Pit Stop Radio News

No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Toyota GR Supra News and Notes: 

• CREED AT BRISTOL: Sheldon Creed heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the final race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season finale, the Food City 300. Creed has two career NXS starts at the famous short track and holds a best finish of 11^th, which came in 2023. In Creed’s first start at the track in 2022, Creed was leading the race until he was caught up in an accident that ended his day early. He had led 34 laps up until that point but was relegated to a 37^th place finish that was not indicative of his speed. In total, Creed has an average start of 21.5, an average finish of 24.0, and 34 laps led in his two starts at the last great coliseum. 
• WATKINS GLEN RECAP: Sheldon Creed and the No. 18 team turned a top-10 car into his fifth runner-up finish of the year through strategy and some savvy driving late in the race. After starting ninth, Creed ran where he started for most of the first stage before strategy led him to scoring a fifth-place finish at the end of the segment. Creed and his team then elected to flip the second stage, which left him with a 29^th place finish in stage two, but allowed him to cycle back to the top 10 to start the final stage. After running an aggressive strategy that consisted of going all out until late in the race and pitting for a splash of gas, Creed returned from his stop in eight place with five laps to go. After a late-race caution came out to send the race to overtime, Creed found himself in a favorable fuel position which allowed him to move up in the field. Coming to the white flag, Creed managed to come out on top of a four car battle for second, which secured him a second-place finish when a last-lap caution came out and froze the field.
• PLAYOFF LOCK: Creed locked himself into the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series driver playoffs via points this past weekend. With just one race to go in the regular season, Creed has earned enough points to ensure a playoff bid regardless of any new winners at Bristol this weekend. This will mark Creed’s second NXS playoff appearance of his career, coming on the heels of his first appearance in 2023, where he was eliminated in the round of eight.
• TOP FIVE LEADER: Creed’s runner-up finish in Watkins Glen bolstered his position as the series leader for top-five finishes in the Xfinity Series with 12. 
• STUCK ON SILVER: Creed’s second-place finish at Watkins Glen marked his 12th career second-place finish in the Xfinity Series. With his fifth second-place finish of the year, Creed extended the series record for most career runner-up finishes without a win. Remarkably, 52% (12/23) of his career top-fives have been second-place results. 
• FRIENDS OF JACLYN FOUNDATION: Founded in 2005, the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization with a mission to improve the quality of life for children with pediatric brain tumors and other childhood cancers while raising awareness for said diseases. The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation aims to improve the quality of life for children and their families battling pediatric brain tumors and other childhood cancers by pairing them with local teams, clubs, and community groups. FOJ has currently made over 1000 adoptions and their mission is to continue to raise awareness through our Adopt-A-Child, Safe on the Sidelines, and Guardian Angel Programs.
• ON THE PITBOX: Crew chief Sam McAulay will lead the No. 18 Toyota GR Supra crew this season. Despite his rookie status, McAulay is an established mind at JGR as he joined the organization in 2007 and worked his way up the ranks from intern to lead race engineer for the No. 11 Cup Series entry of Denny Hamlin. Since the start of his tenure on the No. 11 in 2017, McAulay has contributed to 25 victories, including three Daytona 500 wins and a Coke 600 win as a crew chief when he filled-in for the suspended Chris Gabehart in 2022.

• JGR AT BRISTOL: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) drivers have combined for 115 starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, highlighted by 13 trips to victory lane. Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Erik Jones, Ryan Preece, and Christopher Bell have all taken JGR entries to victory lane at the famous short track. Cumulatively, JGR has scored 38 top-fives, 59 top-10s, and have led 3,430 laps at Bristol.
• FOLLOW ALONG: Follow along for updates and a behind-the-scenes look at Creed’s 2024 season. 

X: @sheldoncreed I Facebook: Sheldon Creed I Instagram: @Sheldoncreed I Website:sheldoncreedracing.com I YouTube: Sheldon Creed

• RACE INFO: Coverage of this weekend’s Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is scheduled for Friday, September 20th, at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW, PRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Sheldon Creed, Driver of the No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Toyota GR Supra: 

“As we head into the end of the regular season, how would you rate your performance and what are you expecting for the playoffs?”

“I’m proud of this team. It was hard to get things rolling at first, but lately we’ve had so much speed and consistency. That’s not something to take for granted in this sport. A lot of times teams can get stuck with what they’ve got but we’ve committed to getting better week after week and it is showing. Sure, there were a few boxes we may not have checked in the regular season, but the growth is a big positive going into the playoffs and the speed is there. I feel great about our chances to show what we’ve got over these next eleven weeks. As for expectations… I think we’re capable of winning a championship and we’re all holding ourselves to that standard. This playoff class is extremely talented and it’s going to take the right moves at the right time, but our heads are held high and I’m ready for the challenge.”

Sheldon Creed’s Stats at Bristol Motor Speedway

Sheldon Creed’s 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Season Stats

Sheldon Creed’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Career Stats

JGR PR