ALPINE, CA (KGTV) -- After 19 years behind the wheel of the 48 car, El Cajon native Jimmie Johnson stepped away from NASCAR following this past season. However, there is another east county driver who is scratching the NASCAR surface. Alpine native Sheldon Creed, who with the biggest season of his young career, captured the 2020 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship.
" I feel like I was always underrated," says the 23-yr-old Creed. "I was always fast and won races, but I feel like winning the truck championship definitely put my name on the map now."
It was quite a finish last month in Phoenix. Following a yellow flag, Creed had a great restart, and then made an amazing pass with one lap to go, and went on to win the race.
"I just did what I could with what I had and it worked out really well. To not only win the race, but to win the championship."
So now you can count two NASCAR champions from the east county. The two drivers also have similarities when it comes to their racing roots. At a young age, both raced motorcycles at Barona, and both moved on to off-road racing. Now while Creed, an El Capitan High School grad, wouldn't say Johnson, an alum of Granite Hills High School, are best friends, the 7-time NASCAR champion has offered the young driver some advice.
"He's reached out a few times to offer some help," says Creed. " I've talked to him over the phone a few times about new tracks I'd never been to, and he was always more than willing to help."
Now as far as his racing future, Creed says he plans on racing the truck series for one more year. After that, he'll have to wait and see.
"A lot of people go through Xfinity or however they get there, but it's been my third year in trucks now and hopefully I'll go cup racing in 2022. That's the goal right now, I just want to have fun racing and make a living at it."
