With the Stadium Super Trucks making their first foray into the Pacific Northwest at Portland International Raceway, Sheldon Creed picked up where he last left off as he was the fastest of nine trucks in Friday’s practice session. Creed, whose NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series ride is not scheduled to race until mid-September, is running his first SST race since the Grand Prix of Long Beach in April.
Although nine trucks are entered, only eight drivers participated as fellow NASCAR driver Greg Biffle was unavailable, meaning Creed filled in for the stock car veteran in the #16 in addition to driving his own #20. In the #16, he set the fastest time of 1:38.429. When in the #20, he was fifth-fastest at 1:39.279. Biffle will return to the #16 for the weekend’s races.
Between Creed’s two times were Robby Gordon (1:38.698), Cole Potts (1:38.705), and Matt Brabham (1:38.840). Gavin Harlien was sixth at 1:39.438, followed by Casey Mears (1:40.152), Jeff Hoffman (1:40.261), and Bill Hynes (1:43.136).
While running in conjunction with the IndyCar Series, the nine-driver field is filled with NASCAR and stock car experience. SST founder Gordon was a longtime face in what is now the Monster Energy Cup Series, where he scored three wins before departing in 2012 to set up the trucks. Biffle, who last raced with SST at the first Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course weekend in June, won the Truck and Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) championships in 2000 and 2002 and was a longtime veteran in the Cup Series; in his lone NASCAR start of 2019, he was victorious at Texas Motor Speedway in the Truck Series. Mears, a one-time Cup winner, ran the 2019 Daytona 500 with Germain Racing.
Two-time SST champion and reigning ARCA Menards Series champ Creed is currently in his first full Truck season, and he sits eleventh in points. Harlien made his ARCA début at World Wide Technology at Gateway in June, where he finished eighth.
On Twitter, Creed’s GMS Racing Truck Series team posted their support:
Two races are scheduled over the weekend, with one on Saturday and the other on Sunday.
Results
| Position | Number | Driver | Best Time | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Sheldon Creed | 1:38.429 | Leader |
| 2 | 7 | Robby Gordon | 1:38.698 | + 0.269 |
| 3 | 60 | Cole Potts | 1:38.705 | + 0.276 |
| 4 | 83 | Matt Brabham | 1:38.840 | + 0.411 |
| 5 | 20 | Sheldon Creed | 1:39.279 | + 0.850 |
| 6 | 55 | Gavin Harlien | 1:39.438 | + 1.009 |
| 7 | 21 | Casey Mears | 1:40.152 | + 1.723 |
| 8 | 47 | Jeff Hoffman | 1:40.261 | + 1.832 |
| 9 | 57 | Bill Hynes | 1:43.136 | + 4.707 |
