Parker Retzlaff is facing backlash from Chevrolet and Richard Childress Racing for effectively pushing Harrison Burton to the win over Kyle Busch on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway.
This was a controversial outcome because Retzlaff, making his second ever Cup Series start driving for Beard Motorsports, has a Childress alliance through both that team and the Jordan Anderson Racing program he competes full-time for in the Xfinity Series.
The final restart of the race came down to Burton and Kyle Busch, who drives for Childress, on the front row and both needing nothing less than a win to make the Cup Series playoffs. Retzlaff lined up behind Burton and pushed him past Busch to the win.
Christopher Bell had picked before Retzlaff and chose the bottom, behind Busch, and so the choice was either second row outside of third row inside. Retzlaff chose to maintain his second row restart position.
Retzlaff has claimed to Sportsnaut that he never heard it, but there were communications on their team radio to not push Burton, but that conversation also could have happened on the team’s second channel that the driver cannot hear.
During a Wednesday appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Retzalff confirmed there have been conversations about what he should have done but didn’t get into details. Ultimately, the 21-year-old said he was trying to take advantage of the opportunity to put himself and sponsor FunkAway in the national spotlight.
He ultimately finished seventh.
“Yeah, the end of the race is definitely not what we hoped for,” Retzlaff said. “I’m not going to get into the whatever, the back-end stuff, but it was not what I wanted to happen at the end of the race.
“I didn’t want to push a Ford to the win necessarily but FunkAway has supported me for the last two years in NASCAR and it was their first Cup race and I wanted to do whatever in my power to give them a good result and put my name on the map. The end of the race is not how I wanted it to work, pushing a Ford, but I also didn’t want to give away a result for FunkAway and how they’ve supported me.”
Retzlaff said it immediately after the race, and repeated it again on Wednesday, but he was more trying to set himself up to win more than aid Burton over Busch.
He was trying to win the race for himself, his partners and Beard Motorsports.
“I don’t know the right/wrong, what the right decision truly was but when I could see that I would have a run down the backstretch, I felt like I had a shot,” Retzlaff said. “I haven’t been here, it’s only my second full-time season and just my second Cup start.
“I just wanted to put myself on the map and it was just a good opportunity for FunkAway and me, showing that I could compete. My only shot was to get Harrison clear and get myself in line and give myself a chance to win the race. I still don’t know what the right decision was but I made the one I thought was best for me and everyone who supports me.”
He was also asked if this affects his future in any way through both Beard or Jordan Anderson Racing.
“I don’t have anything planned right now and I don’t know what the future is right now,” Retzlaff said of his Cup plans. “I’m trying to let everyone know I wasn’t trying to do anything malicious or harmful.
“It was my second Cup race ever, first Cup race at Daytona and me being young and feeling like I had a shot to win the race, maybe I made a wrong decision. I don’t know. It’s not what I meant to happen. I didn’t want to hurt Kyle or anyone at Chevy. It was just a chance to put myself on the map.”
