So close, yet so far. This has been Sheldon Creed’s story in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. A 2nd-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway was his 10th runner-up position in 86 Xfinity Series races. This ties Creed with Dale Jarrett and Daniel Hemric for most second-place finishes without a win. It was also his second runner-up position of this season, having finished behind Shane van Gisbergen at Sonoma Raceway earlier.

Despite results not having gone his way, Creed remains optimistic. “I’m running out of ways to lose these things,” he blurted out initially. However, a post-race interview at New Hampshire Motor Speedway dispelled all rumors that he was ‘frustrated’.

Sheldon Creed keeping spirits high despite New Hampshire result

He may not have the result he wanted, but Sheldon Creed knows better than most that NASCAR is a sport of fine margins. He almost won the race at Watkins Glen International last summer and finished runner-up at Martinsville Speedway last fall. He came 2nd at Daytona International Speedway earlier this year and Sonoma was always going to be an uphill task for Sheldon. Despite it all, the 26-year-old can take plenty of positives from those performances.

In the post-race interview, he was asked about whether he was running out of patience. However, Sheldon Creed with a smirk on his face, replied, “No, I’m getting happier every week. Every week that we can run top 5 and be in contention, that’s all I can ask for. Yeah, I’ve been really happy the last three weeks, four weeks with how our team has performed and gotten better, so we’re going to keep working at it. Yeah, we’re going to win one of these things if we keep running how we are.”

When he was asked if there was anything he would have done differently, he nonchalantly replied, “I feel like there’s a million things to do. That’s not a stat I wanted to tie. Most seconds before a win.” He stayed positive about his team’s performance, concluding, “Overall, a great day, proud of everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing. Toyota made our car better all day and been in the hunt the last four weeks, so just going to keep working hard at it.”

Sheldon Creed may not have won a race, but his performances this season have had plenty of positives. He has ten top-10 finishes and seven top-5s, a testament to his consistency across 16 races so far this year.

Bad luck has undeniably played a role in not securing that ever-so-elusive win. But Creed and Joe Gibbs Racing have been making strides in the right direction. The New Hampshire result had more to do with Christopher Bell seizing the opportunity than Sheldon Creed throwing it away. In the grander scheme of things, that makes the difference, doesn’t it?

Christopher Bell feels bad for Sheldon Creed

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Christopher Bell used a three-wide, last-lap pass to win the Ambetter Health 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the fourth consecutive time. The 29-year-old led 43 of 203 laps in his No. 20 Toyota. He used his experience from his wins in 2018, 2019, and 2021 to snatch a victory that could have easily been Sheldon Creed’s.

Speaking about his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Christopher Bell said, “I’ve been just really fortunate, that’s for sure. I don’t know, I feel so bad for Sheldon. He’s been really really close to winning these things, and today he did everything thing right to win that race. He restarted in the right lane, gave Cole a good push, and then, coming to the white flag, he got Cole lose and that’s what opened the door for me.”

Heading into the NASCAR Cup Series race at the Magic Mile, Christopher Bell will be feeling confident after winning the race in New Hampshire in tricky conditions. His weekend may have started embarrassingly after the Chase Briscoe reveal, but the victory will more than make up for it. As for Sheldon Creed, he will have to wait some more to get that first career win, but one can’t help but feel that it’s only a matter of time.

Do you think Sheldon Creed will win a race this season? Let us know in the comments!