduation and racing). It will be a different weekend than normal, for sure.”

Contributors: Bob Pockrass, Jeff Owens