Sheldon Creed Charges to ARCA Victory at Iowa Speedway
Sheldon Creed’s Casey’s General Store’s Victory Lane celebration (Photo Credit: Jennifer Coleman Photography)
Fields set for Sunday’s open-wheel doubleheader
NEWTON, Iowa (July 7, 2018) – Sheldon Creed, the Sukup “First in the Field” Award winner and pole sitter, was the class of the field early in the ARCA Racing Series Fans With Benefits 150 at Iowa Speedway. Due to handling issues, Creed started to slip in the running order, but he never lost touch with the leaders. And in the final third of the race he charged to the front and stayed there.
Creed, driving the No. 28 United Rentals Toyota, made the early break, but by Lap 15, he was under fierce pressure from Michael Self.
“Early on, we had a good car, but something changed,” said Creed. “I just want to keep winning more.”
Self had his hands full watching his mirrors for Riley Herbst’s Coy Gibbs Toyota, as these three quickly separated themselves from the chasing pack, led by Harrison Burton.
Finally, once Self switched his attacks to the outside line, he did find a path around Creed on Lap 20 and then it was Herbst’s turn to attack Creed. He completed the task on Lap 23… and Herbst’s charge didn’t stop there. He passed Self for the lead on Lap 38, while five seconds further back, Burton, Zane Smith and Chandler Smith demoted Creed to sixth.
Creed’s car came back to life and in the end left C. Smith and Chase Purdy as his nearest pursuers.
“I needed 10 more laps,” said Purdy. “And with a better car, I might have had him [Creed].”
Then with 90 laps to go, Gus Dean struck the outside wall in Turn 2 and looped his Kevin Cywinski Chevrolet down into the inside wall. That inevitably caused a rash of pitstops, and Herbst emerged ahead of Burton, Self, Z. Smith, C. Smith and Creed. However, at the restart, running three-wide, Z. Smith and Burton moved to the front, and on Lap 70, Herbst got loose at the bottom of the track, slid all the way up the track and was tagged by Self, into the wall and out of the race.
Self sustained some damage to his right-front fender which was taped in an unscheduled stop and would take the restart in 12th.
Next up for the ARCA Racing Series is Elko Speedway in Elko, MN on Saturday, July 14 (9:00 p.m. CT on MAVTV).
Saturday Iowa Speedway Notebook
Notebook Items:
Pato O’Ward Takes Indy Lights Sukup “First in the Field” Award
Will Power Wins the Sukup “First in the Field” Award for the Second Straight Year
Kids Q&A at Crash Course presented by U.S. Cellular
Sweet Corn Feed Presented by Iowa Corn and Chevrolet
Full Day of Open-Wheel Racing
Short Strokes
PATO O’WARD TAKES INDY LIGHTS SUKUP “FIRST IN THE FIELD” AWARD
Pato O’Ward earned the Sukup “First in the Field” Award and his sixth Indy Lights pole of the season by running a two-lap average of 161.669 MPH around The Fastest Short Track on the Planet on Saturday.
O’Ward edged out his Andretti Autosport / Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing teammate Colton Herta for the pole.
“The track temp was a little different [from practice],” O’Ward said, “but all in all it felt pretty close to what the changes what we did in practice were, so I’m happy with that run but I need to make sure I stay there for the race.”
The green flag for the Indy Lights Mazda Iowa 100 presented by Cooper Tires is set for 11:15 a.m. CT on Sunday, immediately prior to the Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300.
WILL POWER WINS THE SUKUP “FIRST IN THE FIELD” AWARD FOR THE SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR
Team Penske picked up where it left off last year by winning the Sukup “First in the Field” Award for tomorrow’s Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300. As he did in 2017, Power will lead the field to the green flag alongside teammate Josef Newgarden.
“I love this place. It’s a real tough little bullring oval and man, I’ve been trying to win this for so long,” said Power. “I think it will be a very difficult race, tires degrade a lot, but it will make for great racing.”
Power was the fastest during Saturday’s qualifying session with a two-lap average of 182.391 MPH, giving Team Penske its fourth straight pole at Iowa. No Iowa pole sitter has gone on to win the race in 11 previous Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300 races.
Last year, Helio Castroneves visited Casey’s General Store’s Victory Lane giving Team Penske its 192nd INDYCAR win – most all time – and its first at Iowa Speedway.
The 12th annual Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300 is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. CT. Fans should plan to arrive at Iowa Speedway early to avoid congestion.
KIDS Q&A
On Sunday at 10:30 a.m. CT, Iowa Speedway will host another installment of the popular Kids Q&A session. The exclusive “Q&A” sessions allow our younger fans to pose their own questions to star drivers. Recognizing that kids are often interested in hearing answers to less conventional questions than those typically posed to drivers by media. Team Penske driver, Simon Pagenaud, will be in for an amusing press conference as he fields questions on a wide assortment of topics at Crash Course presented by U.S. Cellular located on the Concourse outside Turn 1.
Parents are also invited to attend. Like working press, no autographs of drivers or racing personalities will be allowed.
SWEET CORN FEED PRESENTED BY IOWA CORN AND CHEVROLET
For the fifth consecutive year, fans can enjoy a free ear of sweet corn prior to the Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300, courtesy of Iowa Corn and Chevrolet. Iowa Corn returns as the entitlement sponsor of the INDYCAR race at Iowa Speedway for the 12th consecutive year, making it the second longest running partnership in the series.
Fans are invited to enjoy this summer treat in the Chevrolet Display on Sunday, July 8 from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. CT.
FULL DAY OF OPEN-WHEEL RACING
INDYCAR fans will be treated to a full day of open-wheel racing on Sunday as the Mazda Road to Indy serves as a prelude to the Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300. Sanctioned by INDYCAR, the Mazda Road to Indy provides drivers, teams and sponsors an opportunity to gain valuable experience on and off the track while following a clear-cut path of progression through two of its three development series: Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires.
TRACK SCHEDULE: VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES 300 – SUNDAY, JULY 8
8:00 a.m. Infield Fan Walk Opens
9:00 a.m. Public Paddock Access Open (purchase of paddock pass is needed for access)
10:00 a.m. Spectator Gates Open
10:30 a.m. Kids Q&A (Kid’s Crash Course) featuring Simon Pagenaud – Team Penske
11:15 a.m. Indy Lights Mazda Iowa 100 presented by Cooper Tires (100 laps, 87.5 miles)
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Sweet Corn Feed presented by Iowa Corn and Chevrolet (Chevrolet Display on the Midway)
1:00 p.m. Verizon IndyCar Series Driver Introductions
1:30 p.m. Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300 (300 laps, 262.5 miles)
SHORT STROKES
Classic Racing Times will present “Classic Indycars at Iowa” as part of Verizon IndyCar Series weekend. A sampling of some of the most legendary cars in open-wheel racing history will be displayed on the Midway.
Iowa Speedway will hold a non-perishable food drive prior to the Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300. Non-perishable food items will be collected at the Chevy Display outside of Turn 1 when the Midway opens at 8:00 a.m. CT on Sunday.
About Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway, The Fastest Short Track on the Planet, is a state-of-the-art 7/8-mile asphalt paved tri-oval race track and motorsports facility located in Newton, Iowa. Our 2018 schedule includes two exciting race weekends: July 7-8 (ARCA Racing Series Fans With Benefits 150 and Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300) and July 27-28 (NASCAR K&N Pro Series Casey’s General Store 150 and NASCAR Xfinity Series U.S. Cellular 250 presented by The Rasmussen Group). For tickets, call 1.866.787.8946. To learn more, visit www.IowaSpeedway.com, “like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
