BRISTOL, Tenn. – Sheldon Creed came to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway ready for battle and hunting one of the top-12 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs positions available follow Friday night’s Food City 300.
Unfortunately, his heroic attack ended with a damaged racecar and his eighth DNF (did not finish) of the year.”
Creed aboard the No. 2 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing qualified mid-pack in 22nd but once the green flag flew, Creed immediately began his march through the field.
At the end of caution-filled Stage 1, Creed has hustled to 17th but it was his team’s strategy for Stage 2 that put Creed at the front of the field.
Electing to stay out, while the cars ahead pitted, he restarted Stage 2 with the race lead and controlled the field for 34 laps until Justin Allgaier took the lead on Lap 125.
With the lead still in his sights and the fastest his car had been all day, Creed continued his strong pace inside the top-five and was battling for second with Ty Gibbs when his night abruptly ended on Lap 128.
As the cars screamed out of Turn 2, Noah Gragson made contact with Ty Gibbs’s left rear which shot Gibbs’s No. 54 Toyota Supra up the race track and into Creed with both cars slamming the outside wall in Turn 2.
Creed attempted to drive away from the scene, but his battered machine was too heavily damaged forcing Creed to climb from his car and officially ending his bid at an opportunity to be apart of the Xfinity Series Playoffs.
The 2020 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion was later released from the infield care center but dejected.
“I don’t know,” said Creed of the accident. “It looked like the No. 9 (Gragson) got the No. 54 (Gibbs) in the left rear and got him loose and got into me. We did what we had to do.
“We didn’t have a great qualifying effort, got track position there and still was super loose, but I had a pace. It was the first time today I had some good speed and thought we were probably one stop away from maybe being able to race those guys for a win.”
Creed’s 37th place finish Friday night continues a rollercoaster rookie season for the Alpine, Calif. native. Through 26 races, Creed has earned just three top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.
“Man, it’s the way my year has gone,” explained Creed. “We have speed at times and yeah, stuff like that happens. I’m proud of my guys. They never gave up all year.
Over the last few weeks, Creed and crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz have attempted to throw Hail Mary’s hoping one of their ideas would work and steal a spot in the Playoffs.
Creed was leading on the last lap of the Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway but lost in a hellacious battle with reigning Cup Series champion Kyle Larson.
Last weekend at Kansas, he had a fast racecar once again, but Mother Nature cut the race short just after the halfway mark leaving him with an 11th-place effort.
In Thunder Valley, Creed just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
We gave it a hell of a fight the last few weeks,” explained Creed. “Wish we could have got that win at Darlington.
“I felt like we would have had a shot tonight honestly. I don’t know what to say. Just thankful for everyone and (we’ll) keep digging.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
