Jade Buford, a long-time competitor for Big Machine Racing, will return to the organization for the second time this season, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Talladega Superspeedway.
The organization’s second entry, which debuted at Daytona International Speedway in February, will carry sponsorship from Big Machine Vodka DOUBLE SPIKED Coolers, as it takes to the track for the second time in 2023.
Buford will serve as a teammate to Parker Kligerman, who pilots the organization’s flagship No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a ride in which the 35-year-old driver used to occupy.
“I can’t wait to race with Parker [Kligerman] at Talladega,” said Buford in a team release. “We were able to run at Daytona in February and it’s great having a partner on the track to work with together as a team.”
After starting inside the top-12 at Daytona earlier this year, Buford recorded a finish of 25th place, after being involved in a last-lap crash that saw Sam Mayer flip over and slide down the track into traffic.
In 46 starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Buford has a career-high finish of eighth, twice, which came at Circuit of The Americas last season, as well as Charlotte’s ROVAL in 2020, driving for SS Greenlight Racing.
Through the opening eight races of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, Kligerman has scored three top-10 results for Big Machine Racing, at Auto Club, Atlanta, and Richmond. At Atlanta, Kligerman was battling for the victory, when he was swept up in a last-lap crash, but managed to slide across the start-finish line in fourth.
