Sheldon Creed won the Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 on Saturday, finally notching his first career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win. 138 starts into his career, with 35 top-fives preceding it, Creed banished the curse by winning at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta.
In the four seasons that Creed has raced full-time in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, he has 15 second-place finishes that preceded his first ever win. The 28-year-old admitted he’s wondered before if that win would ever come, but said he’s already turning to the rest of the season to build on Saturday night’s success.
“Obviously had a lot of good runs, but never finished it up, never won,” Creed said. “To finally do that, after it looked like another second place for awhile coming off of [Turn] 2, it just all worked out for us tonight.”
Sheldon Creed’s First Career Win
When the field took the white flag, Creed wasn’t the odds-on favorite to win. Drafting ace Austin Hill had the lead with Cup Series veteran Ross Chastain in hot pursuit. Entering Turn 3, Chastain dove to Hill’s inside, and the two made contact in the bottom groove of the racetrack. Hill got sideways and miraculously didn’t wreck, allowing Creed to power around the outside and take the lead.
Coming to the checkered flag, Parker Retzlaff mounted a desperate charge to try and catch Creed’s No. 00 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet. Because he lifted to avoid a potential Chastain collision, however, Retzlaff had to settle for second. Defending Atlanta winner Nick Sanchez placed third, followed by Corey Day in fourth and Jesse Love in fifth.
“Until we win a race I don’t feel like my job’s done,” Retzlaff said on pit road. “That’s just the person I am, that’s how I always have been. I think this team can win a race before the year’s over.
Austin Hill vs. Ross Chastain
Ross Chastain hung on after his contact with Hill to bring home a sixth-place finish. Initially destined for two straight wins to start off the year, Hill wound up 12th. “When Ross is behind you, you expect to get put firewall-deep in the wall, that’s just the things that he does,” Hill said after exiting his No. 21 Chevrolet. Furthermore, he indicated he isn’t itching for a chat to clear things up. “I could care less to talk to Ross Chastain,” he continued. “I have nothing to say to him.”
Hill said he accepted the move, so long as Chastain would accept the same treatment with the roles reversed. From Chastain’s perspective, that hypothetical had already played out. “In the same scenario a lap before I didn’t block him,” Chastain responded. “That’s ultimately my decision, I’m not saying he has to make the same call. But I knew the risk of the No. 21 car coming with momentum down the back into Turn 3 at EchoPark.”
Corey Day’s Wild Night
From the fifth lap of the race, Corey Day was a recurring factor in multiple incidents with other drivers. The No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was the catalyst of a multi-car crash on Lap 5 when he pushed for a pass in between Gio Ruggiero and Ryan Sieg.
The No. 39 Chevrolet of Sieg was hooked toward the inside by Day, before correcting back up and into the outside wall. Harrison Burton’s No. 24 Toyota got sideways trying to avoid Sieg, causing him to be slammed into by Kyle Sieg’s No. 28 Chevy. Both Burton and Blaine Perkins’ No. 31 Chevrolet plowed into Ryan Sieg, meaning a total of four cars didn’t it past the race’s first stage.
“He definitely needs to learn,” Ryan Sieg said after being released from the infield care center. “You’ve gotta finish the race before you have a chance to win it.” Kyle Sieg, Ryan’s brother and RSS Racing teammate, was similarly frustrated by Day. “It’s never fun when you wreck on Lap 5 or whatever lap it was,” he said. “He was trying to go somewhere I guess, I don’t know. It was what, Lap 4, and he’s trying to get to the front.”
Asked about the incident after the race, Day was regretful. “I’d like to apologize to the No. 39 there,” he said. “He got free, I tried to fill a hole and I shouldn’t have. I should’ve waited.”
Later in the race Day was in the battle for the lead before took a turn wide, causing a crash that eliminated Justin Allgaier and Carson Kvapil. With both of those being closely-affiliated JR Motorsports cars, Day expressed his regret over that incident as well.
Race Results
