Creed Comes Out Second In Wild New York Scramble

Sheldon Creed (18) races ahead of Shane van Gisbergen at Watkins Glen International. (Gavin Baker/NKP for Toyota Racing photo)

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Sheldon Creed may have finished second, again, with the NASCAR Xfinity Series Saturday at Watkins Glen International, but he could smile about it for the first time in weeks.

Creed came out on top of a frantic, close-quarters, three-wide scrum for runner-up honors in a double-overtime finish to the Mission 200 at the Glen. He was shoved down the frontstretch by A.J. Allmendinger at the white flag before clearing his closest competition up the hill through the esses.

From there, Creed chased eventual winner Connor Zilisch before a multi-car crash on the backstretch – just before the bus stop chicane – forced a seventh and final caution flag that ended the race.

Creed remained close to Zilisch through the final few corners, just in case the 18-year-old’s Chevrolet sputtered on fuel before the finish line, but had to settle one position short of his long-awaited first Xfinity Series win.

It marked the record-extending 12th runner-up finish of Creed’s Xfinity Series career without visiting victory lane.

This one, however, Creed was appreciative of due to how hard he had to race after lining up sixth for the final overtime restart.

“Man, we ran in the top 10 all day, so that was fun. Strategy just got weird there at the end,” Creed noted. “Cars [were] running out fuel and this and that, and our battle for second was crazy between the four of us [Creed, Allmendinger, Chandler Smith, and Shane van Gisbergen]. I think we all knew that might have been the battle for the win if the 88 [of Zilisch] ran out. To get clear there in second, I was just waiting for the 88 to run out of fuel there and the caution came out before we finished it.

“I don’t know if he makes it or not if it stays green, but I’m not mad at the second this time because I thought we overachieved a bit for how we ran most of the race,” he added. “Days like that are always really good. Just another top-five [finish]. We will keep clicking away, but this is a great time to be starting to get consistent for the playoffs.”

With his series-leading 12th top-five result this year, Creed remains sixth in the regular season standings and within striking distance of fifth-place Allmendinger with one race remaining before the playoff reset.

If he could get to fifth in points at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Creed would bank six extra playoff points going into the Round of 12. He currently would earn five points for his regular season ranking.

Creed and the rest of the Xfinity Series field will conclude the regular season under the lights at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway with the running of the Food City 300 at the high-banked concrete half mile.

Broadcast coverage is slated for Friday night, Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET, live on CW Network, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Bristol marks the debut of The CW as the exclusive television home of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, airing the final eight races of the year before broadcasting the full season beginning in 2025.

NBC Sports’ commentary crew of Rick Allen, Steve Letarte, and Jeff Burton will shift to The CW to help close out 2024, with next year’s CW booth crew to be announced at a later point.