Sheldon Creed is having one of the strongest campaigns of his career, as he leads the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship with three wins. However, his biggest revelation after Las Vegas had nothing to do with points or victories.
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In an interaction with Bob Pockrass posted on X, Creed revealed a side of NASCAR that does not get discussed as often, admitting that his 2027 move to Sam Hunt Racing will be the first time he gets paid by his racing team.
“I get paid for the first time in my life by a race team, so I’m excited about that,” Creed said after finishing P13 at Las Vegas.
Creed’s comment came not long after he revealed he was set to leave the Haas Factory Team at the end of the 2026 season, despite currently emerging as the championship leader. He revealed that both parties tried negotiating a potential continuation throughout the summer, but they simply could not reach an agreement.
The decision to leave was not caused by friction in his relationship with Haas. In fact, he made clear that both sides were disappointed to be going their separate ways.
“Yeah, they knew, and we’re all bummed, like we all want to work together again. That’s… it sucks,” he said. The bigger issue was the business side of the sport.
In his introductory press conference with the team (as reported by motorsport.com), Creed explained that performance and business considerations do not always align, because regardless of delivering excellent results on the track, they cannot guarantee you a sustainable career.
“I have zero complaints, and I wouldn’t say it was my first choice to move on, but, unfortunately, business has to make sense and that overrules results and performance on track sometimes,” Creed said.
Teams need funding to cover operations, engineering costs, driver salaries, and more. His move to Sam Hunt Racing will ensure long-term sustainability.
This is why his 2027 move is fascinating. Creed is not leaving Haas because he has failed. All three of his O’Reilly Series wins have come during his breakout 2026 season, and he entered Las Vegas leading the Chase standings. NASCAR confirmed that his move to the No. 26 Toyota at Sam Hunt Racing will be a multi-year deal, with Creed replacing Dean Thompson.
Ironically, Creed is walking away from a championship-contending Haas program to join an organization whose immediate target for 2027 is simply making the playoffs. However, in the press conference, the 29-year-old said he sees a longer-term opportunity, instead of comparing the two teams by their current competitive levels.
“If I don’t ever get that call, I felt like Sam’s is somewhere I can race for the next 15 years and make a good living and be able to raise my family and, yeah, just try to build a good life.”
Besides building a sustainable career, his move also explains why the Toyota connection matters to him. Having raced for Richard Childress Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing and Haas, Creed has seen how different manufacturers and organizations operate. He believes Toyota’s resources can help him contribute to Sam Hunt Racing while continuing his own development.
“I believe that Toyota resources are arguably the best in our sport,” Creed said. “I’ve gotten to race for every manufacturer now, so I’ve gotten to see it all and see the way different manufacturers work and different teams work.”
Additionally, his teammate, Sam Mayer, has already announced a return to JR Motorsports for 2027, meaning neither of Haas’ current full-time drivers will return. Meanwhile, Dean Thompson, who currently drives for Sam Hunt Racing, will move the other way and join Haas as part of its expansion to three O’Reilly cars next season.
Despite his move being motivated by business reasons, Creed still holds the championship as his top priority. He was disappointed with his P13 finish at Las Vegas because he believed the team had an opportunity to earn a much larger points advantage, instead of the 19-point lead over Carson Kvapil, after Justin Allgaier was caught in an incident and lost ground.
“I just don’t know if I’ll be able to afford one of those again,” Creed said after his difficult night.
The significance of that comment extends beyond the championship. Creed is attempting to finish the strongest season of his O’Reilly career while knowing that his current organization will no longer be his home next year.
Yet there is no bitterness in his explanation. He still wants to race for wins, still has ambitions of reaching the Cup Series, and now believes Sam Hunt Racing can provide him with a stable foundation.
The 2026 championship will determine how the final chapter of his Haas tenure is remembered. Creed’s comments from Las Vegas revealed that even a championship leader can reach a point where winning races is not enough to guarantee a sustainable future.
For the first time, Creed says he will head into a season knowing that the race team is paying him for the job. For him, that may be one of the most important wins of all.