Photo Credit: Stadium Super Trucks
The Stadium Super Trucks have a knack for thrilling the crowd, and that is what they did in their second race on the streets of Long Beach, California as Sheldon Creed and Robby Gordon battled back and forth. In the end, it was the youngster, Creed, picking up the victory ahead of the veteran, Gordon.
After starting at the rear of the field after picking up the win on Saturday, Creed quickly worked his way to the front, pulling up behind Gordon and trading the lead back and forth on lap three. Creed was able to finally able to grab the advantage ahead of Gordon on Lap six down Shoreline Drive, but wasn’t able to escape the master as the second competition yellow would fly a lap later to bunch the field back together with four laps to go.
It’d mark the perfect opportunity for Gordon, as three laps to go, he would make the move inside of Creed in the hairpin, making slight contact, causing Creed to go for the spin. Creed would quickly get the truck pointed in the right direction, running Gordon back down with two laps to go. Down the backstretch, he would use the momentum to his advantage to grab the lead back.
The battle wouldn’t be over, though, as Gordon would snatch the lead back shortly after taking the white flag as they headed for the fountain. After going around the fountain, Creed would make the same move down the backstretch once again to grab the advantage. He would then lead the rest of the way, spinning around in a donut as he crossed the line to pick up the win.
It marks the fifth victory of the season for the current points leader and defending series champion. It also marks his fourth straight podium finish at Long Beach, and he’s the only driver in series history to win on the streets of Long Beach more than once. Notably, he came into the weekend leading Keegan Kincaid by 47 points.
After leading a couple of laps, a runner-up finish marks a good turnaround for Gordon after failing to finish the race on Saturday as a result of front-end damage in an incident. Matt Brabham would round out the podium, giving him a second and third place finish on the weekend. Erik Davis would finish fourth for his best career series finish, followed by Tyler McQuarrie. McQuarrie had to fight back for his top-five finish after being spun by Brabham with three laps to go.
Dustin Scott would finish sixth for his best career series finish, followed by Bill Hynes and Khaled Al Mudaf. Pat O’Keefe would finish ninth despite finishing the race on his roof. He would come off of the ramp sideways on the frontstretch, causing his truck to flip over. Paul Morris would finish 10th, followed by Davey Hamilton and Keenan Kincaid. Both Kincaid and Hamilton failed to complete more than three laps as a result of mechanical damage, Kincaid’s extending from his wreck on Saturday.
The next race for the SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks presented by Traxxas is June 3-5 in Detroit, Michigan.
