It took four years to get there, but Sheldon Creed finally made it to victory lane on Saturday at EchoPark Speedway.
The Haas Factory Team driver set the dubious record of most second place finishes without a win during his first four seasons in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at 15, but needed just two races to finally grab his first checkered flag.
Creed started in fourth and ran strong all day, but it all came down to the last lap. Perennial Atlanta winner Austin Hill was in the lead with Ross Chastain behind him, before the Cup Series driver dove to the inside for the pass.
Hill went for the block, but couldn’t clear him and got turned. He pulled off an amazing save to avoid crashing, but fell out of contention. Creed, who had been pushing Chastain, stayed in the outside lane and drove away for the win.
“I’ve been a loser the last few years and just kept showing up. Not how you draw it up, when you won a truck championship and win races and go to Xfinity [the former name of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series] and go four years winless so, incredible,” Creed said during his front stretch interview.
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