After 15 runner-up finishes, Sheldon Creed has finally broken through. He has won his first career O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race after a wild final lap at EchoPark Speedway.
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The California native entered Saturday evening's race with 15 runner-up finishes in NASCAR's secondary series. He had led the second-most laps in series history without scoring a win, trailing only Brian Scott. But this time, he capitalized when opportunity presented itself.
MORE: Sheldon Creed wins, full results
This came in the form of a wild final lap at the 1.5-mile mini-superspeedway. Austin Hill passed Ross Chastain for the lead coming to the white flag, and it appeared that he would score his sixth win at his home track. However, chaos unfolded as the drivers raced toward the checkered flag.
The block into 3
The save by Hill
The first win for Creed
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Chastain dove to the bottom of the track after a big push from Creed. Hill went to block, but he spun off Chastain's nose. Hill saved the No. 21 Chevrolet and got back onto the track, but he lost the lead.
Meanwhile, Creed raced by Chastain on the outside with Parker Retzlaff behind him. He had a large enough lead that no one could catch him before he crossed the start-finish line. He scored his first career win and received congratulations from many of his peers.
Retzlaff crossed the line in second place. Nick Sanchez, Corey Day, and Jesse Love rounded out the top five. Chastain, Sam Mayer, Rajah Caruth, Taylor Gray, and Brandon Jones scored top-10 finishes while Hill ultimately settled for 12th place.
"Incredible. Yeah, been a loser the last few years and just kept showing up," a breathless Creed told CW Sports' Dillon Welch. "Not how you draw it up when you win a Truck championship and win races and go to Xfinity and go four years winless.
"Incredible. Thank all my past teams at RCR (Richard Childress Racing) and Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing). They all gave me great opportunities. And now here with Haas Factory Team and back with Chevrolet and great engines. Hendrick Engine Shop did a great job for us."
With Creed scoring his first O'Reilly Auto Parts Series win, the focus will turn to what he can achieve next. He has already won championships in both the ARCA Menards Series and Craftsman Truck Series while winning 12 combined races. Will this win at EchoPark Speedway kick off a run to The Chase?
The outcome remains uncertain, but Creed will enjoy a boost in the series standings. He will head to Circuit of the Americas sitting third in points.
