“Inexcusable and an unnecessarily violent crash”: NASCAR fans react to Dean Thompson’s violent crash

Dean Thompson of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was taken to a nearby hospital after being engaged in a major accident during Saturday (April 1)'s SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway.

The 21-year-old driver from Anaheim, California, was enjoying the finest race of his career when the collision occurred with fewer than 25 laps remaining.

Dean Thompson was moved back in the pack on a late restart after driving in the top five for much of the race and reaching as high as fourth when he spun off Turn 4, striking the outside wall before sliding back into the racing lane. Thompson was then slammed broadside at high speed by Matt Mills' incoming truck before being hit again by Trey Hutchens.

Thompson exited his truck but fell to the ground, where he was treated by an AMR Safety Team. Thompson was lifted into an ambulance on a stretcher and transferred to the infield care center for observation. Thompson's team said he was awake and attentive and will be sent to Baylor Scott & White Medical Center for examination.

Thompson is in his second full Truck Series season and his first with TRICON Garage. Thompson was having by far his greatest season before his accident. Thompson's best finish in 28 career races was 11th in Las Vegas in 2022.

NASCAR fans reacted to Thompson's nasty crash and hoped he would be alright:

Thompson's collision was the most horrendous moment in a race that went into double overtime and concluded in yet another devastating crash.

During the penultimate lap, while racing for the win with Zane Smith, leader Nick Sanchez lost control of his truck approaching Turn 1 and was turned head-on into the outside wall, knocking out Smith. Carson Hocevar, who raced third, raced past the wreckage to claim his first NASCAR Truck Series victory.

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Chandler Smith wins his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race in Richmond

The victory comes in Smith's tenth career NXS appearance, and it marks Kaulig Racing's second straight victory. Last weekend, the team triumphed at COTA with A.J. Allmendinger.

Smith said:

"Vegas, we dominated that race (but) didn’t win. Said it was all in God’s timing. He’s creating something way bigger and better than I know what to do with. Here we are at Richmond – my favorite race track and we’re sitting in Victory Lane."

He continued:

"So, all glory goes to God. Thank you Chris Rice, Matt Kaulig, Quick Tie Products, my smoking hot wife and everybody at Kaulig Racing. This is unbelievable.”

Smith also won at Richmond as a NASCAR Truck Series driver last year. As a rookie in the Xfinity Series, he had four top-five finishes in the first seven races of the season.