NASCAR’s return to ‘The Rock’ had no dearth of drama. The North Carolina Education Lottery 250 witnessed the carnage that the famed track was renowned for. With its tight corners and narrow racing surface coming out of Turn 2, Rockingham Speedway elicited 14 cautions from the Xfinity Series field. Sheldon Creed became an unexpected participant in one of those cautions, which ruined his day.
The Haas Factory Team driver had posted the third-fastest time (23.061 seconds) in practice with a speed of 146.7 MPH. Despite this strong start, he qualified in 17th place for the starting grid. Pile up the unfortunate contact with a rival, and it was a perfectly dismal day for Creed – yet he did not point fingers.
A dejected Sheldon Creed stays calm
The No. 00 Ford driver was already riding a streak of bad luck. Last weekend in Bristol, Sheldon Creed came close to danger due to a hard crash on lap 75. A tap from Dean Thompson spun out his car, which got a terrifying impact from Brennan Poole’s No. 44 Chevrolet. Let alone grabbing the Dash 4Cash prize, Creed could not even piece together a decent finish. Unfortunately, his 37th-place finish at Bristol had a sequel coming. Creed showed promise during practice for Rockingham, and so hopes were high for him during the race. However, disaster struck when Justin Bonsignore came into his path.
Driving the No. 51 Chevrolet for Kenneth Massa Motorsports, Justin Bonsignore’s troubles have been plenty. His car got loose several times at Rockingham, collecting both Jeb Burton and Sheldon Creed. When it was the latter’s turn, Bonsingore’s car got loose and hit the No. 00, sending it into the outside wall. In a post-race interview with Frontstretch, however, Creed did not blame his rival. He hung his head low in a 7-word admission: “I think he was the fastest car.” Creed continued, “I was getting tight, but…he got loose underneath me. I don’t know.” Yet ironically, Bonsignore had qualified in 19th place, two spots lower than Creed.
Before the mishap occurred, Sheldon Creed reckoned it to be a decent run. He continued, “Okay, like I got decent track position that first run. I think I got to 10th, which was hard to do. Like everyone’s just – the track’s fast, everyone’s fast. And I was building tighter than I wanted to in that run. I don’t know, what were we running, 8th or 9th? …I thought it was okay, like we definitely needed to free up quite a bit. Like, I was just building way too tight. Yeah, I don’t know, I guess I was in his way, he got loose.” What bugged him more was his back-to-back misery in Bristol and Rockingham. “Two weeks in a row, I don’t know what to do.”
Yet Justin Bonsignore did his part and apologized to Creed as well. This kept the level of tension on a caution-riddled day low. The No. 51 driver told Frontstretch: “I mean, he packed air around me once, but it was nothing…Just tight racing there. I just want to apologize to 00, got into him earlier too. Just another rough day of learning here.”
Despite the defused situation at Rockingham, Sheldon Creed may still be concerned. That is because he has a new sponsor backing him this season.
A long way to go to prove himself
Well, Sheldon Creed already has a solid reputation in the Xfinity Series. Despite going winless so far, he tallied 27 top-five finishes and 52 top 10s across three prior seasons. In 2025, Creed has picked up three top-fives already. However, consecutive finishes of 37th in the last two races may be tensing him up a little bit. After all, the No. 00 team is in an exciting collaboration with Road Ranger spanning across 13 races during the 2025 Xfinity season. Marko Zaro, CEO of Road Ranger, professed his faith in Creed earlier this season. “Partnering with Sheldon Creed aligns us with a driver whose talent mirrors our own pursuit of excellence on America’s highways.”
Yet Sheldon Creed has ample time to pack some energy into his season. At Rockingham Speedway, he showed glimmers of hope, especially after a fabulous speed in practice. That means he is trying to improve after his disaster at Bristol Motor Speedway. What is more, the driver is known for his relentless approach. After getting discharged from Richard Childress Racing, he delivered a solid season under Joe Gibbs, clinching 16 top-fives and 23 top-tens in 2024.
So Sheldon Creed may live up to his promises made to Road Ranger: “I am incredibly excited to welcome Road Ranger as a partner! Their commitment to this sport and now the Haas Factory Team gives me confidence that we will achieve great things on and off the racetrack…I look forward to competing at a high level while representing this great brand.”
‘The Rock’ may have been a little miserable for Sheldon Creed. However, the rest of the Xfinity Series season is left for the Haas Factory driver to prove himself, so let us see how he proceeds.
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