When Sheldon Creed rolls through the gates of EchoPark Speedway this weekend, he’ll be greeted by memories of his shinning moment. It was there in February that the California native finally broke through, holding off the field in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race to earn his long-awaited first series victory.
After 137 prior attempts, Creed was the beneficiary of a last-lap tangle between Austin Hill and Ross Chastain. The No. 00 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet scooted by and held off the roaring field for the elusive win. He put to rest the moniker of being the driver with the most runner-up finishes — 15 to be exact — in series history without hoisting a trophy.
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“It wasn’t very fun going that long without winning,” Creed told NASCAR.com last week. “It would be one thing if I ran 10th to 15th every week, but I was so close so many times and something would happen or go wrong.”
The narrow defeats began to build frustration. In 2024 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, he tied Dale Jarrett and Daniel Hemric for the most second-place efforts before winning (10). He shattered that record, finishing second with three different organizations: Richard Childress Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing and Haas Factory Team.
Snagging a victory early in 2026 was a morale boost for the entire No. 00 team. Creed had an average first year with Haas in 2025, recording eight top-five and 16 top-10 finishes.
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“I think that was massive for confidence for myself and the team, getting these guys back into Victory Lane,” Creed said.
Crew chief Jonathan Toney, the always upbeat leader of the No. 00 bunch, knew a victory was within reach. He was adjusting to Creed’s style last year, spending the prior two years with Cole Custer. Naturally, the two drivers billed from Southern California were more parallel than Toney could have even imagined with their Southern California swagger.
Toney always believed Creed could get the job done.
“I always said, you don’t finish second [15] times and not be capable of winning races,” Toney said. “Things just didn’t fall his way on several occasions that kept him out of Victory Lane. We all knew he was capable of winning.
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“Just getting that win for him and the smile on his face and the next couple of weeks was such a blessing to be a part of and see that.”
The triumph came earlier than expected in 2026. Over the offseason, Haas Factory Team put in plenty of labor to switch from Ford to Chevrolet, returning to the Hendrick Motorsports engine pipeline.
Aside from the signature EchoPark win, Creed has pumped out his most consistent season to date. He believes he had more raw speed in 2024, his stopgap season at JGR, but this is the most comparable year he’s had, already matching the top-five finishes he posted in his first season with HFT. That total is tied for second in the series (Brent Crews) behind Justin Allgaier’s 12 top-five results.
Sheldon Creed poses for a photo in Victory Lane with his team at EchoPark Speedway.
Consistency has been one of Creed’s biggest strengths in 2026. With 13 races remaining, he’s on pace to eclipse his previous best average finish — lowering it from 11.7 in 2024 to 10.3 — while avoiding the incidents that plagued him in past seasons, with just one DNF in 20 races.
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“This year, we’ve been clicking it off,” Creed said. “Even when we’re not a winning race car, we can go and finish fourth or fifth. I feel like our window is a little bit bigger this year on speed. Last year, we had to hit it perfectly to be fast.”
The No. 00 team is still working to unlock more raw speed, but Creed has remained competitive, ranking 10th among series regulars in laps led (93). He also sits seventh in stage points at 118 — less than half of Allgaier’s 250.
“I think that’s just maturity on [Creed’s] part and learning race craft,” Toney said of the uptick in finishes, noting the core group of the No. 00 team has been together since 2023. “He has been with some great organizations that he was able to learn from, so we were benefiting from that and the experience.”
With four races remaining in the regular season, Creed sits one point behind Corey Day for third in the driver standings. He is within 30 points of reigning series champion Jesse Love for second but is also only 43 points above Carson Kvapil in seventh.
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It’s paramount for the No. 00 team to conclude the regular season strong to be closer to the front of The Chase field come September. Regardless, Creed believes he can be a player for the 2026 championship. He isn’t counting out Austin Hill or fellow Haas driver Sam Mayer as title threats.
MORE: O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings | O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule
“I think a lot because we can run consistently,” Creed said. “I think it’s going to be between six of us. You could probably throw a couple more in if they get consistent. It’s hard to count anybody out, but just looking at the season, I would say it’s those four to six.”
First on the docket is a return to the Peach State on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where Creed hopes to pick up right where he left off in February.
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“It will be like every other week,” Creed said. “We’re going to go with the same goal of trying to win. I know we’re not going to go back the same. Our car was good, but I thought it could have been a little better.”
