Sheldon Creed Storms into Firebird International Raceway
Coming off of an amazing start to his 2013 Shortcourse season, Sheldon Creed “The Prodigy of Shortcourse” headed to Firebird International Raceway in Chandler Arizona with a winning track record and a team that was prepared for anything that stood in it’s way.
After a couple practice runs, Sheldon Creed once again quickly became comfortable behind the wheel of the number 74 Pro Lite. As though he hadn’t missed a beat from his winning ways at the Lucas Oil Regional Series, Creed laid down the fastest qualifying lap in the stacked field of 27 total Pro Lite’s. Sheldon led the entire Pro Lite field with nearly a half a second lead over two past Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Pro Lite champions; a feat that isn’t anything short of spectacular in the first race of the season.
Round 1 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series was bound to be an epic way to open the Shortcourse season; the sheer number of trucks on the track is unmatched in any other kind of Shortcourse racing and had all of the right elements for carnage in the opening rounds. After the post qualifying inversion, Creed was lined up in the third place position and had his sights set on the number one position. Running strong all the way into the half-way point of the race, Creed knew he needed to push just a little bit harder in order to catch Bradley Morris and Brian Deegan who sat in the first and second place positions. On his approach for the second place position an incident between three competitors behind him ended up bringing out a full course caution. After the green flag was waved and racing resumed, the number 74 Pro Lite of Sheldon Creed suffered an ignition coil failure. As Creed pulled into turn one and attempted to restart the number 74, many of the racers behind him managed to avoid disaster. As luck would have it, Creed would get plowed from the rear of the number 74 and would end his day right then and there with massive damage to the rear suspension of Creed’s Pro Lite.
The OCCR crew quickly went to work on the number 74 and was able to get Sheldon Creed back out on the track for Round 2. After a total rebuild of the rear end of the number 74, Creed went out and qualified in the second place position just .29 seconds out of first place.
Once again after the inversion Sheldon Creed started in the third place position behind Morris and RJ Anderson. Knowing he was going to have to give it all he’s got in order to not get caught by Deegan and Currie who were breathing down his back, Creed was quickly putting down lap times of a veteran racer.
Further into the race Creed held his position at the front of the pack until a full course caution flag came out that ended up bunching the entire field back up. Due to the yellow caution flag so late in the race, the following laps would become a “green-white-checkered” battle to the finish. When the green flag dropped Creed stole the inside line away from race leader and last year’s LOORRS champion RJ Anderson. Creed now sitting in the first place position would keep the hammer down and lead the entire pack of Pro Lites with clean air and a wide-open track. When the white “one lap remaining” flag came out, Sheldon and crew kept their fingers crossed hoping that the number 74 would make it to the finish because they knew he was low on fuel and could possibly run out of fuel on the last lap. Coming into what would be the final lap, the flagman re-grabbed the white flag and flagged the field for an additional lap around the track. Unbeknown to Creed, Sheldon started his victory celebration after the finish line for what he thought was the final lap of the race. The OCCR crew quickly realized the mistake that had been made and radioed to Creed that he needed to complete one more lap according to the flagman.
Even with a mix-up at the finish line, “The Prodigy of Shortcourse” didn’t let the pressure get to him and was able to charge his way to a second place position. Although it isn’t exactly what he was hoping for, Creed showed poise and professionalism standing on the podium in front of the sold out crowd at Firebird International Raceway.
“The crew worked most of the night to get the truck back together after Saturday’s race. On Sunday, the hard work really showed. The truck ran great the whole race and we got to take home a podium finish”, said Creed.
Sheldon Creed and the entire OCCR crew head to Rounds 3&4 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway tied for 8th place in points for their chance at redemption. When you’re “The Prodigy” there are high expectations, but when you are Sheldon Creed there isn’t anything that can faze you.
Sheldon and team would like to thank their sponsors who make racing possible: BFGoodrich, AM Ortega Construction, Trench Shoring Co, Fox Racing Shox and Eibach Springs, GoRhino! Products and Method Race Wheels.
About Sheldon Creed
A 15-year-old, high school student with a stacked list of impressive career racing highlights under his belt on two- and four-wheels. Sheldon has over twenty five 1st place finishes in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series alone and he is one of only 3 drivers in the history of LOORRS to win two championships simultaneously (2009). In the 2013 season Sheldon will be behind the wheel of his completely refurbished V-8 ProLite, running with the ranks of seasoned pros.
Follow Sheldon Creed on Facebook
For sponsorship opportunities contact Tony Vanillo 760-964-8395 or tony@offroadmanagementgroup.
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Category: Press Releases
