Dale Earnhardt Jr. defends Parker Retzlaff for trying to win, helping Harrison Burton to win at Daytona

One of the controversies that arose from the NASCAR weekend at Daytona was Parker Retzlaff pushing Harrison Burton to the win. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was ready to give his perspective on the matter.

Earlier this week on an episode of the Dale Jr. Download, the Hall of Famer broke down the end of the Daytona race, and the fallout afterward. Parker Retzlaff was in an RCR-affiliated car and pushed a Ford to the win.

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That’s not ideal, but it isn’t the first time something like this has happened. The young driver in his second career Cup start didn’t have a great option to start behind Kyle Busch. He would have to give up a row, and a shot at winning the race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. defended Retzlaff this week. He compared it to his 2014 victory at Martinsville and the reaction from fans.

“You know what people say is, I went to Martinsville and won the race and I’m thinking, ‘Holy s**t, you know, I got a clock I’m happy, this is a box I wanted to check.’ … I’m like, ‘Man I really wanted a Martinsville win, I finally, finally got one,'” Earnhardt explained. “And people are still today, every once in a while go, ‘I can’t believe you didn’t let Jeff win and he could have went on to the, went on in the playoffs, that would have helped him in the playoffs. I can’t believe you didn’t help him win that race.’ Like I’m supposed to pull over.”

He went on, defending Parker Retzlaff further.

“People truly think that should have been my choice. Same thing here people truly think that Park should have just got out of the way or just not helped, and not done anything. I don’t know. It’s wild.”

Parker Retzlaff went for the win at Daytona

There is a world where Parker Retzlaff clears Kyle Busch on the backstretch and goes head-to-head with Harrison Burton to the line. Or possibly three-wide. If there had been one more push from behind the 62 car, he clears the 8 and then who knows what happens.

It seems that many people are in agreement on this. However, Retzlaff has face a lot of criticism. To many fans, and possibly his manufacturer, he cost Chevy a win. But it’s Daytona. He’s a part-time driver. 21 years old.

Busch had a chance to line up in front of Retzlaff. He had a chance to make that move, but didn’t. It’s hard for that team to handle. It really is. But when your season comes down to whether you win at Daytona or not, these are the gambles that you take.

Dale Jr. is right, people will criticize this for however long there are Chevy and Kyle Busch fans. But Parker Retzlaff had a job. He was hired to drive that 62-car and come away with the best finish for that Beard Motorsports group and his Funkaway sponsor. He tried to do just that and it almost worked.