Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Martinsville Speedway… RCR has one NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Martinsville Speedway. Kevin Harvick captured the 2006 event in dominating fashion, leading 149 of 250 laps. Clint Bowyer, Harvick’s teammate, finished a close second, crossing the finish line .271 seconds behind. Harvick and Bowyer combined to lead 207 of the event’s 250 laps enroute to a 1-2 finish. In 11 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Martinsville Speedway, the Welcome, N.C., based team has one win, one pole, four top-five and five top-10 finishes.
Do You Remember? Ricky Rudd’s Martinsville Speedway victory in September 1983 was an impressive accomplishment for both himself and RCR. Rudd started second and dominated the 500-lap race, leading 380 laps and outrunning championship leaders Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip to win, crossing the finish line 4.5-second ahead of Allison.
Catch the Action on Saturday… The NASCAR Xfinity Series Martinsville 250 at Martinsville Speedway will be televised live on Saturday, October 28, beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA and the NBC Sports App. The race will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Sheldon Creed and the No. 2 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Camaro SS at Martinsville Speedway… Sheldon Creed has three career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Martinsville Speedway, all coming behind the wheel of the No. 2 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet. In the 2022 fall event at the paperclip-shaped track, the 26-year-old started from the second position and also finished in second-place. In addition, Creed has five NASCAR Truck Series starts on his resume at the track, earning one pole (2020) and two top-10 finishes (2020-2021).
Must Win Situation… With one race remaining in the Round of 8 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, Creed finds himself in a must win situation. The No. 2 Whelen Camaro team will need to win Saturday’s event in order to advance to compete for the championship next week at Phoenix Raceway.
Meet Creed… On Saturday, October 28 at 1:15 p.m. ET, Creed is scheduled to make an appearance at the Chevrolet Display located in the Fan Midway at Martinsville Speedway. The Alpine, Cali. native will participate in a question and answer session with host Johnny D. Stop by to see Creed before the green flag waves.
About Whelen Engineering… Whelen Engineering is a family-owned company with a pioneering spirit and a passion to protect the lives of those who protect and serve others. The company mission is to provide industry-defining safety solutions around the world, while creating a community of problem-solvers who are inspired to push boundaries and continue our legacy of delivering ground-breaking innovation. As a global leader in the emergency warning industry, Whelen has been trusted to perform since 1952, when George Whelen III invented the first rotating aviation beacon. Whelen now encompasses two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Connecticut and New Hampshire with over 750,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing space and the largest design staff in the industry. Every part of every Whelen product is proudly designed and manufactured in America. We embrace quality as our foundation, we celebrate innovative engineering in every product we produce.
SHELDON CREED QUOTES:
You earned a second-place finish last fall at Martinsville Speedway. Did the No. 2 team learn anything that can transfer to this weekend?
“I think so. Our Whelen Chevrolet has practiced and qualified well each time we have been at Martinsville Speedway, which has set us up well for the race. Last fall, I didn’t think we raced great, but we played out a good race and were able to survive at the end to finish second. Hopefully we can improve our race pace overall for Saturday. I still feel like we will be able to practice and qualify well, but we have tried to change the car up a little bit to help our race pace and race better around others. One of the keys to having a good day at Martinsville is surviving and having good restarts during green-white-checkers at the end.”
What do you need out of the car to run well at Martinsville Speedway?
“In the past, we have started up front and stayed there for the first 30 or 40 laps, but then we grow tight in center and lack drive on exit. Our game plan has been to determine what we can give up to gain drive on exit and help the center of the corner. We have worked a lot on that in the sim this week and I feel like we got to a good place. Hopefully that translates into racing well in real life.”
Do you enjoy racing at Martinsville Speedway?
“It’s actually one of my favorite short tracks. I’ve also been decent there since the Truck Series days and as long as it stays green, I usually always have good days. But when it gets to carnage at the end, it’s 50/50 whether you are on the good or bad side of it.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
