For Richard Childress and Co, the Xfinity Series race at the Martinsville Speedway was nothing short of a disaster. It is safe to say that Sheldon Creed won’t be in the good books of Austin Hill or the team anytime soon. Creed was publicly chastised by Childress himself and others in the team. One of the people who went after him in public after the race recently gave his reasons for the outburst and accepted his fault in the matter.
Austin Hill was in the Championship 4 on points when the final lap began in Martinsville. Sheldon Creed needed to win the race. The two RCR drivers were fighting for the lead and Creed made an aggressive move to get past Hill. Towards the end of the lap, the #21 bumped into the back of the #2 and wrecked. Justin Allgaier snuck up from behind to take P1 as the drama was unfolding, and both RCR men were out of the championship race.
RCR executive admits Martinsville fault and venting frustrations
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Richard Childress wasn’t the only one who brutally criticized his driver after the race. As Sheldon Creed came out of his car, exhausted, RCR’s Vice President of Competition Andy Petree was seen getting in the 26-year-old’s face and screaming at him. This unfolded as the media cameras were on Creed and the whole NASCAR nation witnessed the drama.
Sheldon Creed might have been partly at fault but fans and experts slammed Richard Childress Racing’s treatment of the driver. According to a lot of people, all the 26-year-old was doing was trying to get the victory and no driver can be faulted for doing that.
As tempers settled down, Andy Petree realized that he had made a mistake publicly going after his driver. After all, it is not a good look for the team. In an appearance on NASCAR Hub, Petree explained why he reacted the way he did and acknowledged that it was not the right thing to do.
“They’re beating and banging, but when they got to turn 3 and 4, you saw how he runs up a race track, the #2 car did, to me it looked like it just stopped and I’m like, oh my god. That looked like a brake check to me that took both of our cars out of a chance to go to the final race for a championship,” the RCR executive said. “You know I was really frustrated and probably should have handled it better than I did after the race but you know, it was, it’s not what you think you see,” Petree added.
Sheldon Creed found a lot of support from the NASCAR community after RCR’s implosion in Martinsville. Even former RCR driver Jeff Burton spoke in support of the 26-year-old.
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Richard Childress’ former driver comes out in support of outcast
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On a recent episode of Motor Mouths, the former RCR driver, Jeff Burton, said that he had a lot of respect for Richard Childress but could not get behind how he reacted to Sheldon Creed trying to win a race. Burton was a part of the Cup Series team from 2004 to 2013.
“I have a ton of respect for Richard Childress. That guy rejuvenated my career. He put me back in winning equipment. He gave me a second shot at…or maybe my third shot at a career of winning races and I have a ton of respect for how that guy is,” the former RCR man said.
“But I did not like the post-race comments. I think that…I understand the disappointment, I 100% understand. You want your car to make the playoffs, Sheldon Creed is not going to be your driver next year so all the emphasis is now on Austin Hill but you cannot blame that young man for giving everything that he had,” Jeff Burton added.
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Sheldon Creed’s new home from next season will be Joe Gibbs Racing. After the events at Martinsville, it is safe to say that he will be relieved to leave RCR. Do you think he was at fault for what happened on Saturday? Let us know your thoughts.
Watch Story: A Twist of Fate: The Martinsville Controversy