Crash Damage Eliminates Creed At Texas After Strong Start

FORT WORTH, Texas – A likely top-five finish, if not a shot at a potential win, all went awry for Sheldon Creed at Texas Motor Speedway after a mid-race incident eliminated him for the third time in the last four NASCAR Xfinity Series races.

Creed was running third on a lap-104 restart in the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 when he came off the bottom lane of the 1.5-mile quad-oval exiting turn two.

At the same moment, Hendrick Motorsports rookie Corey Day took a run to Creed’s outside, and the pair made contact that turned Creed’s No. 00 Road Ranger Ford up the racetrack and into the side of Jesse Love’s Chevrolet.

Creed then bounced back to driver’s left, eventually slamming the inside wall. The impact caused enough damage to end the day for the Alpine, Calif., native, leaving him with a 36th-place finish.

Prior to the crash, Creed had worked his way into contention to challenge then-leader Justin Allgaier and eventual winner Kyle Larson. After starting sixth, Creed got to as high as second at one point, and 99 percent of the laps he completed were inside the top 15.

The end result, however, didn’t reflect that pace and Creed was keenly aware of that after being checked and released from the infield care center.

“It’s so frustrating for our Road Ranger Ford Mustang team,” said Creed. “For the first time in a while, I felt like I was one good restart and one pass [for the lead] away from having a shot at winning … and that’s a really good feeling. I felt really good in the car all race before that, and we had good speed.

“I was focused on racing the No. 2 (Love), and he was pretty close to my door … and I think the No. 17 (Day) – he wasn’t trying to poke middle, but he was down a lane – and got me in the right rear. I don’t know what to say,” Creed added. “Just frustrating that three out of four weeks now, we’ve gotten wrecked.”

Despite the early ending, Creed nodded to his Haas Factory Team crew for bringing a strong car to the racetrack, noting that they’ll be in contention consistently if they continue to do so going forward.

“I’m really proud of everyone at Haas Factory Team. I felt like this was the first week in a bit where the car drove really well,” the 27-year-old noted. “Maybe that’s because we didn’t have practice to let me to mess it up, I don’t know. But I think we’re headed in the right direction. We’ll get a couple weeks off to reset, and then come back swinging.”

Leaving Texas, Creed has slid down to the bubble spot on the provisional playoff grid after 12 races, but still holds an 11-point edge over Daniel Dye for the final spot in the postseason field.

He and crew chief Jonathon Toney, along with the rest of the Xfinity Series field, will return to action at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway during Memorial Day weekend. In three prior Xfinity starts at the 1.5-mile CMS oval, Creed has a best finish of eighth, earned during his debut at the track in 2022.

Broadcast coverage of the BetMGM 300 from Charlotte is slated for Saturday, May 24 at 4:30 p.m. ET, live on The CW, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.