Dean Thompson is gearing up to have quite the weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
In addition to his duties as a full-time driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, where he competes for TRICON Garage, Thompson will be making his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut, joining forces with Sam Hunt Racing to pilot the No. 26 Toyota GR Supra.
On top of his first double-duty weekend in NASCAR’s National Series, Thompson will also be competing in the ARCA Menards Series event at the 1.5-mile facility for Venturini Motorsports, meaning his weekend will consist of 650 miles.
The 22-year-old racer has spent this and last season competing under the Toyota Racing Development banner, which has included a full-time stint in the NASCAR Truck Series, as well as a partial schedule in the ARCA Menards Series with Venturini Motorsports.
To date, Thompson has a career-best result of third place in the NASCAR Truck Series, finishes he secured at Charlotte and Talladega last season. All of his eight top-10s have come in the last 32 races, and all with TRICON Garage.
Since the start of last year, Thompson has contested six ARCA races for Venturini Motorsports, all of which have resulted in top-10 finishes. Of those six top-10s, four were top-five finishes, and two – Kansas and Charlotte in 2023 – were second-place finishes.
Scaling back to just one full-time entry this season, Sam Hunt Racing has had a diverse crop of drivers in the No. 26 Toyota GR Supra, including John Hunter Nemechek, Corey Heim, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ed Jones, and Sage Karam.
Thompson will be the sixth driver to pilot an entry for Sam Hunt Racing in 2024, who in the opening 11 races of the year have recorded one top-five and two top-10 finishes, leaving the No. 26 Toyota Supra 19th in Owner Points.
At the time of publishing, Sam Hunt Racing has yet to confirm whether this is a one-race deal for Thompson, or if he will make his return in additional races throughout the closing portion of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign.
The BetMGM 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway will take place on Saturday, May 25. Coverage of the event will be at 1:00 PM ET on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
