Creed Adds Another Top Five In Wild Talladega Finish

Sheldon Creed (Nigel Kinrade/NKP for Toyota Racing photo)

TALLADEGA, Ala. – After having a shot to contend for the win in overtime, Sheldon Creed extended his NASCAR Xfinity Series lead for top-five finishes this season Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway.

Creed finished fourth in the United Rentals 250, and while he never led a lap in the race, averaged a ninth-place running position and spent nearly 90 percent of the day inside the top 15 in the lead draft.

The 26-year-old from Alpine, Calif., was running 10th and just beginning to make a run through the middle lane when chaos erupted in front of him with three laps left in regulation, having to take sudden evasive action when rookie Carson Kvapil spun directly ahead of him exiting the tri-oval.

Luckily, however, Creed was able to dive to the apron in turn one to escape the 12-car melee that ensued, setting him up well for an overtime restart where he lined up fourth alongside Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chandler Smith.

Creed and Smith initially had to push the front-row starters ahead of them as the pack wound up to full song in overtime, but were able to link up coming to the white flag, with Creed behind Smith as the duo chased then-leader Riley Herbst.

With a run coming through turn two, Smith ducked to Herbst’s inside and brought Creed with him coming onto the backstretch, allowing them to race for the lead in the final half lap before getting separated in turn three as Creed was shuffled back before finding space to move to the bottom groove.

From there, Creed stayed tucked up behind Ryan Sieg until the tri-oval, when he became embroiled in a three-wide scrap to the checkers for third place between himself, Herbst, and Smith.

Herbst just edged Creed out at the finish line, but Creed’s fourth-place effort marked his 15th top five in 27 races this season and improved his average finish to 11.5 – third best among all series regulars.

It’s that kind of consistency Creed believes can continue propelling him forward in the Xfinity Series playoffs, despite the fact he’s still chasing his first series win after a myriad of close calls.

Sheldon Creed (18) and Chandler Smith worked together in the closing laps at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. (Rusty Jarrett/NKP for Toyota Racing photo)

“Overall, this was a pretty smooth day for us,” admitted Creed, whose No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota GR Supra spun feet after crossing the finish line after contact from behind by the damaged machine of Jesse Love. “It’s what we needed to do in terms of points, was just to survive. Tried the best I could to avoid the chaos and the crashes, and that let us get points and finish strong. When I lined up fourth on the [last] restart, I knew we’d have a good shot at it.

“I was trying to get the No. 8 (eventual winner Sammy Smith) the best push I could, and we kind of got too far away from the rest of the pack to where I was trying to block coming to the white flag and fell back a bit,” he added. “To be able to make a few moves that last lap and get myself back into contention was good, even if we got spun across the line. Overall, though, a good day like I said. I think we’re plus 25 (points) going into the ROVAL.

“Hopefully, we can just go have a smooth day there and maybe get our first win next week.”

Creed sits fifth in the playoff rankings and actually ended up 32 points clear of the cut line leaving Talladega, after Sam Mayer’s disqualification for the car being too low in rear heights shook up the standings a bit further.

It’s a surprisingly comfortable position for Creed, who entered the day nervous due to the heavy unpredictability of battling in the draft.

“I am not a superspeedway guy, nor do I like [the style of racing], so a day like this is definitely one we’ll take,” Creed noted. “I don’t think a lot of us love [the unpredictability of the draft], but I’ve really never cared for it. I think it puts on a fun show to watch for the fans. When you’re out there in the middle of it, though, it’s all about hoping you’re going to get help from the right guys and making the right decisions in front of you.

“Throw the playoffs in there and the fact that you’re racing tight with guys right around you in points, and it’s a recipe for chaos,” he continued. “You’re trying to not kill their day, but help them, and they’re doing the same to you. … It’s such a weird dynamic, but we got the best out of it that we could, I think, and we can focus forward now on what we need to do to make the next round [of the playoffs].

“If you’d told me going into the day that we’d finish fourth with a clean car, I’d have definitely been happy … and I am.”

Creed will look to close out the playoff Round of 12 with a victory at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway ROVAL. He’s earned a best finish of seventh in two prior appearances there, but has an average ROVAL starting spot of 4.5 and three top-five finishes total on road courses in the Xfinity Series.

Broadcast coverage of the Drive for the Cure 250 at the reconfigured 2.28-mile, 17-turn hybrid circuit – which utilizes parts of the 1.5-mile CMS oval in addition to its infield road course – is slated for Saturday, Oct. 12 at 4 p.m. ET on The CW, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.