No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota GR Supra News and Notes:
- CREED AT NASHVILLE: Sheldon Creed heads music city for the Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway this weekend as he looks to continue his ongoing top-five streak to four races. In two prior Nashville starts, Creed has a best finish of 17th, which came in last year’s event. In his only other start, Creed’s day ended early after an on-track accident led to a DNF and ultimately, a 36th place finish. Despite Creed’s struggles in the Xfinity Series at Nashville, he enters this weekend fresh off his best three race stretch of the year. With momentum on his side, he looks to leads his No. 18 Toyota GR Supra crew to another strong finish in the month of June.
- NEW HAMPSHIRE RECAP: Creed came up just short of his first career Xfinity Series win in New Hampshire. Creed kept the No. 18 GR Supra in contention for most of the day, as he started fifth and after flipping the first stage with pit strategy, returned to contention throughout stage two as represented by a fourth place finish. It looked as though Creed had his first win within reach as he led the field coming to the white flag, but unfortunately came up short to teammate Christpher Bell after some hard racing on the final lap. Creed finished a second, marking his second runner-up finish in the past three weeks and tying the all-time record for most runner-up finishes before an Xfinity Series win (10).
- STUCK ON SILVER: Creed’s second-place finish at New Hampshire marked his tenth career second-place finish in the Xfinity Series. Not only does that tie Creed with Daniel Hemric and Dale Jarrett for most second-place finishes without a win, but it also means that 55% (10/18) of his career top-fives have been second-place results.
- TALE OF TWO SEASONS: Despite some disappointing results this year, Sheldon Creed’s worst finish when not inhibited by penalties or mechanical failures is ninth. With a loose wheel in Las Vegas, an alternator failure in Circuit of the Americas, brake rotor issues in Richmond and Charlotte, a pit road safety violation in Texas, and a restart violation in Portland, Creed’s speed has been overshadowed by mishaps and bad fortune. Even in races like Phoenix (sent to the back for unapproved repairs) and Talladega (involved in late-race caution), Creed has found a way to rebound and rally the team to strong finishes. That said, the silver lining is bright as in the races without adversity, he has scored six top-fives and nine top-10s, thus displaying what the team is capable of when performing at their full potential.
- FRIENDS OF JACLYN FOUNDATION: Founded in 2005, the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization with a mission to improve the quality of life for children with pediatric brain tumors and other childhood cancers while raising awareness for said diseases. The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation aims to improve the quality of life for children and their families battling pediatric brain tumors and other childhood cancers by pairing them with local teams, clubs, and community groups. FOJ has currently made over 1000 adoptions and their mission is to continue to raise awareness through our Adopt-A-Child, Safe on the Sidelines, and Guardian Angel Programs.
- ON THE PITBOX: Crew chief Sam McAulay will lead the No. 18 Toyota GR Supra crew this season. Despite his rookie status, McAulay is an established mind at JGR as he joined the organization in 2007 and worked his way up the ranks from intern to lead race engineer for the No. 11 Cup Series entry of Denny Hamlin. Since the start of his tenure on the No. 11 in 2017, McAulay has contributed to 25 victories, including three Daytona 500 wins and a Coke 600 win as a crew chief when he filled-in for the suspended Chris Gabehart in 2022.
- JGR AT NASHVILLE: Joe Gibbs Racing has three Xfinity Series wins at Nashville Superspeedway accompanied by 15 top-fives, 29 top-10s, and 1,042 laps led. Joey Logano and Kyle Busch have both driven JGR cars to victory lane.
- FOLLOW ALONG: Follow along for updates and a behind-the-scenes look at Creed’s 2024 season.
X: @sheldoncreed I Facebook: Sheldon Creed I Instagram: @Sheldoncreed I Website: sheldoncreedracing.com I YouTube: Sheldon Creed
- RACE INFO: The Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway is scheduled for 5:00 PM EST on Saturday, June 29th. Coverage of the race will be on USA Network, PRN, and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
Sheldon Creed, Driver of the No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota GR Supra:
“You have been so close to a win the past few weeks. How has that played a role in your mentality and has it changed how you feel about second-place?
“I’m really proud that we’ve been close these past few weeks. It says a lot about the progress we have made this season and the speed that we’re capable of. I would say from that standpoint, I feel more optimistic about every week and I’m excited to get to the track more and more as we continue to click off these strong runs. I’ve developed a funny relationship with second-place lately. Obviously, anytime you can leave the track with a runner-up it’s a good day, but it does get a little old to get so close to winning one and still coming up short. Right now, all these second-places mean consistency, and I’ll take that above all else going forward.”
JGR PR
