Before last weekend, most racing fans had never heard of Parker Retzlaff.
The Xfinity Series driver was making his second career NASCAR Cup Series start in last Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, and he found himself in the second row heading into a dramatic overtime at Daytona International Speedway.
In the end, he delivered the big push that helped Harrison Burton win his first career race at Daytona. But Retzlaff clearly wishes he would have taken a different approach.
Retzlaff facing criticism for Daytona finish
After his late push at Daytona, the rookie driver received a healthy dose of criticism online for helping Burton – a Ford driver – steal the win from fellow Chevrolet driver Kyle Busch, who is still looking for his first checkered flag of the season.
Busch led around the final lap but couldn’t keep up with the momentum of the previously winless Burton, whose mom praised Busch for his “race morals” for not wrecking her son as the former two-time champion settled for second.
Before the final restart, Retzlaff’s team explicitly told him over the radio: “Don’t push that 21 to the win.”
But the 21-year-old felt he had a chance at victory and took the outside lane – only to end up being the decisive blow to Busch’s chances at reaching Victory Lane himself.
READ MORE: Nightmare year lives on for Kyle Busch at Daytona: ‘Nothing else I could do’
Many, including Busch, defended the youngster after the race, but he’s still drawn some harsh criticism online … and seemingly even from Chevy itself.
Retzlaff ‘would have helped Chevy’ with Daytona do-over
It sure sounds like all that pressure and criticism has gotten to Retzlaff after the best finish of his career.
Retzlaff has declined to get into the specifics this week about any repercussions for denying a playoff spot for Busch and Richard Childress Racing – which has a technical alliance with Jordan Anderson Racing, the Xfinity Series team that sponsors Retzlaff.
On Friday, he shared regret about his role in Burton’s win and for not helping Busch get into the NASCAR playoffs on an episode of the DJD Reloaded podcast.
“If I could go back and change it, I would have helped Chevy …” Retzlaff said. “But I also don’t want to just give up for everybody who’s supported me.”
The rookie has previously said he was trying to “put myself on the map” with a strong finish at the world’s most famous NASCAR track.
Instead, he was at the center of the sport’s biggest controversy over the last week while delivering another playoff spot to rival Ford ahead of Sunday’s regular-season finale at Darlington.
READ MORE: Bubba Wallace makes NASCAR playoff statement at Darlington: ‘We’re not here to mess around’
Retzlaff added that he hates “being the person to cause all this drama and mess on Twitter” but that he did what he thought he could to win the race.
He ultimately finished seventh after a P35 in his debut at Richmond, where Austin Dillon wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to win the Cook Out 400.
Retzlaff had engine issues on the opening lap of Saturday’s Xfinity race at Darlington and finished 36th. He won’t be racing in the Cup Series regular-season finale on Sunday.