When the 2025 NASCAR season rolls around, Stewart-Haas Racing’s absence will be a heavy feeling. Maybe, Gene Haas staying back with his Haas Factory Team (HFT) will provide some solace for longtime SHR fans. But even then, the void they’re about to leave will be hard to fill.

Now, we await a new beginning for the HFT phoenix, waiting to rise from the ashes of what once was a two-time Cup championship-winning organization. Led by Cole Custer at the highest level, alongside Sheldon Creed & Sam Mayer in the Xfinity Series, this new experiment will be one to watch out for in 2025. But amidst their new brigade, Creed, who is gearing up for his third straight year at a different race team, stands out as someone who’s received a much-needed lifeline. Coming off a bittersweet season with Joe Gibbs Racing, the 27-year-old now finds himself with everything to prove—and even more to lose.

New team, new track, new Sheldon Creed

Sheldon Creed went winless for an entire year, yet again in 2024. But that didn’t stop him from making it to the second round of the Xfinity Series Playoffs. Creed was impressive regardless, even making himself the proud record-holder for most second-place finishes in NASCAR Xfinity Series history, with thirteen runner-up results, as of 2024. Things got so extreme that commentator Rick Allen even christened the guy “Silver Creed,” a nod to his uncanny knack for being the perpetual bridesmaid in Victory Lane this season.

But 2025 signals new beginnings for the Alpine, CA native. Topping his list of firsts, Creed will finally represent Ford Performance in a top-3 National Touring Series. With that, he will have driven for all three OEMs currently serving NASCAR. When HFT announced mid-August that Creed would be the guy to wheel their #00 Xfinity car next year, there was a lot of excitement for the journeyman driver inside the NASCAR community. Especially those fans who believe that a brand-new team will help Creed get that deserved shot in the arm he needed to break through in his stock-car racing advances.

Maybe it will. Maybe it won’t. It’s hard to make predictions this early in their association. But after Creed got his first chance to wheel an HFT car at the Xfinity tire test in Rockingham this week, he certainly held a positive outlook. During media availability, journalist Matt Weaver asked the guy how well the opportunity of working with “a new team” was panning out. Creed answered, “There were a few things this morning. Obviously, I drove the JGR car four days ago. So, there was a few things right away that were different… Getting used to that and then, yeah, just getting a lot of laps today, it got us really nice…”

He continued, “So, I really enjoyed working with everyone today, and a lot of people here that I had never met… Just good to kind of hit the ground running before we have some time off.” Creed was one of three drivers at the Rockingham tire test on Wednesday, November 13. The other two included 2024 Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier, and new Joe Gibbs Racing recruit, Brandon Jones. For those unaware, 18-year-old William Sawalich will replace Creed in the #18 JGR Xfinity Toyota next season. 

Regardless, there are plenty of changes to look forward to in the second tier in 2025. After all, Creed and his colleagues were testing the conditions for NASCAR’s return to Rockingham the following year, which will take place following a near-decade-long hiatus.

A rockin’ test for the 2025 Xfinity Series field

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Mark your calendars for April 18-19, 2025. The Rock will finally return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series schedules. The fan-favorite 1.017-mile oval in the heart of NASCAR country has been dormant for the longest time, and this week Goodyear took their radials for a spin on the newly reinstated racetrack. For the Xfinity Series, it marked the first time in two decades that its cars had the chance to grace The Rock’s hallowed pavement.

Justin Allgaier has already raced at Rockingham in the past, with a 27th-place finish at the racetrack still vivid in memory from his ARCA Series-winning season in 2008. Brandon Jones also has experience here, running a Late Model Stock car race in 2013. However, Sheldon Creed was unbeknownst to The Rock’s magic before Wednesday. He told the media after the tire test, “Honestly, I thought it probably had been torn down… And then I’d seen something about it getting repaved a couple of years ago and thought ‘Maybe there’s a chance.’”

Displaying a lot of excitement for Rockingham’s return, Creed noted, “I feel like I was driving in a scene of ‘Days of Thunder’ this morning when I drove in.” But by day’s end, all three drivers seemed to have had a splendid time at the brand-new Rockingham. Regardless, the question remains: can a new racetrack, a new race team, and a fresh opportunity finally drive Sheldon Creed to Victory Lane next year? That is a tough question to answer. And Sheldon Creed is the only one who could even remotely imagine answering that question.