NASCAR at Darlington live updates: Sheldon Creed wins playoff Trucks race

NASCAR’s Truck Series race at Darlington Raceway is complete. The In It To Win It 200 started today at 1:30 p.m. on FS1.

The race was 200.1 miles (147 laps) with stages ending on laps 45, 90 and 147. All times are Eastern.

Follow NASCAR reporter Alex Andrejev on Twitter at @AndrejevAlex.

NASCAR Trucks race results

(P) Playoff driver

Final stage

3:41 p.m., Lap 147: Sheldon Creed wins NASCAR’s Trucks race at Darlington for his eighth career victory. John Hunter Nemechek finishes second, and clinches a berth to the next playoff round on points. Stewart Friesen had momentum at the end of the race, but he wasn’t able to catch the leaders. He’s closes the race in third. “What a way to open the playoffs, right?” Creed says during his post-race interview on FS1.

3:37 p.m., Lap 137: Sheldon Creed continues to lead John Hunter Nemechek, but Stewart Friesen is in the picture in third on fresher tires. He’s quickly gaining on the leaders. Grant Enfinger follows.

3:31 p.m., Lap 129: Chandler Smith has dropped to sixth and is told to cool his tire temperatures. Sheldon Creed continues to lead and John Hunter Nemechek is in second about half a second behind him.

3:26 p.m., Lap 115: Sheldon Creed lines up first again and jumps out to the lead. Chandler Smith, then John Hunter Nemechek run the top line. Smith peeks low, but can’t pass Creed. Grant Enfinger, Todd Gilliland and Parker Kligerman follow.

3:20 p.m., Lap 111: The race barely goes green before the caution comes back out for Josh Reaume. Hailie Deegan appears to have some damage on the right side after being caught up in the earlier wreck.

3:16 p.m., Lap 107: The caution is back out for Lawless Alan, who spins down the track after he is hit by Derek Kraus. Alan pits and his radio says, “Somebody needs to knock that kid’s teeth out. That’s all he’s done all year, is wreck trucks.” They are not happy with Kraus.

3:05 p.m., Lap 94: Zane Smith has an issue on pit road. He missed his pit box, saying he thought there were “light eight more boxes to go” and turns around into the box. Smith is another playoff driver struggling today. He drops out of the top 15. Sheldon Creed leads the restart.

Stage 2

3 p.m., Lap 90: Sheldon Creed wins Stage 2. He’s led 49 laps of today’s race so far. Chandler Smith passes John Hunter Nemechek before the flag. Nemechek finishes third. Matt Crafton, Carson Hocevar, Zane Smith, Todd Gilliland, Josh Berry, Austin Hill, Colby Howard and Lawless Alan finish in the top 10.

2:57 p.m., Lap 86: John Hunter Nemechek is told to keep watching what he needs to pass Sheldon Creed in first as he brushes the wall trying to make a pass. He can’t quite get it, though, and stays in second.

2:52 p.m., Lap 78: Chandler Smith, on newer tires, is riding through the field and is up to ninth. But Sheldon Creed, John Hunter Nemechek and Carson Hocevar are in the top three, and those trucks have looked strong all race. Matt Crafton is in 10th and still aiming to recover from the earlier long stop.

2:44 p.m., Lap 67: The caution is out for a three-car wreck in Turn 4. Jack Wood caught Ben Rhodes on the outside while Kris Wright hit him on the inside, as they all slide high and spin out. Rhodes has significant front damage. Matt Crafton, who reported earlier mechanical issues, pits for repairs. The team puts the hood up and pulls the logo off, then is penalized for too many crew members over the wall. After the race restarts, Rhodes’ team reporters left rear tire rub.

2:39 p.m., Lap 61: Chandler Smith races into second place behind Sheldon Creed. John Hunter Nemechek falls to third. Smith is still on move, and passes Nemechek a few laps later. New leader.

2:34 p.m., Lap 51: Sheldon Creed leads the field on the restart, followed closely by John Hunter Nemechek in second and then Matt Crafton, who’s dropping with break issues. A few laps later, Zane Smith and Tyler Ankrum brush their sides.

Stage 1

2:23 p.m., Lap 45: John Hunter Nemechek holds his spot through the green-and-white checkered flag, followed by Matt Crafton, Zane Smith, Sheldon Creed, Stewart Friesen, Todd Gilliland, Carson Hocevar, Chandler Smith, Parker Kligerman and Ben Rhodes in the top 10. Austin Hill is the only playoff driver not in the top 10 at the end of the stage.

2:15 p.m., Lap 29: John Hunter Nemechek continues to ride out front and is told he’s the fastest truck on the track. Sheldon Creed has gained some spots and its up to fifth. Matt Crafton is still in second.

2:10 p.m., Lap 25: John Hunter Nemechek takes the high like while Matt Crafton lines up on the low lane with Carson Hocevar behind Nemechek. There will be 19 laps to go before the stage break when the race goes green. ... scratch that. The caution comes back out for Colby Howard spinning around Turn 2 after the restart. Yellow is back out.

2:05 p.m., Lap 21: The caution is out for debris. Ben Rhodes appears to have some front end damage, while Sheldon Creed has some back-end damage from contact between the two after the restart. We’re back under yellow with John Hunter Nemechek continuing to lead. Tate Fogleman has gone to the garage.

1:58 p.m., Lap 15: Sheldon Creed has dropped another spot before the competition caution on Lap 15. Carson Hocevar pics up a spot, as teams comment that they’re continuing to watch the bump in Turn 2. Creed leads a group of teams to pit road and then is the first off, but the race leaders stay out. Austin Hill gets a speeding penalty on pit road. Ryan Truex (too many crew members over the wall) and Tanner Gray (speeding on pit road) also are penalized before the restart.

1:53 p.m., Lap 11: John Hunter Nemechek moves into the second place spot, then a few laps later, into the first place spot. Matt Crafton is mentioning that he’s feeling some bumps, but is able to remain in second. Sheldon Creed falls to third.

1:49 p.m., Lap 1: Green flag at Darlington! Sheldon Creed leads the first lap from the pole, as the field goes three-wide further back. Matt Crafton is reminded by his team to continue ride “nice and smooth,” especially through the repaved Turn 2 area, which was worn in some yesterday during the Xfinity race.

Pre-race

1:45 p.m.: Engines have been fired and pace laps are underway for the Truck Series race, as Cup cars continue to roll through technical inspection.

12:30 p.m.: NASCAR announces that there were no issues during pre-race technical inspection. No trucks will be sent to the rear for today’s race. Sheldon Creed will start on the pole for today’s race, as determined by NASCAR’s performance-based metric qualifying formula. Creed is a playoff driver, along with the nine others starting in the first rows for the first playoff race of the series 2021 season.

How to watch NASCAR Truck race at Darlington

• Race: In It To Win It 200
• When: Sunday, Sept. 5
• Time: 1:30 p.m. EST
• TV: FS1
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR
• Distance: 200.1 miles (147 Laps) with stages ending on laps 45, 90 and 147

NASCAR Trucks race at Darlington lineup

*Note: Bold indicates playoff driver

This story was originally published September 5, 2021 at 1:07 PM.

Alexandra Andrejev

The Charlotte Observer

NASCAR and Charlotte FC beat reporter Alex Andrejev joined The Observer in January 2020 following an internship at The Washington Post. She is a two-time APSE award winner for her NASCAR beat coverage and National Motorsports Press Association award winner. She is the host of McClatchy’s podcast “Payback” about women’s soccer. Support my work with a digital subscription