Harrison Burton winning at Daytona last weekend was not what many NASCAR fans expected. While it turned out to be a memorable race for him, so did it for young Parker Retzlaff. Competing in just his second Cup Series race, Retzlaff looked impressive, as he almost made history then. However, it didn’t go as per the plan. Eventually, he ended up making life difficult for Kyle Busch.

Kyle Busch’s quest for a playoff spot is no secret; he’s been fiercely pursuing a win to secure his place. Despite the golden opportunity presented by the Daytona International Speedway, it just wasn’t his day. Now, all eyes are on the upcoming race at Darlington. Meanwhile, Parker Retzlaff has faced intense scrutiny. The lingering question for many is: Who exactly is Parker Retzlaff?

The driver has a long way to go in the Cup Series despite forgettable time at Daytona

Coming from a small Wisconsin town with a population of only 8,300, Parker Retzlaff is one of the hottest prospects in NASCAR right now. After making his full-time debut with Jordan Anderson Racing in the Xfinity Series last year, Retzlaff is growing and developing steadily. His Xfinity Series debut was an impressive one, having qualified sixth at Phoenix Raceway.

Last year, driving the #31 Chevrolet Camaro for Jordan Anderson Racing, Retzlaff finished with one top-five and seven top-ten finishes. While it was impressive, the 21-year-old has already improved this season with two top-five and four top-ten finishes in 23 races so far. Interestingly, along with his Xfinity venture, Retzlaff received the opportunity to race in the Cup Series in 2024.

He made his Cup Series debut at Richmond this year, running 402 out of 408 laps without any incident. While his second race came at Daytona last weekend, it was nothing short of eventful. Running the #62 Chevrolet for Beard Motorsports, Parker Retzlaff did an amazing job avoiding the chaos throughout the race. However, it all changed in the final overtime restart.

While he lined up on the outside of the second row, he was placed behind Ford’s Harrison Burton. It is worth noting that Beard Motorsports has a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing. This meant other than having the same manufacturer, Retzlaff had a connection with RCR as well. Having said that, he was placed behind Burton and alongside Christopher Bell, who was behind Kyle Busch.

What happened next was no less than interesting. In an attempt to go all out and win the race, Parker Retzlaff ended up pushing Burton with a mighty shove. Not only did it help the Wood Brothers Racing driver win but also deprived Busch of a victory and a place in the playoffs. Practically speaking, Retzlaff never stood a chance to help Rowdy since both of them were placed in opposing lines.

However, the young driver faced severe criticism because of his alleged push to Burton. Not only was he deemed disloyal to his manufacturer but also to the team that technically helped his Cup Series team. Truth be told, Retzlaff cannot be blamed for being optimistic and going all the way to make his team proud. Luckily, even Kyle Busch did not see a problem with it.

While Parker Retzlaff finished seventh in the race at Daytona, he certainly proved his mettle among the top drivers. His night might have turned controversial, but there’s no denying his talent. With more such runs in the Cup Series, surely he will grow better and hopefully find a full-time place in the competition shortly.

The way he spoke after the race showed a lot about Retzlaff’s character and the attitude he possesses.

Parker Retzlaff shows promising signs

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What Parker Retzlaff tried to do at Daytona was something any young driver would have. To try and make his team proud at a young age is all that a driver wants. No wonder, the Beard Motorsports driver looked positive despite the controversial end to the race. Speaking on SiriusXM Radio on Wednesday and as reported by Motorsports.com, Retzlaff explained what happened at the end of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 race.

He said, “Yeah, the end of the race is definitely not what we hoped for. ’Im 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.”

On any other day, Parker Retzlaff would have escaped criticism had it not been for Kyle Busch in the picture and his playoff struggles. In fact, it was impressive how Retzlaff was keen on making his sponsor FunkAway proud. He said, “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.”

Clearly, the storyline would have been drastically different had Retzlaff won the race last weekend. It would have been different had Busch won the race as well with his push. However, it is important to remember how he performed well in the first place to get into that position. Most certainly, this shows the promising future he possesses. Under the proper guidance of Chevrolet and his teams, Parker Retzlaff could surely become a superstar in the future.