Roulette Recap: Parker Retzlaff – Atlanta Motor Speedway

Roulette Recap follows a randomly-selected NASCAR Xfinity Series driver throughout a race and recaps their efforts. The driver could face calamity on lap one or start from the rear and win the race – there is no telling ahead of time. With that, may the odds be ever in the driver’s favor.

Parker Retzlaff’s first visit to Atlanta Motor Speedway was a doozie. The Jordan Anderson Racing driver, and NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie, took to the track for the RAPTOR King of Tough 250 in P17 after qualifying was rained out. With only 13 NXS starts under his belt, this race would be a learning opportunity, but with the new way of racing at AMS, it was definitely anyone’s game.

Stage 1

Coming to the green flag, Retzlaff’s crew chief, Joshua Graham told the driver and No. 31 team, “Let’s have a little fun today!” With zero practice time and no qualifying laps, the team had no idea what would be awaiting them.

The first of many cautions came on lap two and Retzlaff told his team he was really free and felt like he was hitting something. 

Coming to the restart on lap eight, his spotter, Chris Osborne told him, “Take the top and get comfortable up there.”

Almost immediately, the caution flew again. As Retzlaff skirted through, he yelled to his team, “Wooooooooo!” Osborne chuckled and said, “Good job avoiding that.”

Graham chose to bring his driver in for fuel during the extended caution that lasted nearly 20 minutes. Retzlaff joked, “This thing’ll be over by the time we go green!” 

Finally, teams went back to racing on lap 25 and once again, the caution flew two laps later. 

Retzlaff informed his crew chief he was having trouble shifting from second to third. Graham and Retzlaff discussed some options but chose to simply make a note of it and check the transmission back at the shop. 

With nine laps remaining in the opening stage, Retzlaff restarted P18, but another caution flew for debris on the track. Retzlaff noted he was still struggling with shifting and Graham apologized for the trouble. An encouraged driver came over the radio and said, “No! We’re doing to make a good day of it!” 

The No. 31 team stayed on track during the caution and finished the stage P16.

Stage 2

The start of the second stage of the race saw the young driver start P6 and drivers go three-wide. This shuffled Retzlaff around from sixth to 10th. He squeezed by Sam Mayer who lost control and claimed P7, then worked his way to P5. Not surprisingly, another caution came on lap 56. Graham calmed his driver down and encouraged him heading into the next restart.

Unfortunately, Retzlaff was the cause of the next caution as he had a right front tire go down. He hit the wall hard and took two trips to pit road – one to change tires and one to access and fix the damage.

A wild restart with 14 to go in the stage allowed Retzlaff to move from P28 to P24 before yet another caution flew. He thanked his team for the work under the previous caution and noted that his Camaro drove “much better.” 

As the team waited to go back racing, Graham encouraged Retzlaff, saying, “You were doing a very good job up there. I was very impressed.”

Retzlaff said, “Yeah! The car felt good.” Graham responded, “They knew you were there. We’ll be back!”

The stage ended under caution after another wreck slowed the field to pace laps. Retzlaff crossed the line P15.

Stage 3

The final stage had Retzlaff starting P17. Graham told his driver, “Eyes forward.” As Retzlaff was racing teammate Jeb Burton, Osborne chimed in, “Good job. Stay with it.” 

Eventually, the field fell to single file and settled in for a long green-flag run. While this toned down the intensity, it made passing more difficult. Graham told his driver, “Keep after it. We’ll get a caution.” And sure enough, five laps later, the caution flew.

Retzlaff came to pit road for fuel and tires and was told by his crew chief, “You’re good on fuel. This is it for the race.” In response, Retzlaff said, “I’ll give you guys everything I’ve got!”

Over the next 11 laps, Retzlaff worked his way from P19 to P17 and then fell to P20 as the racing took on a very superspeedway-like feel with tight racing throughout the lead pack. 

With 10 to go, Retzlaff was on the move and, in the blink of an eye, was spinning after a hard hit from behind.

Retzlaff radioed to let his team know he was okay before heading to the infield care center where he was checked and released.

As Graham thanked the team for their hard work, Osborne said, “I knew it’d break loose. I just didn’t think we’d be in it.”

After a hard-fought battle, Retzlaff finished his day P27.

Sponsor Shoutout

As NASCAR fans know, sponsors make the sport go ’round. We want to give a shoutout to a few of those that were part of the weekend for Parker Retzlaff and the No. 31 team:

Funk Away, Bommarito Automotive Group, Easy Care/APCO, Ponsse

Be sure to give Parker Retzlaff (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and Jordan Anderson Racing (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) a follow to keep up with the latest news from the driver and team.