Sports Digest

Retzlaff 7th at Watkins Glen

Rhinelander native Parker Retzlaff scored his first-career top-10 finish on a road course Saturday, May 9, coming home seventh in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ 200-mile race in Watkins Glen N.Y.

After a sixth-place qualifying effort, Retzlaff scored stage points, placing eighth at the end of stage one. His team used some pit strategy at the end of the race and came home just head of New Zealand road course ace Shane Van Gisbergen, who won the top-tier NASCAR Cup Series race at the 2.45-mile circuit the following day. 

“7th at The Glen,” Retzlaff posted on social media after the race. “Strong gains all day long. We thought we were going to be a few laps short on fuel at the end. The team did a great job with helping me save just enough. No quit from this team!”

Retzlaff’s 33 points were the seventh-most by any driver in the field and kept him ninth in the overall series standings through 13 races — 52 points above the postseason cutline with 11 races remaining in the regular season. 

The series heads to Dover, Dele. for a 200-mile race this Saturday.