MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Sam Hunt Racing went through a reset in 2024, and now the team has set the foundation for a big expansion. The team will field two full-time cars once again with two full-time drivers.
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According to a Saturday morning announcement, Dean Thompson will return to the team in 2026 and continue to drive the No. 26 Toyota GR Supra. Harrison Burton will join the team while reuniting with the Toyota family. He will drive the No. 24 Toyota GR Supra full-time.
Sam Hunt Racing also announced that Kris Bowen will continue to serve as crew chief of the No. 26 team while working with Thompson. Brian Gainey will take over the No. 24 team while working with Burton. Gainey has experience working with Burton in the Xfinity Series due to his time as an engineer at Joe Gibbs Racing.
foundation’s laid and the future is OURS. #LetsHunt pic.twitter.com/ADcVEF6ZPC
— Sam Hunt Racing (@SamHuntRacing) October 25, 2025
Thompson made his full-time debut this season as he took over the No. 26 Toyota. He made the move from the Craftsman Truck Series and began drinking from the proverbial firehose as he learned the Xfinity Series car and a variety of tracks.
The California native has posted seven top-10 finishes and one top-five in 31 starts this season. His average finish is 18.3, and he has spent the majority of the season sitting 16th in the Xfinity Series standings.
This marks a major change from his three-year run in the Truck Series when on-track incidents — many out of his control — made him less confident in his abilities as a driver and competitor.
"Dean, like he mentioned, there was some risk bringing Dean in last year, and Dean was not at his most confident point in his driving career," team owner Sam Hunt told media members on Saturday afternoon. "And for me, my fulfillment this year has been watching Dean grow as a person and he's grown to have this humility and just desire to be embedded into the program.
"And I think that has correlated completely to his on-track performance being as strong as it's been. I feel like for Dean being a first-year Xfinity guy with a group like ours and making a legitimate run at the tail end of the playoffs this year was a really positive thing."
Burton, for comparison, comes to Sam Hunt Racing after his return to the Xfinity Series. The former Cup Series winner spent three seasons with Wood Brothers Racing before dropping back down to Xfinity and joining AM Racing.
Burton helped build the small team into one that could compete in the playoffs as he posted 10 top-10 finishes and two top-fives. However, he and the team announced they would mutually part ways after the season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
This change opened up the opportunity for Burton to return to the Toyota camp in which he previously won four races. It also provided Sam Hunt Racing with a proven veteran to work with Thompson.
"I've known Harrison for years now at a bit of a distance, but I've always admired his persona and how he treats people and how he acts along with how hard he works and, obviously, being a pretty accomplished race car driver," Hunt added.
"So for me, this was just a very good human fit all around. Two guys that I'm proud of, and I want to see succeed and I want to see make it to Sunday at some point. I just ask that they buy in at the same level and be a part of this team's growth. And I think if we all do our jobs we've got a shot to have two cars in the playoffs next year."
