LAS VEGAS — The gambling is bigger in Las Vegas, and so is the frustration.
In the final stage of Saturday’s (March 14) NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Sheldon Creed and Taylor Gray made contact in Turn 3. Gray smacked the outside wall, and his strong day came to an abrupt end.
“Fucking loser,” Gray said over the radio after the accident.
Kyle Larson Capitalizes on Final Restart to Win Las Vegas O’Reilly Race
Both drivers were fighting for second place.
“It’s self-explanatory [what happened],” Gray said after exiting the care center. “I blocked [Creed] on the backstretch. … It definitely didn’t warrant me getting wrecked, but it is what it is.”
Creed went on to finish third; Gray wound up 37th, the second-to-last car in the running order.
A crash DNF is what it ended up being for Gray, but what it could have been was a trip to victory lane. He led 21 laps on the day and was within striking distance of race leader Corey Day when the accident occurred.
It was his strongest performance of the young season to date, and he leaves Las Vegas with only 16 points to show for it. In a system that now rewards points and consistency in addition to winning, any missed opportunity to pile up points will be sorely missed when The Chase rolls around.
DraftKings NASCAR DFS Picks: Las Vegas
Creed, who initially said “you only get a few blocks,” on the radio after the contact, showed remorse after the race and owned up to the incident.
“I was just unaware that he was that close to the No. 17,” Creed said. “I thought he was coming to me, and he was trying to poke inside the No. 17. That’s totally my fault.
“And then when he came down, my plan was to just try to roll in there with him and pack some air on him because I let him get away with the first couple [blocks].”
A miscalculation on Creed’s part is an intentional accident and retaliation from Gray’s point of view. The truth is likely somewhere in the middle, but the end result is the same.
Racecar drivers have extremely long memories. We will see if this accident, like most things, stays in Vegas.
“He knew what he was doing, right?” Gray said. “He’s ran these cars long enough, and he’s been in the series long enough. He had the mentality that to go into [Turn] 3 and wreck me. So obviously, he was pretty good at doing that.”
Gee, Taylor. Calling Creed a “F***ing Idiot”! That’s amazing!!
I had same opinion I had of you when you dumped Daniel Dye halfway in the ARCA race at Winchester piling him and Sanchez into the first turn wall! At least Creed apologized. Did you ever apologize?