Sheldon Creed knows how he wants to raise his children.
That’s what’s known as advance planning – in this case way in advance – since Creed just turned 17 a few days ago and at this point has neither a wife nor a child.
What he does have is a developing career as a race car driver, at the moment in the Pro Lite class of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by GEICO, but with his eyes on NASCAR and then a return to off road to raise his kids in a competitive arena he said is more enjoyable than most forms of motor sports.
The immediate objective, however, is the Pro Lite class championship that will be decided later this month (October 24-25) at Lake Elsinore (California) Motorsports Park. Creed finished third as a rookie last season, 29 points behind three-time champion Brian Deegan. He will go into the final weekend of this season with a 14-point lead over Deegan and two rounds of points racing remaining.
Creed is accustomed to winning championships. He got his first one at age 5, a California state title in bicycle motocross (BMX), and two more in motocross a couple of years. Then mother Renee, like all mothers concerned for her son’s safety, insisted he get into something with four wheels and a roll cage. So at 8 he began racing Quarter Midgets on pavement and did that for a while, but found it “too boring” after BMX and motocross.
That was when fate in the form of a Trophy Kart intervened. Creed and father Scott went to a Championship Off Road Racing series event at Chula Vista, California, saw the Trophy Karts and started racing those, first with CORR and since 2009 in the Lucas Oil series.
Creed won both the Modified Karts and Junior 1 Karts championships in 2009 and the Junior 2 Karts title in 2010. He stepped up to Super Lites in 2011 and got his first win in his fourth and final start of the season, then won eight races and the championship in 2012. Creed debuted in the Pro Lite class that year as well, but struggled badly in his six starts after finishing fifth and eighth in his first two outings.
Last year Creed had 3 wins and 10 top 5 finishes and this season he has won twice and finished in the top 5 in 12 of the 13 rounds.
Creed said the decision to move from Modified Karts to Pro Lite was easy for several reasons.
“It’s a lot cheaper to run (than Pro 2 or Pro 4) and it’s a good, competitive series,” he said. “I actually think after Pro 2 it’s the hardest class in the series. It kind of set a challenge out there for us. It’s a good stepping stone from Modified Karts.
“They’re (the trucks) pretty heavy. It’s really heavy, really narrow and short (wheelbase). You have to drive it so hard to be one of the fast guys, and then you’re always on the edge of two wheels. That’s what makes it fun and makes it hard at the same time.”
Creed said the thinking is that “I’ll probably do one more year of short course next year, probably in a Pro 2. We’re talking about it – see how much it costs to run, see if we have the budget with our sponsors and stuff. We’re thinking about that. So maybe about one more year in short course and then go full-time asphalt and try to make that happen and then come back to this later on.”
The young man who’s been nicknamed “The Prodigy” began laying the groundwork for a move to stock cars during the offseason. In February he traveled to New Smyrna Speedway in Smyrna Beach, Florida, for the annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing and had three top 10 finishes in six starts in the Pro Late Model class. He plans on returning next year, and also has plans to race in the NASCAR K&N series full-time in 2016.
“I think that’s where I really want to take it,” he said of his career. “That’s where I can make a good living in racing. So I want to go do stock cars and then come back to this and raise my kids in off road. This is a lot more family oriented, a lot more fun to do.”
SHELDON CREED AT A GLANCE
- Age: 17 (30 September 1997)
- Lives in: Alpine, California
- Marital status: Single
- Occupation: Student
- Car number: 74 Pro Lite
- Type of chassis: Keith Stamper Dodge
- Engine: Dodge
- Crew Chief: Jimmy Weitzel
- Sponsors: Traxxas, BFGoodrich Tires, Method, Maxima, Impact, Fox Shocks, Eibach Springs
- Years in racing: 13
- Divisions raced: BMX, Motocross, Sprint Cars, Pro Late Model stock cars, Modified Karts, Super Lite, Pro Lite
- Series points standings: 1 Modified Karts, 1 Junior 1 Karts (2009); 8 Modified Karts (2010); 11 Modified Karts (2011); 22 Pro Lite, 5 Modified Karts, 1 Super Lite (2012); 3 Pro Lite (2013)
