While Harrison Burton crossed the finish line at Daytona, creating one of the biggest upsets in the series in some time, another story was nearly unfolded, one involving another hopeful young driver. Had it happened, it would have been an even bigger upset and instantly made the driver a household name. Instead, he finds himself answering for his actions and defending the moves he made at the end of Saturday's race.
Parker Retzlaff, 21, was making his second start in the NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona that weekend with Beard Motorsports — a Chevrolet team that formed a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing. Remember that, as it will become important in a minute.
The Xfinity Series regular had made his debut at Richmond just a few weeks earlier, in order to prepare for racing at Daytona, running 402 of 408 laps without incident. On race day at Daytona, Retzlaff did a masterful job avoiding the chaos throughout the race, keeping his No. 62 Chevrolet fairly clean. On the final overtime restart, he lined up on the outside of the second row, directly behind Burton. Kyle Busch led the race for RCR with the Toyota of Christopher Bell behind, hoping to win his way into the playoffs.
Team owner Richard Childress could be heard on the radio just before the final restart: “Find that No. 62 [Retzlaff] spotter. Talk to him … If he can push us, push.”
Reztlaff never got the chance to push his fellow Chevrolet because they remained in opposing lines on track. The field was locked together and there was no option other than to push the car directly ahead. For Retzlaff, that was the Ford of Harrison Burton. On the final lap, he gave Burton the mightiest of shoves and both cars nearly cleared Busch entering Turn 3. Had he done so, he may have gone on to win the race, but only Burton got ahead. The No. 21 moved down to block Busch’s advance while Retzlaff was swallowed up by the pack, winning the race for the Wood Brothers and putting another Ford into the playoffs.
Retzlaff facing consequences?
Retzlaff only tried to win, and yet, that has landed him in some hot water. While it's unclear if he will face consequences behind closed doors, there has been public criticism from sections of the fanbase. What did he do so wrong? Driving a Chevrolet aligned with Childress, he pushed a Ford by a RCR driver in hopes of winning the race himself. In the end, both Chevrolets lost and Ford punched another ticket to the playoffs. This is likely to leave both Chevy and RCR displeased, especially since Busch needed that win to make the playoffs. Another wrinkle in this story is that Retzlaff's full-time Xfinity ride with Jordan Anderson Racing is also in a technical alliance with Childress.
Hopefully, he faces no reprimands for the finish at Daytona. Even if he doesn't, the criticism from certain fans is bizarre enough. He was just trying to win and should be applauded for it, not condemned. In recent years, manufacturers have established a stranglehold over superspeedway racing and it has completely changed the way the races are run. Each of the three manufacturers work together like their own super-team during these events, especially when the playoffs are looming. Retzlaff and Beard Motorsports are not full-time and showed up with hopes of Daytona glory, but in that moment, they are expected to be a pawn in playoff battle.
I have no doubt he would have pushed Busch if the opportunity presented itself, but in the position he was in, it was either go for the win or lift. What young driver would lift in that situation? Chances like the one he had on Saturday don’t happen very often, even for the veteran drivers of the sport. Winning a Cup race is hard, which is why someone at the level of Kyle Busch is even in a must-win situation.
But this like a Hendrick Motorsports driver in that position going for the win. There would be annoyance for not helping another Chevy in playoff peril, but nothing else. However, this situation involves a new driver with a small team whose very presence at the track is dependent on RCR. That comes with certain expectations, and that's all fair, but to punish him for trying to win that race in the position he was in would be seriously unfair. And not just to him and the team, but the sponsor as well. What could he say to long-time backer FunkAway if he didn't try his hardest to win that race?
Retzlaff responds
“Yeah, the end of the race is definitely not what we hoped for,” Retzlaff said on SiriusXM Radio in a Wednesday interview. “I’m not going to get into the whatever – the back-end stuff – but it was definitely not what I wanted to happen at the end of the race, and I didn’t want to push a Ford to the win necessarily, but FunkAway (sponsor) has supported me for the last two-and-a-half years of racing in NASCAR and it was their first Cup race. I wanted to do everything I could to give them a good result and kind of try to put my name on the map."
So, according to Retzlaff, he was trying to give his long-time sponsor a good showing and get his name out there. He should never have to explain why he tried to give his sponsor and team the best finish possible.
"The end of the race isn’t how I wanted it to work with pushing a Ford, but I also didn’t want to give up everything with how much FunkAway has done for me."
He should need no other excuse than that. If Retzlaff had won, what a story it would have been. It may have changed the entire course of his career and if nothing else, solidified his place in the history books. We've seen it happen before. Instead, in this particular story, Retzlaff crossed the line in seventh place, and is stuck defending his actions that ultimately decided the race's fate.
Manufacturer loyalty plays an important and critical part in the sport, but it shouldn't come at a cost to the racing itself.
