Parker Retzlaff, a Chevrolet driver, pushed Harrison Burton, a Ford driver, to the win at Daytona International Speedway. This was a move that made Burton happy but reportedly led to backlash from Chevrolet.
Retzlaff made the comments during a Wednesday afternoon appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio's "On Track." He spoke to Danielle Trotta and Larry McReynolds about his experience competing in the Cup Series race at Daytona, as well as his push that sent Burton to victory lane.
"Yeah, I mean, the end of the race was definitely not what we hoped for," Retzlaff said. "I'm not going to get into the -- whatever, I guess -- the backend stuff but it was definitely not what I wanted to happen at the end of the race.
Parker Retzlaff live On Track we asked about end of Daytona Cup race when he was lined up 4th in a Chevy and pushed Harrison in a Ford to the win while Busch was in a Chevy on the front row - Chevy is reportedly very upset w Parker - Parker says he won’t get into any consequences…
— Danielle Trotta (@DanielleTrotta) August 28, 2024
"I didn't want to push a Ford to the win necessarily, but Funkaway 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 in my power to give them a good result and kind of try and put my name on the map."
The Chevrolet conversation is continuing due to the ties between Richard Childress Racing and Beard Motorsports, the team for which Retzlaff drove last weekend. According to the team, RCR builds the Beard Motorsports cars and provides the power through ECR engines.
Austin Hill, another RCR driver, has made multiple starts for Beard Motorsports in the past. Busch, an RCR driver, was in position to win the race after lining up in front of former teammate Christopher Bell.
As Retzlaff continued to explain, he felt that the decision to push Burton was the best for his situation. It allowed him to show that he could contend and potentially win the race.
Retzlaff said that he didn't want to "hurt" Busch, nor did he want to hurt anyone at Chevrolet with his moves on the track.
A @DAYTONA finish we're still buzzing about. pic.twitter.com/1KCSunCOgM
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 25, 2024
Regardless of how Chevrolet feels about the move, Burton will not forget what Retzlaff did for him Saturday night at Daytona. He knows that the young Xfinity driver pushed him to potentially a career-changing win.
"By the way, in his second Cup race ever, did one of the best jobs I've ever seen pushing," Burton said about Retzlaff after his win. "He had me crossed up a few times where I was sideways out of control. I could tell even to the restart he gave me space enough to where I could gather the car and then push me again.
"You see a lot of guys just kind of run through you in that moment, especially at the end of these races. Huge hats off to him. I owe him, I don't know how old he is, a beer if he's old enough, or what. He did a great job, for sure."