Creed Leads Late, But Endures Xfinity Heartbreak Again

Sheldon Creed (18) leads Christopher Bell Saturday at Darlington Raceway. (John Harrelson/NKP for Toyota Racing photo)

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Sheldon Creed came arguably as close as he ever has to finally winning a NASCAR Xfinity Series race Saturday at Darlington Raceway.

Unfortunately for the Alpine, Calif., driver, the end result was heartbreak yet again.

Coming from more than two seconds back in a long green-flag run late in the Sport Clips Haircuts/VFW Help a Hero 200, Creed chased down and passed Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell for the lead with nine laps left in regulation at the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval.

However, a blown tire and hard impact with the wall by Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger brought out a caution flag that led to a final set of pit stops and an overtime restart.

But Creed’s team had a slight hang-up on the right-side tire change during that last round of pit service, costing him two critical positions in the running order as a result.

Though he restarted on the outside lane behind Bell, Creed had to check up to avoid the out-of-control cars of Bell and defending series champion Cole Custer ahead of him during the first lap of overtime, after Custer got into Bell going down the backstretch and nearly turned Bell as a result of the contact.

Both drivers hung onto their cars, however, with Bell going on to win the race over Custer and Creed finishing a disheartening third despite leading 30 laps and winning stage two Saturday.

It was Creed’s series-leading 11th top five of the season and his seventh in his last 10 starts, but the taste it left in the 26-year-old’s mouth was bitter after he believed he’d finally put the pieces together to win a race.

“I can’t believe it,” said Creed of missing out on a victory at the track he’s routinely called his favorite on the circuit. “I lost one the same way a few years ago here. Just this has always been a really good place for me. I’ve always loved racing here. Just … man, I don’t know what to do to be any better than that.

“I felt like I put in one of my best performances today,” he continued. “I love my pit crew, and they do a great job for us. I can’t blame that on them today; we just got beat on pit road. It’s a bummer.”

Creed may have been dejected in the result on paper, but NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett was quick to praise the third-year Xfinity Series driver’s consistency after the race.

“It’s a tough loss, when you’re trying to break through and tired of answering questions of if that win is going to happen, but he did absolutely everything he needed to do there [to win the race],” Jarrett said during the NBC Sports Post-Race Show. “He didn’t necessarily show the same speed as the 20 [Bell] on restarts or other times throughout the day, but between the setup he had and the way he attacks this racetrack, Sheldon was in a position to pounce on that last long run.

“He did everything perfect[ly]; it was just a little contact by A.J. Allmendinger that changed the outcome,” Jarrett added. “It was a legitimate caution flag that needed to be thrown. But Sheldon doesn’t need to hang his head, because he did his job perfectly, and he might not win before the playoffs … but he might win half of them when we get to that point.”

Added fellow analyst Kyle Petty, “[Creed] bet on himself this year … and he’s down right now, but there’s something deep inside him and when he finally busts through, [the wins] are going to flood [in] because he’s owed so much from how close he’s been.”

Creed leaves Darlington fifth in the regular-season point standings and 109 points above the playoff cut line with three races remaining before the postseason begins. If he finishes the next Xfinity Series race 121 markers above 13th place in the playoff rankings, Creed will clinch a playoff berth on points.

The next race for the Xfinity Series is at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway, where Austin Hill won back in February after rookie Jesse Love ran out of fuel on an overtime restart.

Broadcast coverage of the Focused Health 250 is slated for Saturday, Sept. 7 at 3 p.m. ET, live on USA, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.