DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Daytona weekend kicks off a new era in Dean Thompson's racing career. He goes from the five-truck Tricon Garage to Sam Hunt Racing, a smaller Xfinity team working to become a championship contender.
Going to a smaller team in a more competitive series will not be a simple task. Thompson will face a steep learning curve as a member of a packed rookie class, but he is prepared for the challenge after finding his home away from home.
"From the minute I came to the shop, I mean, we just kind of started clicking," Thompson told AltDriver. "My personality mixed with a lot of guys and mine and Sam's personality clicked. It all just felt kind of right."
As Thompson explained, Sam Hunt Racing just feels like a family operation to him. This is not a dig at Tricon Garage, his former team. He truly enjoyed driving for the David Gilliland-run organization.
It's just that Tricon Garage is a larger operation, one that Thompson compared to a Cup Series team. The smaller Sam Hunt Racing just feels like the right fit for him.
Show ready 😎#LetsHunt | #TeamToyota pic.twitter.com/Hp3C69Jwx6
— Sam Hunt Racing (@Team_SHR26) February 13, 2025
Team owners want to create this family feel, but not everyone can achieve this. So how did Hunt create an environment that drew in Thompson?
"My deal started with me and one employee, so it started with nobody," Hunt told AltDriver during a sitdown in Daytona. "So it was kind of ingrained in the beginning, because me and my one guy built the cars, set them up, took them to the racetrack, and we've just kind of kept that atmosphere.
"If I need to clean the toilets, I clean the toilets. It doesn't matter that I'm the team owner. Like, we all try and set an example for the young guys that yes, there's a hierarchy, but nobody's better than anybody else."
Building this family culture while winning races is a dream for Hunt, who joked that people will call his team the "Furniture Row Racing of the Xfinity Series" because it's on an island by itself.
He hasn't yet reached victory lane, but many people have expressed interest in joining in on the fun. Thompson is a prominent example.
A partnership with Sam Hunt Racing is something that Thompson had worked on for more than a year before officially making the move. He tracked down Hunt at Phoenix Raceway in 2023 and "attached himself to his hip" so that he could bug the team owner about some potential starts.
Getting Hunt's attention was simple enough; they were both members of the Toyota Racing family and the team owner had seen Thompson's raw speed at Tricon.
Putting together an opportunity to make an Xfinity debut last season was trickier. Hunt had multiple drivers controlling his Toyota GR Supras in 2024, so Thompson had to find some open races and some sponsors willing to help.
He also had to pass a bit of a test to secure the full-time ride. Could he manage a 300-mile race? Could he showcase the same calmness in stressful situations that Hunt had seen from veteran Ryan Truex?
"We weren't going to make any sort of commitment for this year until we worked with him in some capacity last year," Hunt said. "And we thought he drove mature races in our Xfinity car.
"At Charlotte, he took a very humble approach, and was like, 'I don't want to make a mistake. I'm not going to put myself in a bad spot. I'm going to earn the respect of these guys.'"
A fuel cable issue prematurely ended Thompson's afternoon at Charlotte, but he earned another opportunity with the team. This time, he took on a superspeedway and impressed Hunt once again with how he managed the frantic race and the car.
This race at Talladega was a pivotal moment in the journey toward a full-time ride. Hunt saw what he needed out of the California native behind the wheel. Thompson heard what he needed out of the team owner during extensive discussions.
"I felt like what I needed in a team, and what Sam needed in a driver kind of just meshed together, and I felt like we were able to fulfill what he kind of needed for the next year," Thompson said.
The team put the pieces in place and officially signed Thompson to be the full-time driver of the No. 26 Toyota GR Supra in 2025. However, this was only the latest step in the process.
Now Thompson had to build chemistry with the team, especially crew chief Kris Bowen. The two had spent two races together, but they weren't particularly familiar with each other beyond some racing discussions.
This is something the team needed to address quickly before the start of the season so that the duo could just focus on going fast and delivering a complete season.
"I sent them to Florida to go fishing together," Hunt said. "It's just like, 'Hey, you guys are going to go through some highs and some lows.
"'Go, get to know each other away from the racetrack because it's going to be valuable when you guys hit those bumps.' And it's already paying dividends."
The fishing trip was only part of the team-building process. Hunt says that Thompson has spent as much time as possible at the shop gelling with the crew. He even accompanied them on a trip to the Hawkeye inspection system.
Building this chemistry was crucial as the 2025 season approached, especially considering that Thompson only had one test session at Rockingham to gain more experience behind the wheel.
Going from a truck to an Xfinity car is not necessarily a natural progression. The vehicles handle differently. There is more on-throttle time with the truck, and drivers say it handles more like a Gen 7 Cup car.
What Thompson learned in his two starts with Sam Hunt Racing was that the Toyota GR Supra provided a nostalgic feeling with its low downforce, high horsepower setup.
"When Lawless (Alan) -- my good buddy Lawless -- raced Michigan, right before he left for Michigan, I sent this long list of notes," Thompson said. "I was like, 'Dude, this is the closest thing you'll get to what we had (growing up at Irwindale Speedway).'"
Thompson is quickly building chemistry with his team, and he has found comfort in the Xfinity Series car despite having relatively little experience behind the wheel. So what are the expectations for his rookie season?
The answer is actually simple -- winning would be great, but Thompson and Hunt just want to see progression.
"This year, obviously there's going to be highs and lows with rookie year, new series stepping up," Hunt said. "But our goal is just to make him a complete race car driver.
"And then after that -- we'll learn how to jog this year, and then hopefully, we progress the next few years."