Parker Retzlaff — Driver Profile
Car: No. 99 | Team: Viking Motorsports | Manufacturer: Chevrolet Crew Chief: Danny Efland | Sponsors: Funkaway, Kyro Whiskey, South Carolina Outcast, SciAps Status: Full-time | Hometown: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Age: 22
2026 Season
Parker Retzlaff is the breakout story of the 2026 O'Reilly Series season so far. The 22-year-old Viking Motorsports driver sits ninth in points — inside the playoff cutline — with three top 10s, one top five (a runner-up at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta), and zero DNFs through eight races. His average finish of 12.4 is the most remarkable number: it ranks among the best in the series and comes from a mid-tier program that qualified for the field with an average starting position of 17.5.
2026 Stats (through 8 races): 9th in points (229 pts) | 0 wins | 1 top 5 | 3 top 10s | 17.5 avg. start | 12.4 avg. finish | 0 laps led
Career
Retzlaff drove for Viking Motorsports in prior O'Reilly Series seasons and was a key part of the team's decision to expand to a full two-car effort in 2026. The Wisconsin native's résumé coming into 2026 suggested solid mid-pack potential, but his early performance has exceeded even optimistic projections. Viking's technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing has given the team a resource upgrade that Retzlaff is clearly putting to use.
Charlotte: A New Backer for the No. 99
Heading into the Charbroil 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Viking added Free Bird Southern Spring Water to the No. 99 as Retzlaff's primary sponsor for Charlotte and the September Bristol race, with Free Bird also signing on as the team's official water supplier for the full 2026 O'Reilly Series season. The Charlotte race was Retzlaff's second 1.5-mile track of the season — his first 1.5-mile top-5 came at Texas on May 2.
The Story
Retzlaff is the most interesting overperformance story in the 2026 O'Reilly Series. A driver starting 17th on average, finishing 12th, from a team with mid-tier resources, sitting inside the playoff bubble — that combination doesn't happen by accident. The question is whether Viking and Retzlaff can sustain a performance level that has already exceeded what most observers expected when the season started.