Parker Retzlaff’s return to Xfinity Series racing has turned out to be a disappointing one. In the very first lap of the race at Darlington, the No. 31 Chevy seemed to have lost power and was forced to head to the pit road. Running on fumes, the race car finally reached the pits and stalled without making it to the designated team area.

Although this looked like a genuine engine or electrical issue, fans were convinced that the Chevy Camp had something to do with this incident. For context, Parker Retzlaff, despite driving full-time for Jordan Anderson Racing in a Chevy car, ditched Kyle Busch and helped Harrison Burton at Daytona.

He was driving the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Ford Mustang and gave Burton the help he needed to secure a maiden win and a playoff berth. Later, he did clarify that everything was good between him and Chevy after the Coke Zero 400 race. However, he did have second thoughts about how differently he would’ve run the last lap.

“If I could go back and change it. I would’ve, you know, helped Chevy and all of them put a Chevy in the playoffs. But I also just don’t want to give up for everybody who’s supported me and just wanted to give them a good result. I hate being the person to cause all this, I guess drama and mess on Twitter, but once again, I did whatever I felt like was best for the people who’ve supported me,” he said via Dirty Mo Media.

However, today’s start of the race has got the fans thinking; they punished the driver for not following the drill last weekend.

Conspiracy theories on the rise after Retzlaff’s suffering early in the race

Had it not been for the last lap push by Retzlaff on Harrison Burton, Busch was on his way to the playoffs. But we all know that didn’t happen, and the Xfinity driver had a huge say in the final outcome. While it’s highly unlikely that Chevy or RCR had something to do with his troubles in the race today, fans were convinced by this theory, “Chevrolet really cut the engine off on Parker Retzlaff.”

The only time the driver has competed in the Ford ride is in the Cup Series. And it wasn’t a long-standing partnership or alliance; rather, he has only run two races with them. So it was indeed surprising to see him ditch a Chevy car, who could’ve easily won. But today’s event certainly has allowed the fans to chime in with their wild theories. “Richard Childress just cut all power to Parker Retzlaff’s car (very believable conspiracy theory).”

Not sure if drivers not helping their fellow OEM drivers leads to a penalty. But an engine malfunction or electrical issue certainly is a big blow for any racecar driver at the start of a race. Going by the reaction online, this race fan feels that Retzlaff is serving an invisible penalty. “Parker Retzlaff looks to be serving his penalty…”

Some even went as far as to suggest that the RCR team rigged the No. 31 Chevy to fail before the start of today’s event. This would serve as a payback to the driver’s decision of leaving Rowdy high and dry, “Rcr rigging Parker retzlaff’s car to spontaneously combust in the pre race.”

The comments didn’t stop there. Others added that both RCR and Chevy were in cahoots, ensuring that they delivered the right message to Parker Retzlaff. “Chevy cut Parker Retzlaff’s wires after Daytona.”

What are your thoughts on their conspiracy theory, and would RCR or Chevy intentionally do such a thing?