Sheldon Creed gets ready to race (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
PORTLAND, Ore. – Sheldon Creed had an eventful race to ultimately place seventh at Portland International Speedway in Saturday afternoon’s Pacific Office Automation 147.
In contrast with his finish, Creed had a relatively clean path ahead of him as he led the field to the green flag for the Xfinity Series road course race in Portland.
Creed was also able to hold off the rest of the field to tally the Stage 1 win, while finishing sixth in Stage 2 before taking the checkered flag from the seventh position.
However, Saturday’s race was far from uneventful or easy for Creed in his No. 2 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Camaro thanks to a bit of extracurricular activities, namely with John Hunter Nemechek.
On Lap 50, while Creed was leading, he was on the receiving end of contact from Nemechek’s No. 20 in Turn 11. After spinning, Creed later caught up with Nemechek, and repaid the favor by turning him in Turn 12 while battling for track position.
The battle between the drivers ended there although Creed and Nemechek had a discussion after exiting their cars after the race where the two seem to have worked out any disputes.
When asked about the tangle on track in a post race interview, Creed let it be known that bygones were bygones.
“Man, there was just three corners that I feel like maybe was the difference between the race,” Creed said. “I feel like I could have went and led every lap if I was a little better in 6, 7 and 12. I just struggled there, and they could make ground there.
“I don’t know, I mean obviously going for a stage win, aggressive, and he came up and apologized and you know, I got even on the race track, so I was fine.”
The 2020 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion does not yet have a win in the Xfinity Series. Still, he is looking to win in this division, especially in clean fashion, especially in the two-lap sprint to the finish with Cole Custer.
“Just racing hard there, and then at the end I wanted to race the seven straight up for it, and I wasn’t going to wreck him. That’s not how I want to get my first win,” he said.
Although Creed does not have any wins for Richard Childress in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, he has showcased pace at various points throughout the 2023 season with two top five and six top 10 finishes.
Picking up as much as he is, Creed is sure to get a win sooner rather than later. His next opportunity, however, will be at Sonoma Raceway during the DoorDash 250 on Saturday, June 10.
