ROCKINGHAM, N.C.: For the first time since the inception of Alpha Prime Racing, the Tommy Joe Martins-owned team placed two drivers in the top five in an Xfinity Series Race.
Parker Retzlaff and Brennan Poole finished second and fourth, respectively in NASCAR’s return to Rockingham Speedway on Saturday – after initial race winner Jesse Love was disqualified for violating Rule 14.14.2.I-5.h which covers trailing arm spacers and pinion angle shims.
For Retzlaff, the podium finish in the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 was his first top five since assuming driving duties in the No. 4 Scentsy Chevrolet at Alpha Prime.
“It’s been great,” Retzlaff said. “We’ve shown a lot of speed—and top-10 speed, top-five speed at some races, just nothing to finish on.
“Today we did. I’m just happy with the top-three finish.”
Retzlaff was fast when the No. 4 team unloaded. He posted the eighth fastest lap during practice on Friday and backed up the speed by sitting on the provisional pole until Connor Zilisch knocked him to second with just eight qualifiers remaining–by a mere 0.001 seconds
“This is probably the most speed we’ve bad in a weekend,” Retzlaff said. “I think that we’ve shown speed and had a car as fast as Xfinity Mobile. Our team has been putting in a lot of long hours and hard work into it and it’s finally paying off.
“People are starting to see what we can do when we put it all together.”
Retzlaff was second when the first stage ended on Lap 60. Although he dropped to 19th at the end of the second stage after he was forced to pit with a flat tire, Retzlaff kept his nose clean and remained in contention until the race went into overtime.
“We had to keep fighting,” Retzlaff said. “We had a flat right front in Stage 2—but kept fighting all day. Happy with the fight this whole team put in today to keep battling and happy with our momentum going into next week and try to do it again.”
For Poole, Saturday’s race was a remarkable rebound following a wicked accident at Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend. After Sheldon Creed was turned by Dean Thompson, Poole could not stop in time and slammed into the No. 00 Ford, ending both drivers’ days.
“I’m still a little beat up, I’m still a little sore but this definitely makes me feel a lot better,” Poole said. “I’m just proud of the guys. We had a really fast race car and Frank (Kerr, crew chief) nailed the strategy. That put me in perfect position for the end of the race.
“I wasn’t so sure because I was so far back, but guys kept running out of fuel and I kept going forward.”
Poole was 20th in practice and qualified 28th in the No. 44 Macc Door Systems Chevrolet.
He finished 23rd in Stage 1 and 21st in Stage 2. The team elected not to pit before the final segment and Poole vaulted to 13th for the last run.
With nine cautions over the last 128 laps, Poole climbed through the field as attrition eliminated many of the contenders. He credited his past experience in winning a UARA-Stars Late Model race—and clinching the championship with his victory at the Rock—with elevating his mojo entering the race.
“That last restart worked out perfect for us, and we ended up finishing [fourth],” said Poole, who lined up seventh for the final restart on Lap 254. “I had a little extra confidence—or swagger coming in here because I have my name out there on the rock and for sure would like to add it there again.”
For Poole, who scored his second top five with Alpha Prime in the last four races, the recent success motivates the 34-year-old racer.
“It’s tough when you only have a quarter of the budget of everyone else,” said Poole, who is in his second season with the team. “We don’t have leased engines. We don’t have sim. We kind of do it the old school way and it’s really fun when you can come out here and beat all these guys.
“Hopefully, I can continue to do my job and catch the eye of some of these other owners and give myself a shot in some other equipment or go back to racing on Sundays.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
