TOYOTA RACING – Sam Hunt Racing
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Quotes
LAS VEGAS (October 3, 2026) – Sam Hunt Racing owner and president Sam Hunt and 2027 driver Sheldon Creed were made available to the media on Saturday after unveiling their 2027 plans to the media.
SHELDON CREED, No. 26 Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing
SAM HUNT, owner and president, Sam Hunt Racing
Can you tell us why you are here today?
SAM HUNT: “I don’t get to be in here very often, so it’s good to see everyone’s face. I am here today to announce that I have signed Sheldon Creed to be the future of our 26 Toyota Supra, on a multi-year deal, super exciting. I’ve known Sheldon for a long time. He’s like a brother to me, so to be able to do this, do it here, is just really fun.”
What does it mean to sign Sheldon Creed to a multi-year deal?
SAM HUNT: “It’s huge. Sam Hunt Racing’s kind of been built a little bit different than a lot of teams. It’s been progress every single year. I felt like for us to take the next big step that we wanted to take, having a guy, like Sheldon (Creed), make a home with us, with us and the Toyota family, was the move I needed to make, and I think I strive to be better in my role as an owner every year, and the opportunity presented itself, and I was able to work on this for a little bit and be able to go to Sheldon with the deal that not only helps him on track, but off track. Yeah, it’s the logical next step for our race team. I’m just thankful for all the partners that kind of help with this together.”
How does affect your focus for the remainder of the year?
SHELDON CREED: “Yeah, just obviously announcing this morning, and then we’re right back to work, and just trying to run as good as we can every week, and I think Sam’s (Hunt, owner, Sam Hunt Racing) a big supporter of our 00 team, and trying to finish strong.”
What makes this the right fit to continue that progression?
SHELDON CREED: “I’ve had the privilege to race, obviously, for RCR (Richard Childress Racing), JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing), now Haas, run good with all of them, but finally found Victory Lane this year, and numerous times now, being the points leader, is massive for us. I think, for the 00 group, for my team, but yeah, looking down the road, obviously, haven’t gotten a Cup opportunity, and obviously, that’s still my end goal. But if I don’t ever get that call, I felt like Sam’s (Hunt Racing) is somewhere I can race for the next 15 years and make a good living and be able to raise my family and, yeah, just try to build a good life.”
What was your pitch to Sheldon Creed and how did this deal come together and help you make the next step?
SAM HUNT: “I think Sheldon (Creed) and I; we’ve known each other well for years, so we’ve kind of been able to follow each other’s careers. We’re in a similar stage of life too, which is which is fun. I think the timing and the opportunity just presented itself this year. I think for us to take the next step, having a guy like Sheldon, that’s now won races has been a lot of places and can be a really big part of helping us take the next step as a race team. It was just what I knew I had to do as a team owner, and I had to figure out how to make that work. It takes a village. There’s a lot of good people that were involved in helping put this all together, but I know the caliber of race car drivers Sheldon is, but I also know the caliber of human he is, and that’s something that’s very important to our organization. Sheldon’s a rock star husband and father. I think we just have the opportunity to kind of keep building a race team together, and it’d be a family. We’ve got a family atmosphere at SHR (Sam Hunt Racing), and I know he’s excited to kind of jump into that, like you said, he’s been with a lot of championship level organizations, and I’ve told him, like, hey, it’s a little different over here and you really got to get your hands dirty and dive into the everyday process. I trust Sheldon at a very high level, and I think it’s just going to be a fun ride for all of us.”
No change from an OEM perspective?
SAM HUNT: “No, not at all. We are committed to Toyota long term, and the Toyota family is a huge reason why I’m even sitting up here and I’m able to continue to progress as a race team. I’m just excited to progress on that front and, I want nothing more than to continue bringing results for our OE.”
What has your team at Haas meant to you and why is this the right time to make the move?
SHELDON CREED: “I think it starts with Jonathan Toney, our crew chief, just a great leader, great human, and does a really good job with all of our guys. I feel like our team just gets along great. The shop atmosphere is amazing. I have zero complaints, and I wouldn’t say it was my first choice to move on, but, unfortunately, business has to make sense, and that overrules results and performance on track sometimes. Me and Sam (Hunt, owner, Sam Hunt Racing) have joked about it for years. We hang out away from the racetrack, our wives are friends, and yeah, we would just laugh about it and, like, oh, we’ll get together one day, and, and yeah, just, it finally kind of came true.”
SAM HUNT: “I’d like to just add to add on the 00 side, JT (Jonathan Toney, crew chief) and those guys are phenomenal, and that’s a really good bunch over at HFT (Haas Factory Team). They are a championship caliber organization, and I’ve told JT and all those guys, I’m their biggest cheerleader, and I not only want to see Sheldon (Creed) be champion this year, but that whole group deserves it. We’ve got a lot of good people around us right now on both sides.”
How much did the resources at Toyota help you make your decision?
SHELDON CREED: “I believe that Toyota resources are arguably the best in our sport. I’ve gotten to race for every manufacturer now, so I’ve gotten to see it all and see the way different manufacturers work and different teams work. I think just getting to learn all that will help me, you know, with the 26 team and Kris Bowen (crew chief), and being able just to share some knowledge. Also, just maturing as a human over the last five years, we’ll go a long way, but, yeah, I would say it had a lot to do with my decision, and obviously, you don’t want to be someone that’s jumping around and made different manufacturers, but I have. I think it’s all positive, and I think I can bring a lot to the table for Sam (Hunt, owner, Sam Hunt Racing), and I think we’re going to have the most fun on the team in the garage.”
How will you bring your championship approach to Sam Hunt Racing?
SHELDON CREED: “Yeah, I was a whole lot younger. It feels like it was yesterday still, but truck racing came a lot easier to me, and I had a ton of confidence, and then kind of got beat down over the next three years on the O’Reilly series, and I feel like I’ve finally kind of found myself, and I owe a lot of that to the 00 team, I think, just bringing me great race cars, and be able to have good results, confidence and momentum, I think, is massive in our sport. So, the last few years has been a grind, not fun at times, fun at other times, but I’m having the most fun I’ve had in the last five right now.”
Do you feel like you can challenge for a title next year?
SHELDON CREED: “I think, yeah, we’ll have to see, right? See what the first few races have to offer for us. I think we’ll have good runs, and I think we’ll have grinded out days where we struggle. I think making the Chase is a main goal, and we’ll start there, and as we get through the season, try to, like, get closer to the front and get wins. I don’t want to count us out. I think if we can get things right, I think certainly we could be in the hunt.”
Do you feel like you can bring things that you have learned from other organizations to Sam Hunt Racing?
SHELDON CREED: “Yeah, absolutely. I don’t think it’s healthy just to come in and say, this is how we did it, this is how we need to do it. Every team works a little differently, right? I’m going to try to share as much knowledge as I have, and just, you know, try to put pieces together and help Kris Bowen (crew chief) and all the guys there, everyone that’s on the team now, and just try to keep building and making it better. I think that’ll be our whole year. I think we’ll just keep trying to strive to be a little bit better every week.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
