MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Visconti Motorsports, in a collaborative effort with Chad Finley Racing, announced Wednesday that Parker Retzlaff will compete for the team in the upcoming NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Memphis (Tenn.) Int’l Raceway.
Retzlaff, 16, joins Visconti Motorsports for Saturday night’s The Memphis 150 presented by AutoZone, where the Bruce Cook-led team will look to earn their first win of the season.
“We feel like we have a very good prospect going forward with him,” said Visconti Motorsports team principal John Visconti III. “He’s great socially, a great driver. He needs to learn these K&N cars a little bit because they’re heavier.
“But we see a (bright) future with him. Going forward, we feel like he’s going to be a great addition to our program, and I believe they’re going to be with us for a long time.”
Retzlaff leaps to the K&N East Series with a variety of racing experience.
Beginning his racing career at age seven, he moved up to asphalt and dirt track at age 12. He finished sixth in the Midwest Truck Series point standings last season and was the 2017 Rookie of the Year in the E3 Spark Plugs Triple Crown Series, while finishing second in the championship standings.
Earlier this year, the youngster made his Super Late Model debut for Chad Finley Racing at Myrtle Beach (Va.) Speedway.
“I’m very excited and humbled about this opportunity to compete in the K&N Pro Series East with Visconti Motorsports this weekend,” said Retzlaff. “The K&N East Series is stacked with tons of talent and the competition is extremely tight – but I feel like I can go to Memphis and learn the car and make gradual improvements throughout the race to put us in a good place for the race.
“Of course, any driver goes to the race to win. But we’re being realistic this weekend. If we can leave Memphis with all the laps completed and a top-10 finish – that would be a huge win for us and great motivation towards our next race.”
At Memphis, Retzlaff’s effort will be backed by longtime marketing partner Ponsse, a Finland-based company that manufactures and markets a range of forestry vehicles and machinery such as forwarders and harvesters.
“I can’t say enough about what it means to me to represent Ponsse,” added Retzlaff. “For them to take a chance on me certainly means a lot to me and I’m eager for the opportunity to put them in Victory Lane.”
Visconti Motorsports is running a partial K&N Pro Series East schedule this season. In addition to Memphis, Retzlaff is also scheduled to drive the No. 74 Ponsse Chevrolet at Gateway (Ill.) Motorsports Park and Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l.
The team’s mainstay driver, Brandon McReynolds, will return at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, both New Hampshire Motor Speedway races and the season finale at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in October.