Why a NASCAR rookie shouldn't face criticism for his ambition to win Daytona

When Harrison Burton defeated Kyle Busch at the finish line at Daytona last weekend, it was one of the biggest upsets the NASCAR Cup Series has seen in a long time. A second-generation driver who lost his 2025 ride at the legendary Wood Brothers Ford team to Josh Berry was now a winner. And punched his ticket to the playoffs, too.

But another story that almost unfolded, involving another young, promising driver, would have been an even bigger surprise if it had happened and made the driver in question an instant household name. Instead, Parker Retzlaff must answer for his actions and defend the moves he made at the end of Saturday’s race.

The 21-year-old was making his second NASCAR Cup Series start that weekend at Daytona with Beard Motorsports — a Chevrolet team that has formed a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing. Remember that, because it’s going to be important in a moment.

The regular Xfinity Series driver had made his debut a few weeks earlier at Richmond to prepare for the Daytona race, and completed 402 of the 408 laps without incident. On race day at Daytona, Retzlaff did a masterful job of avoiding chaos throughout the race, keeping his #62 Chevrolet relatively clean.

On the final restart of overtime, he lined up on the outside of the second row, directly behind Burton. Busch led the race for RCR with the Toyota of Christopher Bell behind, hoping to win his way into the playoffs.

Team owner Richard Childress was heard on the radio just before the final restart: “Find that spotter on No. 62 (Retzlaff). Talk to him … If he can push us, push us.”

Watch: Harrison Burton Claims Win #100 for Wood Brothers Racing

Retzlaff never got a chance to push his fellow Chevrolet driver, as they were on opposite lines on the track. The field was locked together and there was no other option than to push the car straight ahead. For Retzlaff, that was the Ford of Burton.

On the final lap, he gave Burton the biggest push, and both cars nearly passed Busch entering Turn 3. If Retzlaff had done the same, he might have won the race, but only Burton came out ahead. He went down to block Busch’s lead, while Retzlaff was swallowed up by the pack and finished seventh.

Retzlaff was only trying to win, and yet it has gotten him into trouble. While it is unclear whether he will face consequences behind closed doors, there has been public criticism from sections of the fan base.

What did he do so wrong? He drove a Childress-affiliated Chevrolet and pushed a Ford past an RCR driver in hopes of winning the race himself. In the end, both Chevrolets lost and a Ford driver with no chance of advancing on points crashed out of the playoffs.

This will likely displease both Chevy and RCR, especially since 2015 and 2019 Cup champion Busch needed that win to make the playoffs. In another twist to this tale, Retzlaff’s full-time Xfinity ride with Jordan Anderson Racing also features a technical alliance with Childress.

Hopefully he doesn’t get reprimanded for finishing in Daytona. And even if he doesn’t, the criticism from some fans is bizarre enough. He was just trying to win and should be praised for it, not condemned.

In recent years, manufacturers have gained a stranglehold on superspeedway racing, and it has completely changed the way the races are run. Each of the three manufacturers works together as their own superteam at these events, especially as the playoffs approach. Retzlaff and Beard Motorsports aren’t full-time and showed up with hopes of Daytona glory, but at that point they’re expected to be pawns in the playoff battle.

Retzlaff was making only his second Cup start and has never won a race in the Xfinity Series

Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images

I have no doubt he would push Busch if the opportunity arose, but in the position he was in, it was either go for the win or hitchhike. What young driver would hitchhike in that situation?

Opportunities like the one he had Saturday don’t come around very often, even for the veteran drivers in the sport. Winning a Cup race is tough, and that’s why someone at Busch’s level is in a must-win situation.

If this was a Hendrick Motorsports driver going for the win, there would be some resentment that he wasn’t helping put another Chevy in playoff contention, but nothing more. This situation, however, involves a new driver with a small team whose track presence depends on RCR.

That brings with it certain expectations, which is fair. But to punish him for trying to win that race, in the position he was in, would be downright unfair. Not only to Retzlaff and his team, but also to their sponsor. What could Retzlaff say to loyal backer FunkAway if he didn’t do his absolute best to win that race?

“The end of the race is definitely not what we were hoping for,” Retzlaff said on SiriusXM Radio in an interview Wednesday. “I’m not going to get into the whatever — the back-end stuff — but it was definitely not what I wanted to happen at the end of the race, and I didn’t necessarily want to push a Ford to the win.

“But FunkAway has supported me for the last two and a half years in NASCAR and it was their first Cup race. I wanted to do everything I could to give them a good result and to put my name on the map.”

Retzlaff would never have to explain why he tried to make his sponsor and team perform as well as possible. If he had won, it might have changed the entire course of his career and at least cemented his place in the history books. We’ve seen it happen before.

In this particular story, Retzlaff crossed the finish line in seventh place and must defend his actions that ultimately determined the fate of the race. Loyalty to manufacturers plays an important and crucial role in the sport, but this should not come at the expense of racing itself.