'A full-circle deal': Dean Thompson eager to join Haas Factory Team

It was now or never for Dean Thompson.

After two seasons with Sam Hunt Racing, he knew it was time to take a chance on himself — and raise the stakes with a move to Haas Factory Team in 2027 in a multiyear deal.

The Southern California racing scene tied Thompson with Joe Custer, president of Haas Factory Team, together from an early age. While Thompson was getting his career started, he competed against Cole Custer in quarter midgets behind Orange Show Speedway in Riverside. Thompson knew he wanted to eventually compete for Custer, who has had direct ties with Haas for two-plus decades.

RELATED: Dean Thompson driver page | Thompson to join Haas Factory Team in 2027

“He has been a huge help for us being a mentor for finding different teams and giving us a direction,” Thompson told NASCAR.com of his relationship with Custer, minutes after announcing the move to Haas. “My dad and I were so green to all of this. When we first got onto the NASCAR scene, we didn’t know anything. Joe was our mentor through all of it and guiding us through all of it. There was always a want to race for his team, but I don’t know if it was always in the cards. It finally happening is a pretty cool full-circle deal.”

After Thompson dabbled his feet into the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with Sam Hunt Racing, one of the top independent teams, the 24-year-old knew this was his chance to connect with a larger organization and compete for wins more frequently.

A call from Custer made the answer easier.

“I knew going into this year that if I were to move, it was going to be to one of the winning race teams or not at all,” Thompson said. “That’s an opportunity you can’t really pass up. Not many times do you get your dream team calling you to race for them. That’s an opportunity I had to take.”

Thompson recalled a meeting with team owner Sam Hunt before joining the organization, where he said he would eventually need to bet on himself. Thompson took that conversation to heart but believed that he pushed the No. 26 Toyota to the limit.

“When I first got here, the car was always faster than me,” Thompson said. “I was always behind the car, learning the car, and now we’re getting to a point where I feel as if I’m maxing out what the car is capable of and I’m out-driving what the car is capable of. That’s not to knock Sam; they are doing everything they can. When we hit it, we hit, and we’re fast.

“It was always coming to a point where I had to take a chance on my career to go win races. That’s how it’s playing out now. Eventually, this was always coming. We just didn’t know how far away it was.”

Dean Thompson greets fans.

Hunt has credited Thompson for his discipline, knowing he needs to optimize each week. Thompson has a deal with his father where if he ever plateaus or sees regression, that financial support is over.

That is a motivating factor for Thompson.

“Some guys can do whatever during the week and shop up and drive a badass car during the race weekend,” Thompson said. “I feel like I need to work my ass off during the week to keep up. I’ve got no problem with that.”

Custer believes Haas is getting a hungry race car driver. From afar, he’s seen Thompson’s work ethic carry him to success on and off the race track.

“We think we can take Dean to the next level, and we think he earned that from our point of view,” Custer said. “Dean made those two years — critical years — in his career, and hopefully we can take him to the next level where he’s running up front, leading laps, sitting on poles and winning some races.”

Thompson leaving SHR is a blow for the two-car operation, but his success elsewhere could still boost the No. 26 bunch.

“It’s tough, but it isn’t something that’s surprising for me or our team,” Hunt said on Corey LaJoie’s “Stacking Pennies” podcast on Monday. “I told Dean at Iowa this weekend that the best thing he can do for us is go win races in the best equipment.”

In 58 O’Reilly starts, Thompson has 11 top-10 finishes, including an eighth-place effort at Iowa. His lone top five came at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2025.

But he knows expectations will be heightened in 2027, moving to a team that won the 2023 championship with Custer.

“It’s a different expectation as a team,” Thompson said. “All I can do is work my butt off to try to meet those expectations. I feel like I met them here. I’m just going to try to do what I always do, and that’s work harder than everyone else around me. I think the results will come with that.”

MORE: O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings | O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule

Thompson will enjoy his final 10 races with Sam Hunt Racing before departing, knowing the team took a chance on him when few others would after a stint in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

“It’s bittersweet to leave these guys because they took me at a time that was not favorable to me,” Thompson said. “I wasn’t a driver that anybody would want to drive for them. We found each other at a hard time for both of us, and we helped each other grow. I’m eternally grateful for Sam and his team and what they’ve done for my career. Like Joe said, those two years could have been detrimental to whether I make it or I don’t. Really happy to be there, but sad to leave here — wish I could have both.”

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