Sheldon Creed
Sheldon Michael Creed is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving the No. 00 Chevrolet SS for Haas Factory Team.
Born in Alpine, California, Creed grew up competing in short course off-road racing, winning championships in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series and Stadium Super Trucks. A two-time SST champion, he also has the most race wins in series history with 39. Creed moved to stock cars in 2016 with the ARCA Racing Series, and he would win its title in 2018. After making sporadic starts in various NASCAR series in 2017 and 2018, he became a full-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver in 2019. He won the 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Championship in his second full season.
Creed has also raced in Aussie Racing Cars, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West, and Trans-Am Series, and has participated in rally raid events like the Baja 1000 and Dakar Rally. He is a two-time X Games medalist, winning a silver medal in 2014 and gold in 2015. Creed was nicknamed “Silver Creed” by commentator Rick Allen due to his multiple second place finishes; as of the 2025 Food City 300, Sheldon Creed has a record 15 runner-up finishes in the Xfinity Series, the most of any driver without a win.
Early career
Creed began riding BMX bikes when he was three years old, winning a state championship two years later. He later switched to motocross and won two Barona MX Park championships in 2005. That year, he was also invited to KTM's Jr Supercross Challenge, in which he finished second. Due to his mother's concerns about potential injury, Creed moved away from motocross.When he was eight, he competed in Quarter Midget racing in the Orange Show Quarter Midget Racing Association and set various track records. His dirt track racing experience also included sprint cars beginning in 2011.
Off-road racing
At the age of nine, Creed began racing Trophy Karts in Championship Off-Road Racing, where he finished fourth in his first year. In 2008, he won the M4SX and JR 1 Kart championships, followed by the SXS Stadium Series' Stadium Kart JR 1 title a year later. His 2009 season also included a third-place points finish in the SXS Stadium Kart Modified standings.Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series
From 2009 to 2011, Creed won a championship in every year of Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series kart competition. In 2009, he won the Junior 1 Kart and Modified Kart titles to become the series' third driver to win multiple class championships in the same year. The following year, he won the Junior 2 Karts. In 2011, Creed won a pair of Lucas Oil Regional championships in the Modified Karts and SuperLite Southern California divisions. In September, he made his SuperLite national debut at Speedworld Offroad Park, where he recorded a runner-up finish in the weekend's second race. Three months later, he won his first national race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.In 2012, he ran the full SuperLite and Modified Kart national schedules. While he finished fifth in the latter's standings with no wins, he won seven SuperLite races to clinch that series' championship. Creed also won the season-ending Lucas Oil Challenge Cup at Firebird International Raceway. In addition to running its regional counterpart, he competed in eight races in the Pro Lite national class. At the regional level, he won the Modified Kart title and finished runner-up in the Adult Kart standings.
Creed ran his first full Pro Lite season in 2013 with support from former LOORRS race director Tony Vanilo. Despite being second in the standings entering the final stop at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park, he started at the back after crashing in qualifying. During the race, he was hit from behind after stopping his truck for a red flag, forcing his team to make repairs; after rejoining the race, he finished sixth. Creed ended the season with a third-place points finish, 29 points behind champion Brian Deegan, with wins at Lake Elsinore, Miller Motorsports Park, and Wild West Motorsports Park. He also joined the Traxxas TORC Series in September at Primm Off Road Raceway, where he finished first and fifth in the two Pro Light races.
The 2014 Pro Lite season began with six consecutive podium finishes, including a win at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park after holding off Justin Smith, while the second victory came at Miller in June. Despite the strong start, Creed did not win again for the rest of the year as he "had some rough races in the middle ", while main championship rival Deegan won twice. Entering the final weekend at Lake Elsinore, Creed held a fourteen point advantage over Deegan. Although Creed finished behind Deegan in the Friday event to narrow the margin to six points, a podium finish in the Saturday event enabled him to win the championship by four points. At the ago of sixteen, he was the youngest Pro Lite champion.
Creed continued to race Pro Lites in 2015, running ten races with four second-place finishes. In August, he substituted for the injured Brad DeBerti in the No. 70 at Wild West Motorsports Park; Creed went on to win the first race after taking the lead early, and DeBerti was credited with the victory in the standings. Creed also debuted in the Pro 2 division, finishing third at Miller and Wild West as he finished 11th in points.
