As Parker Retzlaff navigated the closing laps of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway in just his second NASCAR Cup Series start, he did what you want any race car driver to do, he went for the race win. While it ultimately didn’t pan out for Retzlaff as he finished seventh, you’d expect being in the thick of the battle for the race win and finishing top-10 in your second career NASCAR Cup Series start would open up some eyes.
Instead, Retzlaff’s decision to push Harrison Burton to victory has drawn undue criticism from Chevrolet, shedding light on an unfortunate and unrealistic expectation that manufacturers have towards their drivers at superspeedway races.
Retzlaff competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Jordan Anderson Racing a Chevrolet team which has a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing and found himself in an awkward position on Saturday night in the NASCAR Cup Series event. While driving a Chevrolet Camaro for Beard Motorsports, Retzlaff lined up behind Burton’s Ford Mustang on an overtime finish restart. Retzlaff had two choices: push like hell, or purposely throw out an anchor, drop to the back, and leave Burton in his Ford hanging in the process.
Retzlaff pushed like hell, and as they cruised past Kyle Busch’s No. 8 RCR Chevrolet down the backstretch on the final lap, Retzlaff felt he had a real chance to win the race in his own right. His bid to win faded in a wild skirmish to the finish line. But Retzlaff’s push of Burton was good enough to secure the win for Burton and his Wood Brothers Racing team. Retzlaff’s decisions seemed to upset Chevrolet’s hierarchy, despite the fact that Burton’s win was a result of a strategic race scenario and not a determined effort by Retzlaff to ruin Busch’s bid for the race win.
In the days following the race, Chevrolet’s scrutiny of Retzlaff seems more like an overreaction rather than a constructive critique to me. The fact that Retzlaff’s actions were influenced by a desire to support his primary sponsor, FunkAway, highlights a disconnect between the expectations placed on young drivers and the harshness of the backlash they face when things don’t go as planned.
These drivers are making hundreds of decisions in thousandths-of-a-second. It’s unrealistic to expect them to make every right move.
During an interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s On Track, Retzlaff expressed his regret for how Saturday’s race played out but remained firm in his stance that he was focused on doing his best for his sponsor and the team. “It wasn’t what I wanted to happen, but I had to take the opportunity to showcase myself,” Retzlaff said. His commitment to his sponsor and the desire to make a mark in the Cup Series should be seen as a positive, not a reason for reprimand.
And while we have no idea if there was anything more behind the scenes than just words with Retzlaff from Chevrolet, as Retzlaff refused to go into the specifics on SiriusXM, the fact that there was a reaction from Chevrolet—focusing on Retzlaff’s push for a Ford—at all seems misplaced. After all, the race leader, Kyle Busch, had his lane choice and opted for the inside line, where he was paired with Christopher Bell’s Toyota. Burton’s victory was a result of a combination of factors, not just Retzlaff’s decision. The scrutiny faced by Retzlaff opens the door for a glaring problem where young talent could be punished for making strategic decisions in high-pressure situations, which could ultimately lead to them losing support from their manufacturer.
Retzlaff, who should be talking proudly about his amazing run at Daytona in the Cup race, will now look to distract his way past the controversy from it with a solid finish in this weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway.
