Eyes On O’Reilly: Sheldon Creed Closes One Chapter, Starts Another

Sheldon Creed had won in everything he’d ever driven.

Almost.

When he got to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2022, his resume already included a plethora of off-road championships, two Stadium Super Trucks titles, the 2018 ARCA Menards Series championship and the 2020 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series crown. Entering this past weekend at EchoPark Speedway, Creed had top 10s in 50% of his NOAPS starts.

There’s just one catch. He hadn’t won. In fact, Creed amassed a series-record 15 runner-up finishes without a win. He’s finished second after dominating a race. He’s finished second without ever leading in a race. He’s finished second on last lap passes, crashes and photo finishes. 

But one sticks out above the rest.

When the series made its fall voyage to Martinsville Speedway in 2023, Creed was in a position to not only secure his first win but punch a ticket to race for a championship.

An overtime restart saw him start alongside Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Hill, who could advance on points if he fell behind Creed and hold onto to a top five finish. Creed needed to win for a spot in the final four. In the end, neither got in. After beating and banging the lap and a half prior, Creed miscalculated his entry into turn 3 on the final lap, giving Justin Allgaier a lane to pass him for the win while wrecking his teammate.

In the immediate aftermath, it was open season on Creed, who was set to depart for Joe Gibbs Racing at season’s end. RCR competition director Andy Petree shouted at Creed in front of a slew of media. Hill sarcastically clapped to the No. 2 crew as he walks to the infield care center.

“I can’t wait for him to go over to Joe Gibbs Racing and not have to put up with his [expletive],” Hill said.

To add salt to the wound, Creed would finish second the next week at Phoenix Raceway. A finish that, had the teammates finished 1-2 at Martinsville, would have made him champion. He’d finish second eight more times over the next two seasons and the “bridesmaid but never the bride” title took a lot of the luster off his prospects.

But the 2023 Martinsville race wasn’t the start of some great rivalry in the NOAPS. Creed admitted fault right after the race. Petree later apologized to Creed. Hill, after winning the 2025 spring Martinsville race in which Creed finished second again, said he and his former teammates had actually become great friends.

Fast forward to last Saturday where there was chaos surrounding the finish of another NOAPS race. Hill might as well own land on the property with six wins at his home track and race sponsor Bennett on the No. 21 car. After a thrilling series of runs, Hill managed to keep the lead all the way to turn 3 of the final lap. Creed gave Ross Chastain, a lightning rod of controversy in the sport like Hill, a huge push to get him out of line and charging to the lead. Hill tried to block, but it came too late. Hill slid onto the apron and checked up the entire bottom lane.

Creed finally won. 

Jesse Love, in the very car he lost that 2023 Martinsville race in, gave him a congratulatory bump. Hill, who said he couldn’t wait for Creed to leave RCR, was one of the first people to congratulate him in victory lane. It even ended with Creed’s teammate having a destroyed race car, although that fell on Sam Mayer’s shoulders alone.

Creed was honest about doubting his own ability over the last five years post-race and ranked it among one of the biggest moments of his career simply for how long it took to get to the milestone. But he did deliver that in the same way he’d done over a dozen second-place interviews in years past. Stoic, soft-spoken and with a slight smile under a pair of glasses.

With the end of one story, another begins. Congrats, you finally won a race. Now what?

“Joe Custer and Gene Haas expect us to win and have a shot at winning the championship at the end of the year,” Creed said. “That starts now. Tonight helps gets some wind in the sails for the team, just winning more races throughout the season. New points format so that’s going to pay dividends and stage points are really important now. It makes being consistent and running up front more important.”

While Haas Factory Team isn’t quite the same as it was when Stewart-Haas Racing won the 2023 title with Cole Custer, a lot of the same infrastructure is in place to be a title contending team. Plus, he doesn’t have to look far for evidence that wins are bound to come easier now. His teammate Mayer won his first race at Road America in 2023 after a tumultuous year and a half, then he rallied off three more over the next 11 races. 

While a win legitimized Creed, it’s been known that he can be a championship caliber driver in the NOAPS for a while. When looking at a field of drivers where some title contenders are playing musical chairs for rides and others are still getting their feet wet in the sport, Creed is entering his prime window to add O’Reilly Series champion to his resume.