NASCAR insider addresses Parker Retzlaff not helping Kyle Busch, RCR late at Daytona
Harrison Burton clinched a spot in the Cup Series playoffs by winning Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, thanks to a bit of help from Parker Retzlaff.
It was Retzlaff who gave Burton the push to send him past Kyle Busch on the final lap, a move which may result in some repercussions for the 21-year-old driver. Retzlaff, making just his second career Cup Series start, piloted the No. 62 Chevrolet for Beard Motorsports, which happens to be associated with Richard Childress Racing. RCR even supplies Beard with engines, allowing them to compete at superspeedways.
And so, you could imagine the issue as Retzlaff aided Burton to a win, rather than helping Busch get to the start-finish line first to send him to the playoffs. Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic revealed on “The Teardown” podcast Sunday that Retzlaff’s team told him over the radio to not help push Burton to victory. Unfortunately for them, it played out quite differently.
“Parker Retzlaff — there was conversation on his radio channel basically saying, ‘Whatever you do, don’t push the 21 [Burton] to a win,’ because Parker Retzlaff is driving a Chevy, and they don’t want to push a Ford in. I think they would like to see a Chevy in, not knock a Chevy out,” Gluck said. “Ultimately, I think Parker Retzlaff has to do whatever he thinks is best for himself. I mean, he finished seventh and almost won the race.”
Parker Retzlaff under fire for helping Harrison Burton to win over Kyle Busch
Bianchi added he feels bad for Retzlaff, who was ultimately doing what gave him the best shot to win.
“I feel bad for him because there’s probably going to be some bad blood and don’t forget too, that team is kind of a quasi-affiliate team of RCR,” Bianchi said. “… You can see why they’re putting in this kid’s head of, ‘Hey, do this.’ But so much easier to say than do in these closing moments.”
Retzlaff, who finished P7, said while he didn’t necessarily want to push a Ford to victory, it was the move he needed to make for himself.
“Everyone works too hard to not have a shot at it,” Retzlaff told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “I definitely didn’t want to push a Ford to the win in a Chevy. But I knew I needed to get Harrison clear to make it a race between me and him to race to the line there. I had a little bit of nose damage, and my line broke apart down the backstretch. I pushed him clear, and my line broke apart and I had no chance to get clear.”