Beard Motorsports announced today that up-and-coming driver Parker Retzlaff will pilot the well-regarded No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet at the Aug. 24 Coke Zero Sugar 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
The 21-year-old Retzlaff has been busy making a name for himself in the NASCAR Xfinity series since 2022. The Rhineland, Wisconsin native currently competes fulltime for Joran Anderson Racing. In 54 career Xfinity Series starts, Retzlaff has three top-five finishes, and 11 top-10s. The Coke Zero Sugar 400 will be his first career start in the elite NASCAR Cup Series.
“This is the goal — racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, and especially racing at Daytona,” Retzlaff said. “It‘s what I have been working for and it‘s what everyone that races in the lower series work toward. It‘s an exciting time getting ready to make my first start in the Cup Series and it‘s an incredible opportunity to do this with Beard Motorsports. Everyone in the NASCAR garage knows what that team is capable of, especially at the superspeedways, so I‘m just really excited and ready for this chance.”
Beard Motorsports is the family-owned and run team that was founded by the late Mark Beard Sr. Since his passing in early 2021, his wife Linda Beard has served as the team owner with their children, Amie and Mark Jr., overseeing team operations and management. Since making their NASCAR Cup Series debut in the 2017 Daytona 500, a handful of drivers have sat behind the wheel of the No. 62 Chevrolet, including Brendan Gaughan, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier and Anthony Alfredo.
“We really feel like we are in a great place as a team with the cars we are taking to the track and the people that Darren (Shaw, crew chief) has put together on this team,” said Amie Beard, executive vice president of Beard Motorsports. “I love that we are able to give the opportunity to race at this level for young drivers. They are always excited to be a part of the team, to be at the track and interact with guests.
“Parker certainly seems eager to prove himself and we are looking forward to working with him and helping him to further his goals.”
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 will be the third race of the season for the No. 62 Beard Motorsports team. The team scored a 27th-place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500 and a sixth-place finish in the GEICO 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in April, both with 25-year-old Anthony Alfredo behind the wheel.
— TrueSpeed Communication —