Stadium Super Trucks
On May 4, 2013, Creed joined the Stadium Super Trucks at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. After being the third-fastest driver in qualifying and finishing second in the Last Chance Qualifier race, Creed exited the final race after completing seven of twenty laps and finished tenth. When the series returned to Qualcomm Stadium two weeks later, he set the fastest lap time in qualifying before finishing second in the final to Robby Gordon. Gordon, the SST founder and a former NASCAR driver, would become Creed's mentor as he moved into stock cars. At Honda Indy Toronto in July, Creed took the lead from P. J. Jones on lap three after the two collided and spun out, though they were far enough from the other drivers to keep their positions; while the damage forced Jones to make a pit stop for repairs, Creed remained on the track and led the final six laps to win his first SST race. At the age of 15, he was the series' youngest race winner. A second victory came at the Sand Sports Super Show in September; after skipping the weekend's first two races to race in the LOORRS Pro Lites, Creed dominated the third and final round. Creed ended the 2013 season with two wins and five podium finishes in nine races.Creed ran the full 2014 schedule, scoring three wins and nine podium finishes. He claimed the silver medal at X Games Austin behind Apdaly Lopez to become the youngest auto racer to win an X Games medal. In July, he swept the Toronto weekend. Creed won again in the final race of the year at MGM Resorts Village, but finished second in the championship behind Gordon by 75 points.
The 2015 season began in Adelaide, where Creed won the second race after holding off four other drivers. In the weekend's final race, he finished in third while landing sideways and rolling across the finish line before flipping back on his wheels. His second win of the year came in the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg after battling with E. J. Viso on the final lap. In June, he won the gold medal at X Games Austin 2015 after being the holeshot and led every lap. Creed battled with Gordon in the standings throughout the season, and he capitalized on Gordon's misfortunes in the Australian races and Las Vegas Village to win the championship. He ended the season with nine wins and thirteen podiums, the former of which also included victories at the Sand Sports Super Show, Surfers Paradise Street Circuit, Valvoline Raceway, and Las Vegas. After the season, Creed won two exhibition races at Homebush Street Circuit.
Creed opened 2016 with two wins at Adelaide. He went on to dominate the season as he won all but eight of the twenty races en route to his second consecutive title. Besides his Adelaide wins, other victories included St. Petersburg, weekend sweeps at the Grand Prix of Long Beach and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Dirt Track, the series' inaugural race at Townsville Street Circuit, the Sand Sports Super Show, and two of three races at Surfers Paradise. In October, he joined Gordon at the Mike's Peak Hill Climb Challenge in Baja California, a hillclimbing event that did not count for the championship. Creed finished with the second-fastest times on both days, trailing Gordon.
In 2017, he competed in fourteen races and recorded a series-best seven wins. Three of the wins came in Australia beginning with the second Adelaide race. Creed also won two of three races at Barbagallo Raceway, winning the first after passing leader Bill Hynes and the second upon beating Gordon to the finish by.023 seconds. Additional victories came with a sweep of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix and winning the second race at Texas Motor Speedway. In the two-day Race & Rock World Championships at Lake Elsinore Diamond to end the season, Creed won his heat race on both days, followed by finishing second in the Friday feature and winning Saturday's.
Upon switching to stock cars, Creed continued to race in SST whenever the opportunity is available. In 2018, he ran the Lake Elsinore season opener, during which he won his heat and finished sixth in the feature after being spun on lap two, and the year's final two races at Glen Helen Raceway, where he was marred by engine problems. The next season featured a six-race slate for Creed as he swept the Texas Motor Speedway weekend and won the Saturday race at Portland International Raceway. He participated in the 2020 weekend at Road America alongside Truck Series teammate Zane Smith, where he finished second and third. The 2021 Stadium Super Trucks-opening weekend at St. Petersburg saw him win both races.
As of June 7, 2021, he has 39 career wins, the most of any driver in SST history. His two championships are the second most, tied with Gordon and trailing Matthew Brabham by one.