To be in winning contention the entire season and still not win any races must be excruciatingly exhausting. And adding to the woes is it does not get you paid. That’s the story of the 2020 NASCAR Truck Series champion, Sheldon Creed. Being 5th on the rank without a single win must be getting on the nerves of the #18 Xfinity driver for Joe Gibbs Racing.

There have been drivers before him who have witnessed such a fate, and it seems pure lack of luck to be in such a situation. As one NASCAR announcer exclaimed after the Darlington race last weekend, “This is the perfect example of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. You saw it right there.”

Are there any specific issues keeping Creed from winning?

If we talk about the race at Darlington Raceway, there was a pit miscue that ended up snatching away Sheldon Creed’s win at his favorite track. However, Creed does not blame his pit crew for the loss. In his words, “I love my pit crew and they do a great job beforehand. So, I can’t blame that on them that we just got beat on the pit road today. So, bummer.” The #18 pit crew had noted the 2 fastest pit stops earlier that day.

Irrespective of what went down, this is an awfully difficult demeanor to pull off when you’ve missed so many wins. Sheldon Creed can be commended for being so composed, which shows his grit as a driver. However, acknowledging his plight, he also commented, “I took a chance on myself, we brought all the money we could. I’m literally not making even a dollar this year.” 

In response to Creed’s statement, T.J. Majors, Creed’s spotter in ‘The Track Too Tough to Tame,’ Bret Griffin and Freddie Kraft discussed a fan’s question on Door Bumper Clear and broke down the possibilities of a driver not getting any money. However, accepting that Sheldon is right and discussing why that is  even a case, Freddie Kraft said, “He ain’t never going to win, I’ve determined that. I mean, the poor guy, I don’t know what he’s done to the racing Gods of the world, but this poor b–tard is never going to win a race.”

Listening to this painfully sarcastic thought, Brett Griffin then chimed in, “I mean, I’ve not seen his contract, but surely there’s a win bonus in there. Gotta be.” And that’s true. Sheldon Creed is literally just a win away from all the glory and the money he’s been missing.

While Sheldon Creed didn’t mention it, JGR did face some issues this year

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While Sheldon Creed has been hard of luck the entire season, there are other factors as well. There have been multiple instances of technical issues, such as engine failure at Richmond earlier this year and in Chicago recently. Then there was a battery failure mid-season at Nashville that slid him through the ranks. To Creed’s dismay, his #81 teammate, Chandler Smith, has not been this unlucky and has garnered 2 race wins so far. Smith ranks 3rd in the Standings.

Freddie Kraft again jumps in with his thoughts on Creed’s misfortunes. He said, “I’m getting the vibe of, and listen, he’s fast. You know, they’ve had a lot of engine issues this year. He’s been fast and it would not surprise me in the slightest bit that he goes out like Daniel Hemric did and makes that final four and his only win of the year is at Phoenix ‘cause he won the Truck Championship there a few years back.”

Daniel Hemric had a similar fate of not winning a single race until the 2021 Xfinity season finale at Phoenix Raceway. It is hoped that JGR can help Creed in his cause and get him a race win that he deserves soon, which the entire team is desperately waiting for.