RCR NXS Race Recap: Circuit of The Americas

Sheldon Creed and the Whelen Chevrolet Team Lead Laps, Earn Stage Points at Circuit of The Americas

9th

4th

8th

“We had a good race today in our Whelen Chevrolet at Circuit of The Americas. We showed speed all day, finished second in Stage 1, and won Stage 2. We were leading at the beginning of Stage 2, but the No. 16 and No. 17 Chevrolets were good after a few laps. I wasn’t sure if I had the long run speed we needed, but I had the lead and I wasn’t going to get passed easily. I protected Turns 15 and 16 and I see the No. 16 car pop out on the exit of Turn 18. I thought I gave him enough room and I turned in later. I don’t know if he overdrove the turn, but he ran into us and we ended up spinning. To get spun late, fall to 24th and race our way back to ninth just shows how good this Whelen Chevrolet team is. I was happy to run up front today, but I feel like we’ve been fast all year and have had good runs going before something happens. I’m looking forward to racing at Richmond Raceway next weekend. It’s one of my favorite short tracks.”

-Sheldon Creed

Early Mechanical Failure Ends Strong Run for Austin Hill and the Bennett Transportation and Logistics Team at Circuit of The Americas

37th

12th

1st

“Our No. 21 Richard Childress Racing team is strong and we will rebound, but today was a frustrating early end for our Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet. I didn’t think we were that good in practice yesterday, but once the race started and I drove up to fifth, I thought we had a good piece. We could have easily run inside the top-10 and kept our streak alive, so this is a bummer of a day. I was having issues going from first to second gear and kept missing the shift. Something was getting hung up and the shifter wasn’t smooth like it normally is. I missed a shift probably six or seven times, but when I did, I would recognize it right away to not over rev the engine. I tried to manage my RPMs and started short shifting, but that didn’t work either. Through the stadium section – Turns 14, 15, 16 – I lost the rev limiter. I looked down, was at 10,000 RPMs and wasn’t hitting the chip. I think that is what hurt the motor to end our day. We will go on to Richmond Raceway.”  

-Austin Hill