“SAVE OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE” - Sheldon Creed breaks the internet with his sensational car control in NASCAR Xfinity

There are probably only about five people on earth who can make the kind of save that Sheldon Creed did in Sunday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Auto Club Raceway.

NASCAR fans said their final goodbyes to the legendary Auto Club Speedway on Sunday (February 26), as the professional stock car racing business hosted its final race at the stadium before its planned destruction.

The race on Sunday was postponed due to inclement weather on Saturday (February 25). Despite the chilly and rainy weather, loyal NASCAR fans turned out for one farewell race at the speedway.

After nearly missing out on the Xfinity season opening at Daytona last weekend, John Hunter Nemechek won the race at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday night. A week after going upside down at Daytona, Sam Mayer equaled his career-best finish by finishing second.

Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports finished third for the second race in a row. Chandler Smith finished fourth, a career high. Josh Berry finished fifth, giving JRM three of the top five finishes. Nemechek's third Xfinity Series victory and first since Oct. 2021 at Texas.

JRM competed in another race, which had to be unpleasant for team owners Kelley Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Three JRM drivers had problems with JRM alum Tyler Reddick from the first lap, when Mayer made touch with him.

Mayer would continue, but the impact seemed to be severe enough to pose long-term issues, trapping the No. 1 car in traffic and battling at the back of the field in stage one.

Brandon Jones was up next, but he was two laps behind because of a battery swap early in the race. He regained the lead lap only to collide with Reddick on lap 86, leading him to spin and suffer major front-end damage after clipping the rain-soaked grass.

Berry, on the other hand, was involved in at least three distinct on-track incidents. The most serious featured Sheldon Creed, who launched a late block on Berry, resulting in contact and Creed spinning. Berry later entered the wall on his own, making substantial contact with Reddick.

Sheldon Creed bumped Josh Berry from the ninth position, spinning and recovering before making an impact with the barriers at Auto Club Speedway. Creed, who was running in the top 10 at the time of the event, shifted to the inside to defend against Josh Berry, but did so too late, sending him careening onto the inside wall at high speed.

Sheldon Creed was able to step on the throttle as he neared the inside wall backwards, preventing his Whelen-sponsored entry from colliding with the SAFER Barrier, which would have ruined his evening.

Stuck on old Goodyears, he struggled over the rough Auto Club Raceway track. Creed would drop to 23rd after placing 34th the previous week. Creed took a massive effort to recover from a large hole last season, ultimately falling short of the playoffs, and will need to right the ship swiftly this year to prevent a repeat.

---

NASCAR fans react to Sheldon Creed's epic save

Sheldon Creed had an up-and-down day. He launched a late block on Berry early in the race, sending him careening towards the inside retaining wall at great speed. He was able to twist the car around and hit the throttle just before what appeared to be an unavoidable, high-speed head-on collision, inflicting just minor rear-end damage.

Creed would go on to take the lead following the save. Nevertheless, the adventure put him on the wrong side of a limited Xfinity Series tire allowance, and when a late caution was issued, Creed was unable to acquire new rubber.

NASCAR fans were impressed by his epic save and took over social media, calling him a "Save of the year candidate."