LINCOLN, AL - APRIL 25: Sheldon Creed 00 Haas Factory Team Ollie s Chevrolet, Corey Day 17 Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet and Sam Mayer 41 Haas Factory Team Audibel Chevrolet battle for position during the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA OÕReilly Auto Parts Series Ag-Pro 300 race on Saturday April 25, 2026 at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire AUTO: APR 25 NASCAR OÕReilly Auto Parts Series Ag-Pro 300 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon9532604251006
LINCOLN, AL - APRIL 25: Sheldon Creed 00 Haas Factory Team Ollie s Chevrolet, Corey Day 17 Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet and Sam Mayer 41 Haas Factory Team Audibel Chevrolet battle for position during the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA OÕReilly Auto Parts Series Ag-Pro 300 race on Saturday April 25, 2026 at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire AUTO: APR 25 NASCAR OÕReilly Auto Parts Series Ag-Pro 300 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon9532604251006
Apr 26, 2026, 3:30 PM CUT
Sheldon Creed Earns $100,000 Bonus After Chaotic Talladega Ending
Sheldon Creed isn't a stranger to being a runner-up. The Haas Factory Team driver, who came home in second place 15 times before winning a race this season, finished in third place at Talladega, which came with a $100,000 cheque, thanks to the Dash 4 Cash bonus.
"I don’t even care. $100,000? Second? I won, so I don’t even care,” Creed said. “We’ve been really consistent and getting bonuses for the guys in the shop and yeah, I think all that matters more to me. Obviously, I want to win more and capitalize while our team is doing really good and building really fast race cars, but at the same time, just happy with our consistency,” Creed said.
He looked like he was going for the win with six laps left as he sprang for the lead. He passed pole-starter Jesse Love, but he wasn't so lucky. Going into the final few laps, it was a three-way battle between Creed, race winner Corey Day, and Sam Mayer.
That's when Sam Mayer and Jeb Burton came together in a massive wreck. Day surged forward, with Brent Crews and Creed following close behind. Although the unofficial results showed Creed in second place, the official results put him in third.
"There’s runs coming from all of them at different times, so you block one and then you have to look in the mirror and block the next. Yeah, I just got myself behind there."
Sammy Smith and Jeremy Clements finished in the top five, while Dean Thompson, Jesse Love, Brandon Jones, Parker Retzlaff, and Austin Green wrapped up the top 10. While the $100,000 was a worthy prize, it was indeed not what Creed hoped for.
Sheldon Creed Rued Missed Talladega Chance
Despite leading seven laps towards the end, Sheldon Creed failed to win the race at Talladega. At one point, he was at three wide with Mayer, and Day, but ultimately fell behind Day and Crews.
"Honestly, a really good day," Creed told CW Sports. "Obviously was leading there at the end, and maybe just got too far out a couple times. I thought I missed a good block on the backstretch to maybe propel back to the 17."
After 11 races, Justin Allgaier leads the Drivers' Standings with 544 points. Sheldon Creed and Jesse Love are in second and third positions with 439 and 403 points, respectively.
Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!
Written by
Sabyasachi Biswas
Edited by
Siddharth Shirwadkar