Retzlaff Did Nothing Illegal At Daytona

Parker Retzlaff shouldn't have to defend his decision to go for a victory last Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.

Another narrative was almost developing, one featuring another aspirational young driver, as Harrison Burton crossed the finish line at Daytona, producing one of the biggest shocks in the series in some years. Had that happened, the disturbance would have been far more pronounced and the driver would have been a household name right away. Rather, he discovers he is justifying the acts he took at the finish of Saturday's race.

Making his second start in the NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona that weekend with Beard Motorsports, a Chevrolet team forming a technical agreement with Richard Childress Racing, Parker Retzlaff, 21 was Remember that, in a minute, it will become crucial.

Just a few weeks before, the Xfinity Series regular made his Richmond debut to get ready for Daytona and ran 402 of 408 laps without incident. Retzlaff had a great job keeping his No. 62 Chevrolet somewhat clean by deftly avoiding the mayhem all throughout race day at Daytona. He lined up just behind Burton on the last overtime restart, on the edge of the second row. Hoping to earn his ticket into the playoffs, Kyle Busch led the RCR race with a Toyota of Christopher Bell behind.

Just before the last restart, Team owner Richard Childress could be heard on the radio: "Find that No. 62 Retzlaff spotter. Discuss with him. Should he be able to push us, push.

Reztlaff never got the opportunity to challenge his fellow Chevrolet since they stayed in opposite lines on track. There was just one choice—push the vehicle straight ahead—as the field closed together. That was Ford of Harrison Burton for Retzlaff. He gave Burton the strongest of shoves on the last lap, and both cars almost cleared Busch into Turn 3. Had he done so, he may have gone on to win the race; only Burton advanced. Retzlaff was buried behind the pack, so the No. 21 dropped to block Busch's approach, securing the Wood Brothers' victory and placing another Ford into the playoffs.

Retzlaff Facing Consequences?

Retzlaff just aimed to win, but it has put him in some hot water. Although it's unknown whether he will suffer repercussions behind closed doors, some of his fans have publicly objected. What did he do so wrong?  Driving a Chevrolet in line with Childress, he pushed a Ford by an RCR driver in an attempt to win the race personally. Ford punched another trip to the playoffs and both Chevrooys lost ultimately. Given Busch needed that win to qualify for the playoffs, this is probably going to irritate Chevy and RCR particularly. Retzlaff's full-time Xfinity seat with Jordan Anderson Racing also runs under a technical partnership with Childress, adding even another element to this narrative.

With regard to the Daytona finish, hopefully he receives no penalties. Even if he doesn't, some fans' criticism is strange enough. He should be praised for striving to win instead being criticized. Manufacturers have developed a choke over superspeedway racing in recent years, which has fundamentally altered the running of the races. Particularly as the playoffs are approaching, each of the three manufacturers cooperate like their own super-team at these tournaments. Retzlaff and Beard Motorsports went in hoping for Daytona glory but are anticipated to be a pawn in playoff struggle; they are not full-time.

If the chance presented itself, I have no doubt he would have pushed Busch; however, given his current situation, it was either go for the victory or lift. Under those circumstances, what young driver would lift? For even the seasoned racers, chances like the one he had on Saturday are rare. It's difficult to win a cup race, so someone like Kyle Busch is even in a must-win scenario. 

But this is similar to a Hendrick Motorsports driver in that posture pursuing the championship. Not aiding another Chevy in playoff jeopardy would cause irritation, but little else. But in this case, a rookie driver with a tiny team depends on RCR for their very presence at the race. That comes with certain expectations, and that's all reasonable; nevertheless, it would be rather unfair to blame him for attempting to win that race from the position he was in. And not just for the team and him but also for the sponsor. If he didn't do his utmost to win the contest, what could he say to longtime supporter FunkAway? You may also read this: RB Spotted The Problems With Their Barcelona Formula One Upgrade

Retzlaff Responds

Retzlaff remarked on SiriusXM Radio in a Wednesday interview, "Yeah, the end of the race is definitely not what we hoped for." "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 essentially, 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 attempt to put my name on the map and do everything I could to produce a good outcome for them."

Retzlaff claims he was aiming to get his name out there and provide his long-time sponsor with a decent performance. He should never have to justify why he aimed to provide his team and sponsor the greatest finish available.

"The end of the race isn’s how I wanted it to work with pushing a Ford, but I also didn’s not want to give up everything with how much FunkAway has done for me."

He ought just to need that as his justification. Had Retzlaff prevailed, what a narrative that would have told. If nothing else, it confirmed his position in the annals and may have altered the whole trajectory of his career. We have seen it happen elsewhere. Rather, in this specific narrative Retzlaff crossed the line in seventh position and is caught justifying his behavior that finally determines the course of the race.