Sheldon Creed Wins Second Career O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race at Darlington Raceway.

DARLINGTON, SC (September 5, 2026) – Sheldon Creed charged to the front late in his No. 00 Ollie’s Chevrolet and led the final 53 laps at Darlington Raceway on Saturday night to capture his second career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory. With the win, he moved to second in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase standings, just seven points behind series leader Justin Allgaier.

00 Sheldon Creed:

After finishing the regular season with 16 top-10 finishes over the first 24 races, Sheldon Creed rolled off the line in 13th place for the opening race of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase. The No. 00 Ollie’s Chevrolet steadily climbed toward the top 10 before a caution on lap 35 bunched the field back together. Creed hit pit road and restarted 16th with five laps remaining, charging to 12th despite narrowly missing stage points.

Creed restarted Stage Two 18th and immediately went to work, gaining eight spots before breaking into the top 10 on fresh tires in his No. 00 Ollie’s Chevrolet. A lap-60 caution allowed him to restart inside the top 10, and Creed continued his charge to sixth before another yellow. He capitalized on the fresher tires once again, racing into the top five and finishing third to earn eight key points after entering the race third in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings.

Creed won the race off pit road under the stage caution and led the field to green for the final stage. With a push from Sammy Smith, the No. 00 Ollie’s Chevrolet cleared the low line and quickly built a half-second lead. A multi-car crash on the backstretch erased the advantage, but Creed immediately went back to work. He used the high line and another good launch to pull away on the final restart, stretching his lead to as much as 2.5 seconds. From there, Creed controlled the closing 41 laps and took the checkered flag for the second win of his O’Reilly Series career, moving within seven points of championship leader Justin Allgaier in the standings.

“This win means everything to me. I've been so close so many times and if I could pick a place to get a win, this is it,” Creed said. “I wasn't very happy with the car in the first run, but we worked on it all night. Jonathan Toney and the boys gave me what I needed at the end I was able to get away. I’m super proud of everyone at Haas Factory Team and want to give a thank you to Ollie’s and Chevrolet for their support all season.”

41 Sam Mayer:

After clinching his Chase spot at Daytona last weekend, Sam Mayer opened the Chase with a fifth-place qualifying effort at Darlington. The No. 41 Starkey Chevrolet battled tight handling early in Stage One and slipped to seventh before a lap-34 caution. However, Mayer pitted under yellow and restarted 13th with six laps remaining. Taking advantage of the fresh tires, he charged to fourth and was able to earn seven stage points.

Staying out under the stage caution, Mayer moved up to fourth for the start of Stage Two in his No. 41 Starkey Chevrolet. He settled into fifth with Jesse Love close behind before a caution slowed the field. Mayer stayed out again and restarted sixth, but struggled to get moving as the leaders boxed him in on the top lane. A second caution slowed the field after Mayer fell to seventh in his No. 41 Starkey Chevrolet behind Creed. With laps winding down, Mayer battled on older tires to finish eighth and earn another three points.

Cycling through pit road in seventh, Mayer slipped to 10th in his No. 41 Starkey Chevrolet early in the final stage as his lane struggled to get going. A quick caution limited the damage, and Mayer gained two spots on the ensuing restart as cars battled ahead. Fighting to maintain a solid finish despite handling issues, Mayer found grip as others began to fade. He was able to work his way back into the top 10 and battled to the checkered flag, finishing eighth for his 11th top-10 result of the season.

Up Next:

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series heads to World Wide Technology Raceway for the second race of the Chase next Saturday, September 12th, 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.