When Ryan Ellis informed Alpha Prime Racing he wasn’t returning to the team for the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, owner Tommy Joe Martins needed to find his next franchise driver to be paired with Brennan Poole. Coincidentally, 21-year-old Parker Retzlaff became available.
Retzlaff, fresh off his first two full-time seasons in the series with Jordan Anderson Racing, placed 16th and 21st in the championship standings in 2023 and 2024, respectively. And while Retzlaff led the series with 12 DNFs in 2024, Martins saw plenty of upside in the Wisconsin native.
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“Parker is exactly the type of guy that we want,” Martins told NASCAR.com. “He is a talented young race car driver that has proven he’s not afraid to race on a smaller team and try to overachieve.”
Retzlaff had other options to compete for different teams in 2025, but his main priority was to remain full-time in the Xfinity Series. For the fourth season in a row, though, he will work with new people. While Retzlaff wheeled the No. 31 Chevrolet for two seasons, there were changes aplenty. He worked with different crew chiefs both years and wanted a fresh start for 2025.
“Some stuff didn’t match, some stuff wasn’t working,” Retzlaff said of his two-year stint with Jordan Anderson Racing. “I needed a change in my life to be happier from a sponsor’s side and from my side.
“Nothing was staying the same in my life. I was there for two years, and I didn’t have the same people for two years in a row. They switched every single person both years. I think I had a lot of pieces that could have worked well, but not with so much change in my life.”
When Retzlaff entered his rookie campaign, he was a soft-spoken driver, receiving guidance from those around him, whether it be his peers or team leaders. Throughout his sophomore campaign last year, he felt he had found his voice and was open to expressing himself more freely.
Ultimately, it led to the biggest change of his career to date, switching teams as a full-time driver.
“I was really quiet when I first started and never said anything,” Retzlaff said. “Now, I feel like I need to say something if something needs a change, and I think that was some of the problem. I didn’t feel like I had as much say as I needed to have for it to go better for me and for the sponsor’s side. I’m happy to make a little bit of change.
“I think it’s been a good change. I’ve been very happy throughout the offseason doing it. I think we have a good team for this year.”
What also sold Retzlaff on Alpha Prime was that Poole finished better than both Jordan Anderson Racing cars in the championship standings last season without having a leased engine program with ECR. The rebranded No. 4 team has a full motor deal this season with ECR, giving Alpha Prime its best chance of running toward the front of the field to date.
“That’s a big deal to compare ourselves apples to apples against some of those other guys midpack now that are doing engine deals,” Martins said. “The last few years, we haven’t been able to do that with our budget. It has been fun for us to see that our cars are a process and our ability to compete at some of those types of race tracks where the motor does play a big part of it.”
Through the opening six races, Retzlaff has experienced tough racing luck. He was involved in a wreck while running inside the top 15 in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Even more heartbreaking was when the No. 4 car made a move on Austin Hill during the final lap at Atlanta Motor Speedway while battling for the win, only to have a cut tire.
Rock bottom was a handful of mechanical woes at Circuit of The Americas during practice and qualifying, preventing Retzlaff from making the field. Martins considered practice and qualifying at COTA the worst day in company history, with two Alpha Prime cars missing the race.
Retzlaff was on the upswing at Phoenix Raceway, finishing a season-best 11th. He placed 17th at Homestead-Miami Speedway and has gained 11 spots in the championship standings over the last three races, currently sitting in 26th ahead of Saturday at Martinsville Speedway (5 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Retzlaff is the most recent pole winner at the Virginia short track.
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Even with the setbacks to begin 2025, Retzlaff’s goal is to be a linchpin in the top 15 and eventually battle for top 10s weekly. The bonus? Winning a race and making the playoffs.
“If the goal is to make the playoffs, the only way that we’re going to do that is to win a race,” Martins said. “To point your way into the playoffs takes a level of speed and running in the top 10, consistently scoring stage points. That’s just not where our team is at. I think when we are firing on all cylinders, we’re probably racing around the top 15. In Parker’s case, he’s shown he can race around the top 10, but that’s still not scoring major stage points every week.
“I’ve tried to give him confidence and how much we believe in him. That’s a big thing for me with young drivers. They are probably not going to be perfect, but ultimately, you’re going to have their back, and that’s what we want to do with Parker.”
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