Creed Survives Wild Finish at DuQuoin's Magic Mile to Finish Second

DuQUOIN, Ill., September 7, 2017 (Newswire.com) - ​Sheldon “The Showstopper” Creed, fresh off his first professional auto racing win at Road America the weekend before, rolled into the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds on Labor Day brimming with confidence. Creed had a good reason, as he would be returning to the seat of the No. 78 United Rentals/A.M. Ortega Construction/RTL Leasing Chevrolet for Mason Mitchell Motorsports.

In Creed’s first start for MMM two weeks before at Springfield, also his first outing in an ARCA car on dirt, he showed impressive speed.  He was battling for the win late in the race before being hung out on the outside on the final restart and dropping back to 7th place. Creed then fought back up to 4th place at the finish, turning the fastest laps of the race. Creed felt like he had left a win on the table in Springfield and was understandably eager to get back on a dirt mile at DuQuoin with MMM and try to get his first ARCA win.

Race day at DuQuoin got off to a good start with Creed topping the time sheets early before dropping back to 7th at the end of the session. Unfortunately, just as in Springfield, Creed drew a very early slot for single-lap qualifying, which is almost always a major handicap on a dirt track, and it was no different at DuQuoin. Despite having a very fast race car, which should have contended for pole, and driving a good lap, Creed would only record the 6th fastest time, about 2mph behind pole-winner Will Kimmel.

Creed and the Mason Mitchell Motorsports crew were relatively unconcerned with their starting position because they believed they had a car that would race to the front; and so, it did, with Creed quickly advancing to 2nd place before taking the lead on lap 19 of 100. Creed would stay out at the first caution period, while most of the leading cars stopped to take tires and make adjustments. Creed would maintain the lead when the race went green again and led until lap 38 when he pitted during caution to take four tires. Creed would regain the lead on lap 46 and maintain it until Shane Lee took over at the front on lap 59.

Lapped traffic played a part in the race and Lee was balked several times, letting Austin Theriault by briefly on lap 62, before taking back the point. A series of late-race wrecks and caution periods saw the final green, white, checker restart take place on lap 108, of a scheduled 100.

Creed lined up 3rd for the restart with Lee in 1st place in front of him and Theriault on the outside of the front row. Mindful of his experience getting caught on the outside on the final restart in Springfield, Creed knew his only chance was to stay low and push Lee by Theriault and then battle with Lee for the win. Unfortunately, Creed’s push got Lee out of shape and as Creed got by, Lee returned the favor which allowed Theriault to drive away to win. Creed would survive to finish an ARCA career-best 2nd while Lee dropped back to 6th at the flag.

Sheldon Creed on DuQuoin:

"It was just hard racing there, all going for the win," said Creed. "We dominated the first half of the race today and had to work our way back through the field after our pit stop. My plan was to push the 22 (Lee) and get him in front of the 52 (Theriault). It didn't pan out like we wanted. Lee and I were going for our first win, it was just hard racing. I can’t thank everyone at MMM enough for this opportunity. We had two great races with them."

Despite only racing a limited schedule in The ARCA Racing Series, presented by Menards because of other commitments, Creed now has 6 top-10 finishes in 7 races, including 3 top-5’s.

Creed will have a rare off weekend and then is back in ARCA action with MDM Motorsports for the Scott 150 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois on Thursday, Sept. 14th. The race will be broadcast on FS1 and live timing and scoring of all on-track activities and live chat will also be available at arcaracing.com.

Also of note:

Sheldon Creed has a brand-new website, developed in conjunction with Race Face Brand Development. It features the latest news on Sheldon’s career, as well as lots of great photos, videos, and radio interviews. Check it out at www.sheldoncreedracing.com.

About Sheldon Creed:

Sheldon Creed, nicknamed “The Showstopper” began racing BMX at age 3 and won 2 motocross championships at age 6. He has won at least one championship every year since 2008.

Career Highlights:

•           25 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series 1st Place Finishes

•           5 Championship Off Road Racing Series 1st Place Finishes

•           2015 – X-Games Gold Medalist in Stadium Super Trucks

•           2015 & 2016 Speed Energy Stadium Super Trucks Champion

•           2016 - NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, ARCA Series & the world-famous Dakar Rally

•           2017 - Competing in the ARCA Series, NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, K&N Pro Series West,            NASCAR Xfinity Series, Trans Am Series, and Stadium Super Trucks Series

Media Contact: Brian Bonner       Email: [email protected]       Ph: (978) 361-5295

Source: MyNetworkOne on behalf of Sheldon Creed Racing