Sheldon Creed Wins Race 1 at Toronto in SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road Presented by Traxxas

After winning last season at Toronto, Sheldon Creed of Alpine, Calif. picked up where he left off in the SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road Presented by TRAXXAS series by winning again on the picturesque downtown street circuit in Canada.

Creed’s TRAXXAS-sponsored truck fought alongside fellow 16-year-old Scotty Steele’s machine for most of the race until Steele made a late mistake on the final lap, which relegated him to a third-place finish, allowing Robby Gordon to inherit second.

Creed started last in the field given that he missed the pre-race driver’s meeting, but drove a steady smart race in the rain to pass every truck in the field en route to victory.

“The difference in driving on asphalt and concrete was incredible,” Creed said referring to the wet, slick conditions. “Scotty was great on the concrete, and when we came off the asphalt his truck just took off. I’ve made a couple of late mistakes in these races and thrown a few away, and I wasn’t going to do it again. I just took my time and didn’t over drive the truck.”

Michigan’s Aaron Bambach came home fourth in his 3deminsional.com truck, with Mexico’s Apdaly Lopez finishing fifth after not getting any practice during Friday’s session where he crashed in turn one of lap one of the session. Toronto’s Paul Tracy fell victim to the wet conditions early in the race and came in sixth, as did Bill Hynes from Nazareth, Pa. in the Freaks for LIVE truck who finished seventh.

NBCSN will broadcast the race at 10 p.m. PDT on July 31 (1 a.m. EDT Aug. 1). Following its trip to Toronto, the series will shift to the west coast for its final three races of the 2014 season at the Sand Sport Super Show in Orange County, Calif. Sept. 19-20; the Coronado Speed Festival Sept. 21 and in Las Vegas in conjunction with the SEMA Show in early November.

Adam Sinclair