Sheldon Creed has spent the better part of his NASCAR career trying to prove he belongs among the best. Now he’s leading the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings, has finally found Victory Lane again, and has a legitimate shot at a championship. Naturally, this is apparently the perfect time for him to find a new place to work.
Because in motorsports, apparently, winning races and leading championships are wonderful things, right up until somebody starts doing the math.
Sam Hunt Racing announced Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that Creed will take over its No. 26 Toyota beginning in 2027 in a multiyear deal. It’s an exciting opportunity for Hunt’s growing organization, which wants to take the next step toward becoming a championship contender. For Creed, however, the announcement comes with an awkward little footnote. He’s leaving Haas Factory Team, the organization with which he’s finally put together the kind of season he’s been working toward.
And according to Creed, the decision wasn’t exactly what he wanted.
“I think honestly it starts with Jonathan Tony, our crew chief, just a great leader, great human, and does a really good job with all of our guys,” Creed said Saturday. “I feel like our team just gets along great. The shop atmosphere is amazing. Like just the 41 to everybody, like I have zero complaints.”
Then came the part that explains why a driver leading the championship standings is preparing to move elsewhere.
“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.”
There it is. No public falling-out, no dramatic departure, no suggestion that Creed has suddenly forgotten how to drive a race car. Just the rather inconvenient reality that a driver can deliver the results and still find himself on the wrong side of a business decision.
Creed didn’t identify the specific financial or contractual circumstances behind his departure, so there’s no reason to pretend we know precisely what happened behind closed doors. But his comments make one thing clear. Whatever was happening away from the racetrack ultimately mattered more than what he and his team were accomplishing on it.
That’s a particularly frustrating turn of events for a driver who appears to have finally found his footing in the series.
Creed won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship in 2020, establishing himself as one of the sport’s most promising young talents. His subsequent move into the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, however, hasn’t exactly been a leisurely drive down Victory Lane Boulevard. Stints with Richard Childress Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing brought experience and opportunities, but the results didn’t always match the expectations.
Then came Haas Factory Team and the No. 00 Chevrolet. Creed found consistency, confidence and, finally, the breakthrough victories that had proved so elusive. His Bristol win was a particularly important moment, and he’s now leading the championship standings with a team he says has given him everything he needs to succeed.
“I’ve had the privilege to race obviously for RCR, JGR, now Haas,” Creed said. “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 double zero group, for my team.”
In other words, Creed isn’t running away from a failing operation. He’s leaving a group that has helped him rediscover his confidence and put himself in position to compete for a championship. That’s what makes the move so curious, and why his explanation deserves more attention than the usual announcement about a driver changing teams.
Haas Factory Team has a championship-caliber organization, according to Creed, and he went out of his way to praise crew chief Jonathan Tony and the atmosphere surrounding the No. 00 team. Sam Hunt, meanwhile, was equally complimentary of the people Creed is leaving behind.
Hunt called the Haas group phenomenal and said he wants to see Creed win the championship this year. That’s a remarkably friendly way for two teams to talk about a driver changing teams, particularly when the driver in question is leading the standings.
But racing has never been quite as simple as putting the fastest driver in the fastest car and watching the trophies pile up. There are sponsors to satisfy, budgets to balance, manufacturers to work with and contracts that don’t necessarily line up with a driver’s competitive ambitions. The checkered flag doesn’t pay every bill, and a points lead doesn’t automatically guarantee a seat for next season.
Creed’s comments suggest this is one of those occasions when the business side of the sport has taken precedence over the competitive side. The precise details remain private, but the outcome is clear enough. Haas will lose a driver who is producing results, and Creed will have to take those results somewhere else.
For Sam Hunt, that somewhere else could be the foundation for something bigger.
SHR has steadily built its O’Reilly Auto Parts Series operation since making its debut in the 2019 season finale. In 2026, the team expanded to field two full-time drivers for the first time. Across 284 race entries, the organization has recorded 13 top-five finishes and 43 top-10s. Those are respectable numbers for a growing operation, but they also illustrate the distance between being competitive and consistently fighting for championships.
Hunt believes Creed can help close that gap.
“To take the next big step that we wanted to take, having a guy like Sheldon make a home with us and the Toyota family was the move I needed to make,” Hunt said. “And I think I strive to be better in my role as an owner every year.”
Hunt also said he had been working on the opportunity for some time, adding that Creed brings more than speed and experience. The two have known each other for years, their wives are friends, and the relationship extends beyond the racetrack. Hunt wants a driver who can become part of the organization, contribute to its development and help build something that lasts.
That means Creed won’t simply be climbing into another race car and expecting somebody else to handle the hard work. Hunt was candid that SHR operates differently from the championship-level organizations Creed has experienced, and that he expects his new driver to get involved in the everyday process of improving the team.
Creed appears to understand the assignment. He’s also realistic about the fact that a move to SHR doesn’t come with a guarantee of immediate championship contention.
“I think, yeah, we’ll have to see, right?” Creed said when asked whether he could challenge for a title immediately. “See what the first few races have to offer for us.”
He said making the playoffs would be a primary goal, with the team looking to build speed, win races and move closer to the front as the season progresses.
Toyota’s support was also a significant part of the decision. Creed has raced with all three manufacturers during his career and believes Toyota’s resources and technical support can help him contribute to SHR’s development. He also sees the move as an opportunity to establish some stability.
At 28, with a wife and family, Creed is thinking about more than the next contract or the next race. He still wants a NASCAR Cup Series opportunity, but he recognizes that call might never come.
“If I don’t ever get that call, I felt like Sam’s 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,” Creed said.
It’s a refreshingly practical answer in a sport where everyone is supposedly one good season away from the big time. Creed still wants the Cup Series, but he’s also looking for a place where he can compete, earn a living and build a future without spending every year wondering where he’ll be racing next.
That’s what makes this deal potentially significant for both sides. SHR gets a proven winner who knows what a championship program looks like, while Creed gets a multiyear commitment and an opportunity to help shape an organization rather than simply slot into an established machine.
Still, there’s a championship to chase before any of that matters.
Creed said Saturday’s announcement wouldn’t distract him from the job at hand. He remains focused on finishing the season strongly with Haas Factory Team, and Hunt said he is rooting for the entire No. 00 group to win the championship.
For now, Creed and Haas still have unfinished business, and neither side appears interested in letting the announcement get in the way.
But the bigger question hangs over the whole affair. If the driver leading the championship, winning races and praising his current team can still find himself needing a new home, what exactly does a driver have to do to make the business side of NASCAR work in his favor?
Apparently, being fast isn’t always enough. Creed has done his part behind the wheel. Now he’s betting that a different team, a long-term deal and the resources of Toyota will give him a better chance to build the future he wants.
It’s an opportunity worth taking seriously. But it’s also a reminder that in NASCAR, a driver can lead the standings and still be looking for a seat.
Greg was a writer for DriveTribe supporting Amazon's The Grand Tour and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, and a Masters degree in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek and a regular contributor to Forbes.
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