In three weeks, Sheldon Creed officially joins Richard Childress Racing as a driver in NASCAR’s second highest series.

But before moving up to the penultimate rung of the NASCAR racing ladder, the recently turned 24-year-old Alpine driver has some unfinished business in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck series.

Creed is looking for a second straight Truck Championship.

“I’m pretty excited for what’s to come,” Creed said last week from his base in North Carolina. “But I’m still very focused on the truck program. I’m moving to Childress on November 15th.

Creed places fourth in the 2021 truck standings ahead of today’s race in Martinsville, Virginia. He must maintain at least that position to qualify for a spot in the Nov. 5 championship race in Phoenix – where he won the race last year to claim the Title.

“There is a lot going on in the Martinsville race,” said Creed. “My last few times there, I was extremely fast with nothing to show. Once I had a flat and sped very close to the front. Another time I was penalized when I had a chance to win. I love the track, although the short ovals are not my favorite.

“I like Phoenix because the track is very different at each end. Turns one and two are flat and wide. Turns three and four are tighter with more bank. It makes it difficult to have a perfect car. Much more depends on the driver.

Creed’s tactics will also be different in the last two races.

“I would love to win at Martinsville,” said Creed. “But here, the objective is to be in the top four in the standings at the end of the race. If you have a place in the championship race, you can’t take any chances.

“Then in Phoenix, if you’re in the race for the championship, you have to beat the other three finalists… which you pretty much need to win. “

That’s exactly what Creed did last year for the biggest win of his career yet. One of NASCAR’s most versatile riders, Creed has been racing for more than two decades since he first rode a BMX bike at the age of three. Three years later he had an engine under him and at the age of 8 he won his first championship.

Creed first gained national attention as a short-lived off-road racer in the stadium truck series where he scored 25 victories and five national championships, including a gold medal at the 2015 X Games.

In 2017, Creed competed in 39 races for eight teams across seven series, including NASCAR trucks, stadium trucks, the Trans-Am, the Baja 1000 and the Dakar rally. In 2018, he won the ARCA stock car title with four wins, six seconds and three thirds.

He started driving Camping World Trucks in 2019 with GMS Racing with four top five finishes. He won five races in his Chevy Silverado last year en route to the title. He has three more truck wins so far this season. Creed spends his free time driving 600cc mini-sprints twice a week.

Although Creed will be on a different team next season in his move to NASCAR’s Xfinity series, Childress and GMS operations are aligned and share technology and support.

“The biggest changes will be that the driving of the Xfinity sedan and the Camping World Truck is totally different,” said Creed. “Plus the fact that I now live a few blocks from GMS headquarters while the Childress store in North Carolina is about 80 miles away.”

SH Capps in the title race

Meanwhile, Carlsbad’s Ron Capps holds a one-point lead at the top of the Funny Car rankings heading into the penultimate race of the National Hot Rod Association season this Sunday in Las Vegas.