Sheldon Creed is finally a NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race winner after a thrilling final lap in the Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta
MOTORSPORT AMERICA PHOTOS by Fred Hanyon & Derek Jackson
by Derek Jackson
Sheldon Creed’s long-awaited breakthrough arrived Saturday night at EchoPark Speedway in the Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250, and it came in unforgettable fashion. As Ross Chastain and Austin Hill locked horns for the lead on the final lap, their clash turned into chaos. Hill nearly looped it, Chastain lost steam, and Creed slipped through all of it to steal the moment and beat them to the end.
With one lap to go, it looked like Austin Hill was headed to yet another superspeedway win, a week after winning the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway. However, Ross Chastain would make contact with Hill down the backstretch on the final lap of the race, which sent Hill sliding sideways on the apron in Turn 3. The contact also slowed Chastain’s momentum, which cleared the path for Creed to cruise by on the outside.
Hill had controlled the race, leading 34 laps and positioning himself perfectly for the finish. Chastain closed in behind Hill on the backstretch, creating a tense duel between the two Chevrolet drivers. Their final corner collision sent Hill spinning, disrupting his run for what would have been a sixth win at Atlanta and allowing Sheldon Creed to claim his first career victory.
“No excuses, I turned him for sure,” Chastain said afterward. “I hate that I did that to another Chevy. I’m not trying to spin these guys or crash coming to the checkered, but I did not execute it very well.”
Creed said, “It looked like another 2nd or 3rd place run there coming out of Turn 2 there. Creed continued. “If we can finish 2nd five more times this year, I’m OK with it because we’re finally a winner. To have it out of the way and out of the way early is awesome.”
Green Flag and the start of the race! The outside line of Mayer, Creed and Carruth gets and early jump on Kvapil, Gray & Sawalich.Lap 3 the Haas Factory Teammates of No. 41 Mayer & No. 00 Creed have cleared the field.In the first lap Austin Hill gained six spots to P14.On Lap 5 Corey Day got into the rear of Ryan Sieg through the tri-oval collecting brother Kyle Sieg, Sam Perkins and others.Kyle Sieg’s day is done.Lap 16 No. 54-Gray and No. 41-Mayer remain side-by-side for the lead. No. 00-Creed and No. 1-Kvapil in the second lane.On lap 26 No. 00-Creed drops in front of No. 2-Love to take the lead.Lap 29. No.2 Jesse Love is battling for the lead with No. 88 Rajah Caruth.Lap 34. The No. 99 of Parker Retzlaff passes No. 88 Rajah CaruthOn lap 36, the No. 21 of Austin Hill got loose through in Turns 3 & 4 when No. 7-Allgaier moved to his outside. Hill believes he might have a tire going down and has dropped back to 17th.Jesse Love wins Stage 1, his first stage victory of the season.During a lap 50 green flag pit stop Taylor Gray crew member Alex Morgan retrieves a loose tire on pit road.Gray left the pit box early before Morgan was clear.The impact lifted Morgan into the air and flipped him over the left-front fender of Gray’s Toyota.Fortunately, the Asheboro, North Carolina native Morgan was not seriously injured and expressed that he signed up for the situation, saying, “I’m just glad the car is OK,” As a result of the incident, Gray was penalized and had to restart at the rear of the field for a safety violation.No. 7 SS Green Light Racing’ s Josh Bilicki sporting the FlexPower Generators livery.No. 00-Creed passes No. 2-Love to take the lead on lap 64.Cup Series driver Cody Ware piloted the No. Barrett Cope Racing Chevy.Jeb Burton drives the No. 27 Sprayway Chevy for Jordan Anderson Racing.No. 5 Luke Fenhaus vs Josh Williams No. 92ARCA Menard’s Series stand-out driver Lavar Scott of New Jersey piloting the No. 45 Urban Affairs Coalition for Alpha Prime RacingMason Maggio drives the No. 91 FreeRent.org Chevy for DGM Racing x JIM.William Sawalich drives the No. 18 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing.No. 25 Nick Sanchez was the 2025 Focused Health 250 winner in Atlanta.No. 88 Rajah Caruth wins Stage 2, his first career stage victory.No. 18 William Sawalich takes two tires to be the first car off pit road. No. 99 Parker Retzlaff is 2nd, followed by Brandon Jones.Richard Childress Racing teammates No. 2 Jesse Love and No. 21 Austin Hill.Rajah Caruth leaves a shower of sparks in Turn 3.Three Wide on the Frontstretch as it’s Corey Day, Jeb Burton & Jeremy Clements hold off Brandon Jones.No. 0 Garrett Smithley the SS Greenlight Racing ChevyThe No. 2 of Jesse Love holding off the No. 99 of Parker Retzlaff.Allgaier and Creed in Turn 3.JR Motorsports drivers No. 88 Rajah Caruth and No. 7 Justin Allgaier in Turn 4.Sunset over EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta.ARCA Menard’s Series Daytona Champ, Gio Ruggiero.Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love in Turn 3.Lap 105 No. 17-Corey Day gets into the left rear of No. 1-Carson Kvapil while battling for the lead in Turn 4. Both cars, along with No. 7-Allgaier, smack the outside wall to bring out the caution.Caution on the racetrack. It’s Sawalich, Kvapil, Allgaier, Retzlaff & Caruth.Austin Hill gets pushed to the lead by No. 2 Jesse Love on lap 149.Ross Chastain leads Sheldon Creed along the frontstretch.It’s Love, Sanchez and Hill as they go 3-wide along the frontstretch.Lap 158 Green Flag restart and its Chastain, Hill and Creed making up the top 3.Hill takes the white flag and the lead from Chastain.Checkered Flag for Sheldon Creed as he wins the race! Chastain tagged Hill entering Turns 3 & 4, allowing the No. 00 Sheldon Creed to sneak by for the victory, his first career victory in 138 series starts!Sheldon Creed’s first victory burnout in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series!Sheldon Creed celebrates with the crowd at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta.Sheldon Creed exits his car in victory lane.Sheldon Creed lifts his Bennett Transportation & Logistics Trophy triumphantly.Sheldon Creed accepts congratulations from his Haas Factory Teammate, Sam Mayer.Surprise attack greeting by Austin Hill to the delight of Creed.Austin offers his congratulations to his old friend Creed.Sheldon Creed celebrates with Brandon Hutchison Executive Vice President and General Manager of Atlanta’s EchoPark Speedway.Sheldon Creed celebrates with the sponsor of the race, Bennett Transportation & LogisticsSheldon Creed celebrates with his Haas Factory Team pit crew members.
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