Sheldon Creed surges to points lead with thrilling Bristol win

EDDIE KALEGI - STAFF WRITER

Sheldon Creed during driver introductions at Kansas Speedway earlier this season. (Photo Credit: Riley Ogle, Motorsports Today)

For the first four years of his NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series career, across three different teams, there was one common denominator for Sheldon Creed - he couldn't win. Now, he can't stop winning.

Thanks to a late call to pit for fresh tires after a caution with less than 40 laps to go, the driver of the Haas Factory Team #00 Chevrolet surged to the front and held off William Sawalich in overtime to claim victory in the Food City 300, his third win of the season and second in the last three races.

With the win, Creed now sits atop the Chase standings, holding an 11-point advantage over 2024 series champion Justin Allgaier with six races left in the season.

Allgaier's JR Motorsports teammate Carson Kvapil looked like the car to beat for much of the race, but was forced to pit under green from the lead after suffering brake issues. Justin Allgaier took control of the race momentarily, but a frantic restart saw Allgaier end up in the wall following contact with defending series champion Jesse Love, who was subsequently shipped himself by Taylor Gray. Allgaier wasn't happy with Love, and confronted the driver of the #2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet at his car on pit road after the race.

Meanwhile, all the contact up front allowed Sheldon Creed to march to the front, before he ultimately prevailed with a great run in the final two laps of the race to claim win number three of his season and his secondary series career.

The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series will be back in action in two weeks at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.