Sheldon Creed won Food City 300, took Chase lead

NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 19, 2026

Creed won Bristol

Sheldon Creed won the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday night, and he did it by taking control in the closing laps after a late pit stop for fresh tires. The Bristol win gave Creed his second victory in his last three starts and pushed him to the top of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase standings, where he left with an 11-point edge over Justin Allgaier. That made the race more than a one-off triumph. It changed the shape of the title fight, too, because Creed turned a strong night into a points gain at a key stage of the Chase. The Food City 300 was the third event in the Chase, so every position mattered, and Creed used the late-race move to separate himself from the rest of the field. William Sawalich finished second, Brent Crews finished third and Allgaier crossed in fourth. Corey Day took fifth, Taylor Gray was sixth, Sam Mayer finished seventh, Parker Retzlaff was eighth, Dean Thompson took ninth and Sammy Smith rounded out the top 10.

Stages and restarts

The race opened with Jesse Love on the pole and Creed alongside him on the front row after rain wiped out qualifying. Allgaier won Stage 1, then Carson Kvapil took Stage 2 after finishing second in the opening stage. Kvapil’s night later took a turn when his No. 1 Chevrolet began smoking. NASCAR black-flagged him and ordered him to pit immediately, which put him off the lead lap. Allgaier also saw his chance at the win fade when Jesse Love made contact with him on the final restart. Creed made the cleanest move of the final stretch. He came away with the race win. The outcome at the top stayed clear once Creed built his advantage in the closing laps.

Chase picture

Creed’s victory carried the biggest impact in the Chase standings. He moved to the top by 11 points over Allgaier, which gave him the lead after the third event in the postseason. Love’s night was less helpful. He started from the pole, then finished 17th and dropped to fourth in the Chase Grid, 41 points behind Creed. That slide left him with ground to make up after entering the race in one of the strongest starting spots. Allgaier stayed close enough to remain in the title mix after winning Stage 1 and finishing fourth, but the final restart contact and Creed’s late surge kept him from leaving Bristol with the lead. Bristol produced a clean statement from Creed, a solid points night for Allgaier and a tougher result for Love. It also showed how quickly the Chase can change after a late pit stop and a final restart.