Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Bristol Media Availability
Saturday, April 12, 2025
Sheldon Creed, driver of the No. 00 Friends of Jaclyn Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Haas Factory Team, is fourth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings heading into today’s scheduled race. He answered questions from the media about his season to date and thoughts on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway.
SHELDON CREED, No. 00 Friends of Jaclyn Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN THIS SEASON IN THOSE BUILDING BLOCKS THAT MAKE YOU CONFIDENT YOU’RE HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? “I think it starts with our crew chief, Jonathan Toney. I think that says a lot because I’ve been with some really fun and great groups. Just the way that he keeps the team together and kind of rallies the troops, just trying to build on what we’ve been doing. We’ve had some good runs. We’ve also fought really hard to run 10th like last week, so I feel like we’re consistently a top 10 car, but just trying to build a little bit more and run top five more consistently and then from there run top three more consistently. We’re just building and trying to figure out what I want, what they’ve been fast with in the past and kind of combine that.”
CAN YOU PAINT THE PICTURE OF THE TOUGHEST PART ABOUT FINDING THOSE LAST SCRAPS OF SPEED TO GO FROM TOP 10 OR TOP 5 TO WINNING RACES ON A REGULAR BASIS? “I think it has a lot to do with what the driver being able to relay to the guys, not just at the track, but when we get back home to the shop, like what you had that past weekend and what you think you need going forward and just having that certain feeling in the car that you’re looking for every week. I don’t know. It’s really difficult. Everyone is really good, so being able to do that more consistently is probably the key to running in the top three every week.”
IT SEEMS LIKE THE TRANSITION HAS BEEN SEAMLESS AS YOU’VE ADAPTED TO HAAS. HOW HAS IT HELPED BEING WITH THE GUYS OFF THE TRACK? “Honestly, it felt seamless. I felt like my transition from RCR to Gibbs was harder. They just did things a lot different, so that was a little more challenging, and then rolling into Haas Factory Team, I don’t know. Going back to my crew chief, he just made it super easy for me and he’s super easy to get along with and we just have great conversations with him and the guys, having dinners or whatever away from the track. We all get along really well and I don’t think just our team. We have our 00 team, but then the 41 guys and the group of guys that are at the shop that don’t come to the track, everyone just works really well together and everyone is just working on the same goal.”
DID YOU ANTICIPATE BEING IN THE TOP FIVE OF THE STANDINGS WITH SAM AT THIS POINT? “It’s always the goal coming in and you try to play your first few races right. Daytona is obviously tough. You don’t know what way it’s gonna go for you, but it’s been really good for both cars to be able to score stage points and have good finishes. I think that’s always the goal. You just don’t quite know how your season is gonna go. There are some new kids that are really fast that are just learning and figuring it out, just like the way I did in my first season. You’re learning these little things and how to play your race differently to get finishes and at the end of the day if you know you’re not a winning race car, what can you do pit strategy-wise and what can you do behind the wheel to get yourself if you’re a 10th-place car, get yourself to be a fifth-place car.”
WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN YOU’RE LOOKING FOR THAT NEXT OPPORTUNITY? “There’s a ton behind the scenes. All of them are unique in their own way and so different and I’ve been with each manufacturer, too. They all have different programs, whether you’re working out or behind the wheel during the week. I’m definitely looking for more opportunities to drive different race cars during the week, whether it’s go karts or micros more. I just think being behind the wheel during the week is big, so I’m still trying to figure all of that out, but I hope Haas Factory Team is a home for me for a while and it is through at least 2026, so hopefully we can go win races and run well and make Papa Joe happy and we can keep this thing going. At RCR, I knew I had two years and then obviously last year I didn’t know what was gonna happen, so just knowing you have two years to build with the same team and then if Cup is my future, I don’t know. Winning helps. I need to win to have that opportunity or get a call possibly, but stability is a nice thing to have in the back of your mind.”
DO YOU FEEL HAVING TWO CARS IN XFINITY IS A BENEFIT TO YOUR PROGRAM? “Yeah, probably. Maybe not a benefit, but it doesn’t hurt it. I’ve been at teams that have 300-400 employees to I think we have around 100, so it makes getting around the shop nice and you kind of know everybody by name and, honestly, I like the smaller group. It reminds me a lot of GMS when I was truck racing. Everyone just knows each other, gets along well, it’s easy to get things done, so I really enjoy that part of it.”
DO YOU FEEL YOU’VE CAUGHT PEOPLE BY SURPRISE THIS YEAR WITH HOW WELL YOU’RE RUNNING? “No, I think I finished fifth last year in the regular season points, and it’s not like we’re a start up team. It kind of just rolled over from Stewart-Haas, so Cole and Riley did a really good job last year, but I don’t think so.”
WHAT IS IT YOU’RE TRYING TO DO DURING THE WEEK? IS IT TRYING TO FIND SPONSORSHIP OR WHAT KIND OF RACING IS BEST FOR YOU? “It’s definitely financial, so sponsors always help – PSA deals, whatever. I don’t know, you probably hear it a lot. Money is just not what it was 20 years ago, so being able to afford to do it on your own is challenging. I have my own micro, I just don’t run it as much because I just keep making less money. I’m just trying to balance that and then put all your effort into this deal on the NASCAR side. I don’t want to take away putting my focus somewhere else. Other manufacturers provide it for their drivers, so we’re kind of working through that to see how we can help everyone.”
ROCKINGHAM IS NEXT WEEK AND YOU GOT TO DO THE TEST. WHAT DOES THAT PLACE MEAN TO SOMEBODY AS YOUNG AS YOU AND DOESN’T HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE AT THE TRACK? “I think for someone that’s been a NASCAR fan for a long time, it’s probably really cool to see NASCAR go back there. For me, my first time driving in when we went to go test I felt like I was driving into this scene of Days of Thunder. That’s literally what it feels like. There wasn’t a lot of grandstands. There’s like nothing, but I think we’ll see what kind of race it puts on. Obviously, it’s a repave so it’s extremely fast, like really fast for the Xfinity cars, so passing might be difficult. I would say at least the first time we go. It could widen out. I think one and two will widen out, but it’s probably gonna be a track position game most of the day.”
