Sports digest

Retzlaff scores top five at Texas

Rhinelander native Parker Retzlaff continued his strong start to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season with a fifth-place finish in the series’ 340-mile race Saturday, May 2 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.

The result was Retzlaff’s sixth top-10 finish in 12 races so far this season and second top-five. It was also his career-best finish on a non-drafting mile-and-a-half track. Retzlaff rode toward the front of the field all day following a 10th-place qualifying effort. He was 10th at the end of stage one and seventh after stage two. He earned 37 points on the day, the sixth-most for any driver in the field. 

“Got stage points in both stages and, overall, just a very solid day on the Fentanyl Free America, Viking Motorsports Chevrolet,” Retzlaff stated in a video on social media after the race. “We just got to keep building on it. We brought a clean car back. It’s probably the best mile-and-a-half car I’ve ever driven and we just got to keep working on it.”

Retzlaff gained one spot and sits ninth in the O’Reilly Series points halfway through the regular season. The top 12 following 24 races will compete in the nine-race chase for the championship. Retzlaff currently sits 52 points ahead of 13th-place Ryan Sieg for the playoff cutline.

Saturday’s result was the sixth top-five finish of Retzlaff’s O’Reilly Series career. The second-tier NASCAR circuit heads to the road course at Watkins Glen, N.Y. this coming Saturday.