Sheldon Creed Earns First Lucas Oil Podium of 2015
Holds Points Lead in Robby Gordon’s Formula Off-Road
When Sheldon Creed won the Prolite Points Championship last year after just his third year racing the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series class, he knew it was time to make a move. Having driven a year in a Stadium Super Truck, tested GRC Lites and even shared driving duties in Robby Gordon’s Trophy Truck, it made sense to expand his arsenal and delve in to the premier Pro 2 division of short course off-road racing. With just two test sessions and seventy laps in the #74 Pro 2, Creed placed 7th and 5th amongst the field of seventeen Pro 2’s and earned his first podium of the 2015 LOORRS at Lake Elsinore.
The weekend began with a 4th place Prolite finish in Round 1. A few laps is all it took for the team to notice some gearing problems that forced his tires to spin intensely around the turns and inevitably set him back from the rest of pack. Creed salvaged a 4th place finish but learned upon post race tech inspection that the trucks wheelbase was too wide. Creed was disqualified to 20th place for zero points.
Creed’s crew cranked on the truck in the pits and bounced back for a 2nd place podium finish in Round 2, despite starting from the back row. Creed ground through the field of twenty and laid down his fastest lap time (00:51.384) on the fifth lap before the mandatory yellow.
“A DQ obviously isn’t the way I wanted to start the season but I’m proud of my crew for making the simple adjustments and getting me back on the podium again where I belong,” stated Creed.
With names like Menzies, MacCachren, Renezeder and Leduc, the Lucas Oil Pro 2 division has established itself as the premier class in all of short course off-road racing. Creed now joins those names in his rookie season in the class and has high hopes for podium contention. Amongst seventeen racers, Creed finished 7th and 5th respectively in Rounds 1 & 2.
“Heading in to Lake Elsinore, I expected to be in the top 5 so I’m pretty happy with my solid finishes. With limited test time, I found the truck is easier to drive than what I’m used to but harder to be fast. Each lap, I saw faster lines and learned how to find them. I’m looking forward to getting faster every race and won’t settle until I’m on top,” commented Creed.
Less than a week later, Sheldon hopped a plane to St. Petersburg, FL for SPEED Energy’s Formula Off-Road Presented by TRAXXAS race at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix. Following a 5th, 1st and 3rd place finish in the opening rounds in Australia, Creed lingered one point behind off-road legend, Robby Gordon, in the overall points standings heading in to the weekend but it was Creed who left in the lead.
The excitement at the track was revolved around Creed and E.J. Viso’s door-to-door finish in the remaining laps of Round 4. Throwing down the fastest qualifying lap time on the 1.89-mile street circuit, Creed was simultaneously sent to the back of the group of ten at the mercy of the inversion. Creed bruised his way to Viso and the two battled for the closing laps of the race. It was a toss up entering the final lap but Creed had the preferred inside position off the first of four ramps and made the pass, only to give it back to Viso on the next turn. On the final turn, Creed’s pressure forced Viso to make a costly misjudgment and allowed him capitalized to take the win and lead in overall standings.
“That battle was one of the craziest I’ve had in this series. It’s pretty cool I got to have it at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. We showed these Indycar fans what Formula Off-Road is all about!” said an elated Sheldon Creed.
A win in Round 4 meant a last position start in Round 5. Creed battled all the way to third by the mandatory yellow flag. Upon the restart, he immediately passed Viso and went straight for eventual race winner, Burt Jenner. The two became tangled after the left side of Jenner’s truck landed on top of his on the landing of one of the jumps, allowing the stragglers to get by. The remainder of the race was spent battling for the final spot on the podium with Viso but ended with a 4th place finish.
Sheldon Creed now sits in first place in the overall standings in the SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road Presented by TRAXXAS race series.
Competing in both series, Sheldon has an action packed 2015. Another back-to-back race weekend begins April 18th and 19th in Long Beach, CA for Rounds 6 & 7 of the SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road Presented by TRAXXAS race series, immediately followed by Rounds 3 & 4 of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series on April 24th and 25th in Chandler, AZ.
Sheldon and team would like to thank their sponsors who help make racing possible:
About Sheldon Creed:
Deemed “The Prodigy”, Sheldon Creed has quickly made a name for himself in short course off-road racing. Having won Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Championships in both the Superlite and Prolite Classes by the age of 16, Sheldon moved up to the elite Pro 2 class in 2015 and became an immediate podium contender amongst the best in off-road. Packing a full schedule in 2015, Sheldon races in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series, the SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road Presented by TRAXXAS Stadium SUPER Trucks Series and competes in select desert off-road races.
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