Sheldon Creed Earns Fourth Top-Three Finish of O’Reilly Series Chase, Remains Points Leader.

CONCORD, NC (October 11, 2026) –

Sheldon Creed charged through the field in the final stage at Charlotte to earn his fourth top-five finish of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase and maintain his points lead, while Sam Mayer put together a solid points day before a late-race flat tire spoiled an otherwise strong run on Sunday night.

00 Sheldon Creed:

After rain pushed the race to Sunday night, Sheldon Creed started eighth at Charlotte, looking to maintain his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase points lead. Creed struggled on the initial start, slipping outside the top 10 in the opening laps before falling to 16th by the lap 20 competition caution. The No. 00 Ollie’s Chevrolet made its first pit stop of the night for handling adjustments before Creed returned to the track and crossed the line in 21st.

Creed restarted 14th in his No. 00 Ollie’s Chevrolet and began working his way forward early in Stage Two. He steadily gained positions throughout the stage, breaking into the top 10 in the closing laps to earn a crucial stage point with a 10th-place finish.

Creed settled into sixth place in the final stage and maintained his position until a caution brought the No. 00 Ollie’s Chevrolet to pit road. A subsequent caution following a single-car spin moved Creed up to fifth, though he settled back into sixth before a late-race caution set up a restart with 10 laps remaining. Creed capitalized in the closing laps to cross the finish line fourth, earning his fourth top-five finish of the Chase and maintaining his points lead by two points over Jesse Love.

“We struggled to start the day, especially without practice, but I knew right away I was bouncing off the splitter and really loose. I just had to grind it out, and Jonathan Toney and our engineer did a great job helping us get the car better throughout the race,” Creed said. “We salvaged every point we could with our Ollie’s Good Stuff Cheap Chevrolet, and I appreciate everyone at the shop, Hendrick Engines and all our partners for continuing to grind it out with us.”

41 Sam Mayer:

Sam Mayer entered Charlotte sixth in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase standings after four consecutive top-10 finishes. Starting fifth Sunday night after rain canceled practice and qualifying, Mayer quickly moved into the battle for third in the No. 41 CARDIACS Sports & Memorabilia Chevrolet. He held third through the lap 20 competition caution, making minor handling adjustments on pit road before finishing Stage One third to earn eight points.

Mayer maintained third early in Stage Two in his No. 41 CARDIACS Sports & Memorabilia Chevrolet while pressuring Justin Allgaier for the lead before settling into fourth at the stage finish, adding seven more points and bringing his total to 15 on the night.

Mayer exited pit road fourth to start the final stage and quickly moved into third before a lap 112 caution brought him back to pit road. Restarting fifth, Mayer charged to second in his No. 41 CARDIACS Sports & Memorabilia Chevrolet but slipped to seventh as his tires wore. A pair of late cautions set up a final shootout, and Mayer was the first driver to pit for fresh tires, dropping to 14th for the restart. However, a flat tire in the closing laps ended his bid for another top-10, leaving him with a 24th-place finish.

Up Next

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series heads to Phoenix Raceway for the sixth race of the Chase next Saturday, October 17th, with race coverage on the CW set for 7:30 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.