Parker Retzlaff announces exit from NASCAR team after Xfinity championship race

Parker Retzlaff has confirmed that he will not return to Alpha Prime Racing in 2026. 2025 marked the third full NASCAR Xfinity Series season for the 22-year-old. He ended his campaign 22nd on points, with three top-10s and one top five in 32 starts.

Retzlaff began racing full-time only in 2023 with Jordan Anderson Racing. After two full seasons with the Statesville, North Carolina-based organization, Retzlaff moved to Alpha Prime Racing in 2025.

This year, for the first time in his Xfinity career, Retzlaff had a better average finish than average starting spot. However, he did suffer eight DNFs throughout his 2025 Xfinity campaign.

“As I am closing out my 3rd full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series season, I would like to announce that | will not be returning to Alpha Prime Racing in 2026,” Parker Retzlaff wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “I can't thank Tommy Joe Martins, Caesar Bacarella & Team Alpha Prime enough for giving me the opportunities this season and allowing me to continue to chase this dream of mine. As a team we have a lot to be proud of.”

Parker Retzlaff has yet to announce his future plans for the upcoming 2026 season. The 2025 season just wrapped up last Saturday, crowning Jesse Love as the new NASCAR Xfinity Series champion.

Connor Zilisch, who won a series-high 10 races this season, ended up third in a 38-car field. He will move to the NASCAR Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing in 2026. Retzlaff finished the race 27th in his No. 4 Alpha Prime Racing Chevy.

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Parker Retzlaff’s NASCAR boss clashes with crew chief Joe Williams at Phoenix

Parker Retzlaff had tire issues at Phoenix, which apparently stemmed from his crew chief Joe Williams rejecting a set of tires from the Truck Series. Alpha Prime Racing owner Tommy Joe Martin disapproved of his decision and confronted Williams following Saturday's championship finale at the iconic one-mile, dogleg racetrack.

Instead of using the tires allotted by the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Williams had Retzlaff run on a set of 11-lap-old tires. It kept Parker Retzlaff from gaining spots through much of the race.

“Yeah, we got into a little bit, but I mean ultimately, that's just tempers boiling up at the end of the race," Martins said of his argument with Williams. "I don't have anything personal against Joe or anybody on the team. It's fine. It is what it is, man. We're racing. We're all big boys.” “Obviously, it's his decision to not put them on the car, but when you put on 11-lap tires instead of putting on a set that's a mock qualifying set, you're generally going to fall back a little bit further in the race,” he added.

Neither Retzlaff nor Williams has commented on the incident. Next up for the duo is the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway, which is scheduled for February 14, 2026.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua