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Sheldon Creed’s time in the Xfinity Series has been successful. However, there is one bump he can’t seem to get over. In 95 Xfinity Series starts Creed has finished second 12 times without a win. This winless streak includes a second-place finish at Watkins Glen this past Saturday, adding to the bizarre total.
Creed’s first may be the most brutal. Coming to the last lap racing against Kyle Larson, a Cup Series Champion, the pair found the wall. Creed would take the brunt of the hit, unable to get off the wall, while a third car, Noah Gragson, was able to recover on his way to the win.
At Martinsville in the fall of 2022, Creed found himself in the middle of teammate drama as Ty Gibbs would wreck Brandon Jones on the final lap. Out unscathed, the race would end under yellow, and Creed would not have a real shot at Gibbs.
Creed’s first-second place at a Superspeedway was in an overtime upset for a much smaller team. In overtime, Creed could not pass Jeb Burton’s Jordan Anderson Racing entry as the field crashed heading to the line.
Creed, who had shown speed on road courses in the past, found himself chasing the bumper of another Chevrolet at Watkins Glen in 2023. This time, Sam Mayer beat Creed in the final turn on his way to his second career win.
Daytona would be even closer for Creed. After leading the third most laps of the day, Creed fought with Justin Allgaier all the way to the line. Creed led twice on the final lap. However, this would be the first of three losses to the No. 7.
A few weeks after Daytona. Creed was poeticly part of the teammate drama at Martinsville in 2023, racing for a playoff spot; Creed and Teammate Austin Hill would beat and bang headed to turn four. However, neither RCR driver would win, with Justin Allgaier the benefactor of their battle.
One week later, on the final lap of the Championship race in Phoenix, Creed found himself in the middle of the race for the Championship. A spot he would have been in had he won at Martinsville the prior week. Creed sadly would have no shot for the win, as the battle for second was intense.
For a third race in a row, non-consecutive weeks of course, Creed found himself second, this time, to former teammate Austin Hill. Now, with Joe Gibbs Racing, Creed had a chance on the final lap. However, a wreck dissipated the rest of the pack, resulting in Creed not having much help behind him en route to a second-place finish number seven.
Back on a road course at Sonoma, Creed would lead no laps in a day dominated by Shane Van Gisbergen. Once again, a Chevrolet would beat out Creed. However, this race was just not Creed’s day.
Creed wound up second to teammate Christopher Bell in New Hampshire. Despite a good push to win on the final lap, Creed would finish second while making up one spot on the Overtime Restart.
Creed ran well in Michigan, but on the final lap, not much would happen as Justin Allgaier had pulled out to a solid lead. A major crash on the final lap, including a flip from Kyle Sieg, spelled the end for Creed in what would be his third-second-place finish to Justin Allgaier.
If Creed’s race at Watkins Glen in 2024 was poetic, it was an elegy.
After finishing second to future Haas Factory Team teammate Sam Mayer at the Glen in 2023, Creed finished second to a JR Motorsports entry at the Glen in 2024. Just like in 2023, Creed led no laps.
However, rather than last year’s race to the flag, Creed had to follow race winner Connor Zilisch back to the Checkard and Yellow flags, hoping that Zilisch would run out of fuel.
Unfortunately, rather than winning, Creed would tack on another second-place finish to his tally.
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