Haas Factory Team News
Third-Place Run Earns Creed Back-to-Back Dash 4 Cash $100K Bonus. Mayer Surges to Lead Late Before Last-Lap Contact Spoils Strong Talladega Effort
By Haas Factory Team
TALLADEGA, AL (April 25, 2026) – Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer put together another strong showing for Haas Factory Team at Talladega Superspeedway, with Creed finishing third and securing the $100,000 Dash4Cash bonus for the second straight race, while Mayer led laps and battled for the win before a last-lap incident resulted in a 25th-place finish.
Creed continued his momentum in Stage Two despite restarting 13th following pit stops. Quickly finding speed in the top lane, he powered into the top 10 and then the top five with help from a strong push from behind. Maintaining position among the leaders, Creed made a decisive move on the final lap of the stage to secure another third-place finish, adding eight more stage points and keeping himself firmly in contention.A penalty under the stage break forced him to the rear for the final stage, but Creed quickly sliced through the field, gaining more than 20 positions to rejoin the leaders. He powered to the lead with drafting help and cycled back to the front during green-flag pit stops, setting up a battle for the win in the closing laps. A late caution ended the race as a run was forming, leaving Creed with a hard-fought third-place finish and the $100,000 Dash4Cash prize for the second consecutive week.“It was a good day for our Ollie’s Chevrolet. We were able to get a good amount of stage points before a dumb mistake,” Creed said. “I was able to kind of weave my way through there at the end, but overall, really good day. Thank you to everyone back at the shop for building fast cars and to Gene Haas, Joe Custer and all our partners.”
Following the stage break, Mayer restarted 12th and battled the constantly shifting three-wide draft. Despite working multiple lanes and attempting to generate momentum in the single-file pack, he was unable to regain track position and finished Stage Two in the middle of the field.Mayer restarted sixth for the final stage and quickly rejoined the fight at the front, working inside the top five alongside Creed. After green-flag pit stops and several late-race surges, Mayer charged back to fourth with three laps to go and surged into the lead on the final lap. Poised to contend for the win, Mayer was turned on the backstretch before reaching the finish, resulting in an unrepresentative 25th-place finish.“Our Audibel Chevrolet was really fast today, we were cooking for sure. The fact that we even were in that spot to have a shot at it, that's a win.” Mayer said. “The fact we were in it at the end despite almost getting spun off two and rallying back through the field is a testament to my team and their hard work all season long.”
- 00 Sheldon Creed
Creed continued his momentum in Stage Two despite restarting 13th following pit stops. Quickly finding speed in the top lane, he powered into the top 10 and then the top five with help from a strong push from behind. Maintaining position among the leaders, Creed made a decisive move on the final lap of the stage to secure another third-place finish, adding eight more stage points and keeping himself firmly in contention.A penalty under the stage break forced him to the rear for the final stage, but Creed quickly sliced through the field, gaining more than 20 positions to rejoin the leaders. He powered to the lead with drafting help and cycled back to the front during green-flag pit stops, setting up a battle for the win in the closing laps. A late caution ended the race as a run was forming, leaving Creed with a hard-fought third-place finish and the $100,000 Dash4Cash prize for the second consecutive week.“It was a good day for our Ollie’s Chevrolet. We were able to get a good amount of stage points before a dumb mistake,” Creed said. “I was able to kind of weave my way through there at the end, but overall, really good day. Thank you to everyone back at the shop for building fast cars and to Gene Haas, Joe Custer and all our partners.”
- 41 Sam Mayer
Following the stage break, Mayer restarted 12th and battled the constantly shifting three-wide draft. Despite working multiple lanes and attempting to generate momentum in the single-file pack, he was unable to regain track position and finished Stage Two in the middle of the field.Mayer restarted sixth for the final stage and quickly rejoined the fight at the front, working inside the top five alongside Creed. After green-flag pit stops and several late-race surges, Mayer charged back to fourth with three laps to go and surged into the lead on the final lap. Poised to contend for the win, Mayer was turned on the backstretch before reaching the finish, resulting in an unrepresentative 25th-place finish.“Our Audibel Chevrolet was really fast today, we were cooking for sure. The fact that we even were in that spot to have a shot at it, that's a win.” Mayer said. “The fact we were in it at the end despite almost getting spun off two and rallying back through the field is a testament to my team and their hard work all season long.”
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