In NASCAR, heated exchanges are not a surprise, and this season we have had quite a few already. Forget the showdown between Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Kyle Busch because, this time, a young driver decided to get into it with a 36-year-old veteran both during and after the Xfinity race at Sonoma. 

No free pass for veteran NASCAR driver Ryan Seig

In any sport, veterans sometimes get a free pass. They can do something controversial and face little to no pushback from their opponents, simply because of their veteran status. But not this time because Parker Retzlaff didn’t take it all with a smile on his face. In Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Sonoma, both Seig and Retzlaff were battling it out for the top-10 finish. With adrenaline running high and Seig, having not won a single race yet in his NASCAR career, had an extra zeal. He bumped his car’s door to the side of Retzlaff’s car. Even the commentator was heard saying, “I still wonder why Seig made that move in the first place?” 

And in fact Seig has gotten around Parker Retzlaff. But things took a turn very quickly when Retzlaff returned the favor with a shot to the right rear of Sieg’s No. 39 machine. This led Seig to spin to the side of the tracks—talk about sweet revenge!

And what unfolded next was a heated exchange, which was caught by the camera. Curse words were tossed left and right between both parties and it even looked like Seig might have moved a step ahead to get physical! 

And while it is difficult to hear everything, the 21-year-old driver was not one to back down from a fight, displaying a “give it back” attitude on the track. Hence, after the video caught the attention of the community, NASCAR fans took sides, rallying behind the young driver, flooding social media with tweets of support. 

Fans stand behind Retzlaff

Ryan Seig and banging doors: This saga is not a new one. In fact, this is the second time this has happened in a few weeks, with his last run-in being with Sam Mayer at Texas, back in April. While Mayer ended up outrunning the veteran to clinch the win by a photo finish worthy 0.002 seconds, it seems fans haven’t forgotten the incident. One user highlighted, “That’s two weeks in a row with @RyanSiegRacing receiving “feedback” on his driving abilities. #CommonDenominator”

One fan even lauded how Retzlaff and reiterated his support, commenting, “In this household we stand with Retzlaff, nothing but respect for my president.”

Notably, Ryan Sieg made his Xfinity Series debut back in 2013, but is still shy of a win. In 2014, apart from his P2 finish at Texas, the racer has only clinched two more Top-10s (P7 at Las vegas and Charlotte) in 13 races.

One X user also pointed out the funny aspect of the incident, highlighting how Seig essentially “doored” Retzlaff, putting him on the offense. “So Sieg doors Retzlaff for no reason, and then gets mad that Retzlaff cleans him out cause he isn’t a pushover. Yeah, Sieg needs to suck it up,” the comment read.

It takes courage to stand up to seniors! And Parker’s stance seems to have grabbed eyeballs, but in a good way. One fan encouraged the young racer, writing, “Good job by Parker to not get walked all over. He’s so underrated. Proud of this response and defense tbh.”

Highlighting the incident with Sam Mayer in Texas, another fan commented, “Sieg isn’t making many friends the last two weeks.” Well, he surely isn’t making any friends right now, and even NASCAR fans seem to have turned bitter! 

What do you think about the move by Retzlaff? Was he in the right? Let us know!