TOYOTA RACING – NOAPS Martinsville Post-Race Report – 03.28.26

SAM HUNT RACING LEADS TOYOTA WITH STRONG PERFORMANCE IN MARTINSVILLE
Dean Thompson leads with top-10 finish, while Harrison Burton breaks team laps led record

RIDGEWAY, Va. (March 28, 2026) – Sam Hunt Racing’s Dean Thompson led Toyota with a seventh-place finish in Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Martinsville Speedway. It is the California-native’s third top-10 in as many starts in the series at Martinsville.

Before being involved in a late-race incident, Thompson’s teammate Harrison Burton led 17 laps in his Toyota GR Supra – setting a new single-race record for Sam Hunt Racing.

TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (NOAPS)
Martinsville Speedway
Race 7 of 33 – 131.5 miles, 250 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Justin Allgaier*
2nd, Corey Day*
3rd, Sammy Smith*
4th, Sheldon Creed*
5th, Lee Pulliam*
7th, DEAN THOMPSON
10th, BRENT CREWS
13th, TAYLOR GRAY
18th, BRANDON JONES

20th, WILLIAM SAWALICH

26th, HARRISON BURTON

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DEAN THOMPSON, No. 26 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing

Finishing Position: 7th

Another good run at Martinsville. Can you talk about your finish?

“I feel like our team just fires on all cylinders here. I feel like my crew chief, Kris Bowen, has a knack for this place. We all love it here, and we all get to sleep in our own beds, which is pretty nice. I just feel like this place clicks for me and clicks for my crew chief. Things just kind of panned out our way. We always have really, really fast race cars. I’m lucky to drive this One TPG Toyota GR Supra. It is always fast when we come here. We were struggling in practice, but I felt like I could have qualified well but it got rained out and we just fought and clawed our way to the front. I wish those last 16 laps went straight because I felt like we could have gotten a better finish out of it because we had a really good long run car but super pumped to come out of here with a good finish.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 31 electrified options.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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