Like a stealth bomber, Sheldon Creed waited until the absolute last minute to strike. Thanks to an astute call from crew chief Jonathan Toney, Creed bolted on new tires for an overtime restart on Lap 304, using them to full advantage to win the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. It was a stunning turnaround for a machine that simply wasn't handling well all evening, but when it mattered, the No. 00 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet came alive to secure Creed's second victory in three Chase races.
That final sprint changed everything. Benefiting from a caution with three laps left in regulation, Creed lined up in the inside lane beside race leader William Sawalich on Lap 304. Getting an excellent launch on his fresh rubber—after Toney called him into the pits for new tires on Lap 280—Creed seized the lead and never looked back. Sawalich fought hard, moving to the top of the track to counter, but Creed prevailed to beat him to the finish line by 0.253 seconds at the end of a two-lap overtime. Credited with leading only the final three laps, Creed picked up his third victory of the season and the third of his career.
"To be honest, I wasn't really good all night with the balance of our Chevrolet," Creed said. "Hats off to these guys. They just never give up. I just think the (overtime) restart there, I tried to time the 18 well. With a lot newer tires, it was just easier for me to get going. I got clear and I was just kind of watching up top."
Down pit lane, the mood was vastly different. Justin Allgaier was left furious after finishing fourth, having seen a race-leading run derailed earlier. Allgaier was the leader for a Lap 286 restart, but in a desperate bid for the lead, Jesse Love ran the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet into the outside wall. Love, the defending series champion, led 80 laps before the run-in, but his miscalculation left him a disappointing 17th and filled with regret. As soon as the race ended, Allgaier strode straight to Love's No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to demand answers.
"(I was) just questioning why," said Allgaier, who had won the first stage despite creasing the nose of his Camaro during contact with Nick Sanchez's Chevrolet. "The race car we had was so good tonight. I'm just disappointed at coming out of here the way we did."
Love was entirely contrite about the clash. "Honestly, I got caught up in the moment racing with him," Love admitted, noting that his terrible decision made an enemy he did not need while taking them both out of contention for the win. Love now sits fourth in the Chase standings, 41 points behind Creed, while Allgaier holds second place, 11 points back from the summit.
Elsewhere, Carson Kvapil dominated the middle portion of the race by leading a race-high 156 laps, only to suffer heartbreak when smoke started trailing from the back of his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevy with 44 laps left. Kvapil ultimately finished 24th, four laps down, though he retains third position in the standings, 37 points behind Creed. Behind the dramatic podium battles, rookie Brent Crews brought his machine home in third, with Corey Day rounding out the top five behind Allgaier. Taylor Gray, Sam Mayer, Parker Retzlaff, Dean Thompson, and Sammy Smith completed the top 10.
Post-race inspection in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series garage was completed without issue for the winner, though inspections did catch the Nos. 17 and 54 with one unsafe and secure lug nut each, costing both teams pit-stall selection for the upcoming race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
%2FGettyImages-2298178390.webp&w=800)
