Creed Earns Career Best Sixth Straight Top-10 Finish on Saturday Night. Mayer Flashes Speed, Collects Five Stage Points at Bristol Motor Speedway
By Haas Factory Team
BRISTOL, TN (April 11, 2026) – Sheldon Creed earned his sixth consecutive top-10 finish Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, using a sixth-place result to climb to second in the championship standings. Sam Mayer added five stage points and ran inside the top 10 for much of the night before a late incident relegated him to a 20th-place finish.
00 Sheldon Creed
Sheldon Creed turned his best start of the season into a strong points night on Saturday, launching from the front row alongside William Sawalich. After briefly slipping to third before an early caution, the No. 00 Ollie’s Chevrolet quickly reclaimed second on the restart and powered past Sawalich on lap 32. Creed showcased impressive long-run speed, building a healthy gap before a late Stage One caution reset the field. Restarting seventh after pitting under yellow, he methodically worked back to second with a bold outside move and a late pass on Ryan Sieg to secure nine stage points.
Maintaining his momentum in Stage Two, Creed once again relied on the preferred top lane to surge forward on restarts. He climbed back to second after multiple cautions, overtaking Brandon Jones and fending off Connor Zilisch through a hard-charging middle portion of the stage. Creed crossed the line in second for the second consecutive stage, collecting another nine points and giving him the most stage points of any full-time O’Reilly Series driver on the night.In the final stage, Creed continued to battle inside the top five as the high groove continued to gain grip. He used the outside line to pass Sawalich again for fourth and then drove around Justin Allgaier for third, positioning himself to contend for the win late. A series of late cautions, however, shuffled the running order and forced him to restart from eighth after a pit stop. Creed fought back to finish sixth and will be one of four O’Reilly drivers to compete for the Dash 4 Cash bonus next weekend at Kansas.41 Sam Mayer
Sam Mayer opened his seventh Bristol start with his seventh top-10 qualifying effort of the 2026 season, rolling off fifth in the No. 41 Audibel Chevrolet. After an early caution, he worked back past Taylor Gray and Brandon Jones to reclaim fifth before being shuffled back in heavy lap traffic. A lap 63 caution allowed the team to regroup, and Mayer used fresh tires to climb back to ninth by the end of Stage One, earning two stage points.
Starting Stage Two from the top lane, Mayer gained ground early and cleared Jesse Love before a lap 103 caution reset the field. Restarting seventh, he remained in the mix inside the top 10 and managed traffic through a long green-flag run to finish eighth, adding three valuable stage points with the No. 41 team entering the night just outside the cutline.A clean stop under the stage break kept Mayer seventh to open the final segment, where he jumped into a multi-car battle for third on the restart. He maintained position inside the top 10 through the lap 195 red flag, but after restarting 10th late, contact with Brandon Jones dropped him to 18th. Mayer ultimately crossed the line in 20th despite running inside the top 10 for a majority of the night.
Up Next
The NASCAR O’Reilly Series heads to Kansas Speedway next Saturday, April 18th, with race coverage on the CW at 7 p.m. ET.About Haas Factory Team:
Haas Factory Team is a NASCAR Cup and O'Reilly Auto Parts Series program owned by Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation. New in 2026, Haas Factory will align with Chevrolet. As part of the manufacturer switch, HFT will have a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports, which will include using Hendrick-built engines across both series. The team will feature Cole Custer driving the No. 41 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series, while Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer take on the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series in the No. 00 and No. 41 Chevrolet Camaros, respectively. Based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the Haas Factory Team reflects a commitment to performance and engineering excellence, carrying forward Gene Haas’s commitment to motorsports.
00 Sheldon Creed
Sheldon Creed turned his best start of the season into a strong points night on Saturday, launching from the front row alongside William Sawalich. After briefly slipping to third before an early caution, the No. 00 Ollie’s Chevrolet quickly reclaimed second on the restart and powered past Sawalich on lap 32. Creed showcased impressive long-run speed, building a healthy gap before a late Stage One caution reset the field. Restarting seventh after pitting under yellow, he methodically worked back to second with a bold outside move and a late pass on Ryan Sieg to secure nine stage points.
Maintaining his momentum in Stage Two, Creed once again relied on the preferred top lane to surge forward on restarts. He climbed back to second after multiple cautions, overtaking Brandon Jones and fending off Connor Zilisch through a hard-charging middle portion of the stage. Creed crossed the line in second for the second consecutive stage, collecting another nine points and giving him the most stage points of any full-time O’Reilly Series driver on the night.In the final stage, Creed continued to battle inside the top five as the high groove continued to gain grip. He used the outside line to pass Sawalich again for fourth and then drove around Justin Allgaier for third, positioning himself to contend for the win late. A series of late cautions, however, shuffled the running order and forced him to restart from eighth after a pit stop. Creed fought back to finish sixth and will be one of four O’Reilly drivers to compete for the Dash 4 Cash bonus next weekend at Kansas.41 Sam Mayer
Sam Mayer opened his seventh Bristol start with his seventh top-10 qualifying effort of the 2026 season, rolling off fifth in the No. 41 Audibel Chevrolet. After an early caution, he worked back past Taylor Gray and Brandon Jones to reclaim fifth before being shuffled back in heavy lap traffic. A lap 63 caution allowed the team to regroup, and Mayer used fresh tires to climb back to ninth by the end of Stage One, earning two stage points.
Starting Stage Two from the top lane, Mayer gained ground early and cleared Jesse Love before a lap 103 caution reset the field. Restarting seventh, he remained in the mix inside the top 10 and managed traffic through a long green-flag run to finish eighth, adding three valuable stage points with the No. 41 team entering the night just outside the cutline.A clean stop under the stage break kept Mayer seventh to open the final segment, where he jumped into a multi-car battle for third on the restart. He maintained position inside the top 10 through the lap 195 red flag, but after restarting 10th late, contact with Brandon Jones dropped him to 18th. Mayer ultimately crossed the line in 20th despite running inside the top 10 for a majority of the night.
Up Next
The NASCAR O’Reilly Series heads to Kansas Speedway next Saturday, April 18th, with race coverage on the CW at 7 p.m. ET.About Haas Factory Team:
Haas Factory Team is a NASCAR Cup and O'Reilly Auto Parts Series program owned by Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation. New in 2026, Haas Factory will align with Chevrolet. As part of the manufacturer switch, HFT will have a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports, which will include using Hendrick-built engines across both series. The team will feature Cole Custer driving the No. 41 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series, while Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer take on the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series in the No. 00 and No. 41 Chevrolet Camaros, respectively. Based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the Haas Factory Team reflects a commitment to performance and engineering excellence, carrying forward Gene Haas’s commitment to motorsports.