“Pretty awesome stuff”: Dean Thompson jubilant after finishing career best P3 in Charlotte

After recently taking second in the ARCA Menards Series General Tire 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday (May 26) afternoon, Dean Thompson hopped inside his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series vehicle for another 200 miles. When he came out, he had a third-place finish to show for it.

“P3, pretty awsome stuff...It’s surreal to be here,I’m just so honored to be here and to be doing this. I’m so grateful." Thompson said post-race.

He then continued:

“I have the most badass team in the whole garage. These guys work their tails off, night in and night out. They just do everything they can to get this truck pristine … I can’t brag on my guys enough.”

Dean Thompson achieved a career-best qualifying position of seventh in the No. 5 TRICON Garage truck. He ran in the top five for the majority of the night to secure the victory, scarcely faltering the entire time.

It wasn't that long ago that the No. 5 team was in dire straights following crashes at North Wilkesboro Speedway a week earlier and a 35th-place result at Darlington Raceway a week later.

In 2023, Thompson's team has had a difficult time maintaining both luck and consistency. He crashed out of five of the first 10 races, including a terrible collision at Texas Motor Speedway that completely damaged his truck. When he finally completed, his finishes weren't very noteworthy. Simply said, Dean Thompson needs to be excellent, which he was on Friday night.

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Ben Rhodes wins the Truck Series race at Charlotte, Dean Thompson gets his best career finish

In addition to winning the first of three races in the Triple Truck Challenge, Ben Rhodes, the ninth different victor in the 11 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series contests this season, also received a $50,000 incentive from the bonus program, which could amount to $500,000 for a driver who can sweep all three.

The third-place showing by Dean Thompson was a personal best. By 5.746 seconds over Heim, Hocevar won the second stage after leading for 43 circuits.

Rhodes, the 2021 Series Champion, led 37 laps, including 25 in the closing laps. Nashville Superspeedway on June 23 and World Wide Technology Raceway on June 3 will host the last two Triple Truck Challenge races, respectively.

Dean Thompson now has the remainder of the season to focus on being more consistent and on completing races, with North Wilkesboro firmly in the rearview and some momentum from Darlington and Charlotte on his side.