“That’s weird” - Denny Hamlin’s crew chief calls out ongoing narrative against Parker Retzlaff

Denny Hamlin's crew chief Chris Gabehart backed Parker Retzlaff amid the criticism that the 21-year-old driver has been facing lately. Retzlaff, who has made just two starts in the NASCAR Cup Series so far, came under heavy fire for pushing Wood Brothers Racing's Harrison Burton to the latter's first-ever Cup Series win last Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.

Parker Retzlaff competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Jordan Anderson Racing, a Chevy team that bears an alliance with Richard Childress Racing. Last week at Daytona, Retzlaff drove the No. 62 FUNKAWAY Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Beard Motorsports, another team allied with RCR.

Pushing a Ford driver, i.e., Burton, to the victory over Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch has led to Retzlaff facing quite some backlash from the racing community. Addressing the same in an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Retzlaff said,

"Yeah, the end of the race was definitely not what we hoped for. I didn’t intend 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."

Veteran journalist Joseph Srigley reposted Retzlaff's interview and said,

"This feels like a good way to deter Parker Retzlaff (and other young drivers) from driving for Chevrolet in the future... reprimanding a driver for trying to win a NASCAR Cup Series race is stupid."

Gabehart responded to Srigley's post, saying,

"A racecar driver trying to win a race. That's weird. 🤔What a bunch of 💩"

Even Jeff Gluck of The Athletic rallied behind Retzlaff saying that the latter should not be held responsible for that last-lap push. Calling the whole conversation "completely insane," Gluck said,

"Kid is making his second Cup start and sees a chance to WIN THE RACE and he's having to suffer through people being mad at him for it? Don't blame Retzlaff for Kyle Busch/RCR being in the position where they had to win Daytona."

Retzlaff finished seventh in the race. The Rhinelander, Wisconsin native, will run this Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200. He is currently 18th in the Xfinity Series standings with 337 points to his name.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Parker Retzlaff's last-lap move

Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave his opinion on Parker Retzlaff's last-lap push at Daytona last Sunday (Source: Getty)

In a recent episode of the Dale JR Download, Hall of Famer and two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, Dale Earnhardt Jr., expressed his views on whether what Parker Retzlaff did was the right for someone from the Chevrolet camp.

"At the end, when it comes down to, like, 20 to go, I’m very singular, very selfish. I’m trying to win the race, and if I’m trying to help you win the race. I’m not doing what I’m supposed to do. So, I like what Parker did," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I think he was truly just trying to put himself in position to get a win. So, I don’t have a real problem with it."

However, Earnhardt Jr. explained how Richard Childress Racing might have seen Retzlaff's action.

"The No. 8 team (driven by Kyle Busch), they’re not going to be big Parker fans. They’re gonna, you know, do a little bit of grumbling in the shop, a little bit of grumbling in the office. Some of the management might be disappointed," he added.

Having said that, Dale Earnhardt Jr. also thinks that Retzlaff's move wasn't too egregious and was unlikely to become a hindrance to endeavors with Richard Childress Racing if there were to be any in the future.