Sheldon Creed says RCR cars were 'holding me back' from winning races

The drama between Sheldon Creed and RCR was clear at the end of the season. Now with his new team, Creed has spoken out. He will race with Joe Gibbs Racing in the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and he has a lot of reason to be excited.

While talking to SiriusXM NASCAR, Sheldon Creed opened up about his departure from Richard Childress Racing. It wasn’t a pretty exit, for sure.

“If you had asked me in August, even September I was going to go back to RCR and really just do the same deal again and I don’t know,” Creed explained. “I’ve been frustrated the last two years really just not running well and it just gets irritating, right? You feel like you’re putting in a lot of work and I felt like I was, I don’t know, I don’t want to say better than the car but it just felt like that was holding me back a lot of the time.

“I finally think that frustration got to me and I started talking to people and I was even considering going back truck racing at some point just cause I was over running how I was and I wanted to go win races again. … And I knew I wanted to go and have a shot at winning races and not just falling into a win or just winning one or two here and there I wanted to go somewhere where I feel like I have a shot winning every week. I just felt like it as my time to move on and JGR was going to be a place that I could do that at.”

👀 "I've been frustrated the last 2 years just not running well […] I just felt like (the car) was what was holding me back a lot of the time."@sheldoncreed shares his perspective on departing @RCRracing and joining @JoeGibbsRacing for the 2024 @NASCAR_Xfinity Series season. pic.twitter.com/hwyzv5Qj00

— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) December 15, 2023

Sheldon Creed is going to have to back that up with some race wins in 2024.

Is Sheldon Creed ready for breakthrough season?

When you make statements like Creed did in that radio interview, you need to back it up. In his career, Creed has shown a knack for winning races and being an exciting driver to watch behind the wheel. The 2020 Truck Series champion has a motorsports career most would kill for.

Outside of NASCAR, Sheldon Creed used to tear up Stadium Super Trucks. A two-time champion in those trucks and a two-time X Games medalist as well. My point is, he’s got the pedigree.

So, what is the deal with him in the Xfinity Series? Is it the fact it isn’t a truck? I don’t think so. While Creed was with a top team, he didn’t always look like a top car. There were other times when it was clear he was salvaging his races with a strong finish despite issues with his car.

I don’t know what to expect from Sheldon Creed in 2024. He could hit the ground running and win a bunch of races. Or, we might see that it was the driver all along when it comes to his Xfinity Series struggles. Five times in 2023, Creed finished P2 – he’s hoping to close out those finishes next season with wins.