While it was a great day to be someone named Kyle Larson at the wheel of a rocket ship on Saturday, it was also a good day to be a member of Sam Hunt Racing, as both of the team’s wheelmen found their way into the top 10 of the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ SciAps 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Corey Heim finished eighth and Dean Thompson wound up 10th to mark a solid day at the office for the organization. That mark was good enough for Heim’s best finish of the season with the team out of his two previous starts at Circuit of the Americas and Homestead-Miami Speedway, while Thompson’s 10th gave the No. 26 its third top 10 of the season.
“We were fast all day,” Thompson told Frontstretch post-race. “I felt like we could have gotten a top five out of it. Just unfortunate how it ended, but glad to get a top 10.”
Heim climbed throughout the race from his 16th-place starting position, finishing eighth at the end of stage two. He was able to hold that spot, but after the race ended, he said he felt he also had top-five potential. His qualifying spot drew the team back.
“We certainly had a shot (at a win),” Heim said. “I felt like I set us back a little bit in qualifying. I messed up and probably costed us about 10 spots, so I feel like if we had started better and gotten a taste of what clean air was like up front, we could have adjusted for that.”
While the drivers sounded as though they weren’t all that satisfied with their finishes, team owner Sam Hunt said that he was proud of his guys.
“From when we unloaded, we knew we were really good,” Hunt said. “I’m really proud of everybody at Sam Hunt Racing for bringing two super fast Toyota GR Supras. Really proud of both of [the drivers]. It was really hard to pass, so we were able to hang on to the lead lap all race. [Heim] got boxed in there at the end behind [Connor Zilisch], but any time we can have both of them in the top 10 racing in this series, it’s a really good day.”
One of the biggest helps to ensuring SHR has more speed this year has been the addition of the No. 24, which is still running a limited schedule. According to Thompson, having data from multiple drivers only helps the team in its preparation for future races.
“It’s helpful working with guys like Corey,” Thompson said. “He’s really fast, and probably one of the best drivers right now, right? It’s helpful to work with him and just bounce ideas off of him. It’s hard being alone, and I’ve been at TRICON [Garage] the past few years with him … being alone is a little tough, but I think we’ve been cranking out good finishes, and he’s been helpful, too.”
Tanner Marlar is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated’s OnSI Network, a contributor for TopSpeed.com, an AP Wire reporter, an award-winning sports columnist and talk show host and master's student at Mississippi State University. Soon, Tanner will be pursuing a PhD. in Mass Media Studies. Tanner began working with Frontstretch as an Xfinity Series columnist in 2022.