It’s safe to say that the Buckle Up 200 is truly making fans buckle up into their seats. Just when everyone thought Kyle Busch received the brunt of fans’ disapproval after his early wreck, another massive incident shifted the focus of the community completely.

For the past few races, Dean Thompson has been under major pressure, not just from his teammate, Corey Heim, but also from fans. With a seat on one of the Truck Series’ premier teams, Thompson has had a rather lackluster season, trailing behind Heim by 193 points in the championship after Kansas. Although the #5 Tricon Garage driver was on his way to a solid result at Darlington, a late wreck turned the tides against him.

Dean Thompson triggers a massive wreck at a track that’s ‘Too Tough to Tame’

Within the first few laps of the Buckle Up 200, Darlington Raceway had truly lived up to its moniker. That being said, it was just the beginning of a tumultuous night for Dean Thompson, who had passed the first two stages with great momentum. As the Tricon driver headed toward a solid finish, all hell broke loose with just 50 to go.

Heading around turn 2, Dean Thompson lost control of his truck right where Busch had faced a similar ordeal on lap 2. The #5 driver was lining up on the inside of his teammate, Corey Heim, as they tussled for fourth. So when Thompson’s Tundra broke traction, it hit Heim’s rear bumper with such force that Thompson was turned around into oncoming traffic.

In the aftermath that ensued, several top contenders of the day were involved. Rajah Caruth, Corey Heim, Jack Wood, Layne Riggs, and veteran Matt Crafton sustained major damages owing to the wreck. Caruths #71 and Crafton’s #88 both looked to be the worst hit. Although it seemed like Dean Thomspon had turned in on his teammate, the #5 driver explained to insiders what truly unfolded.

He shared with Noah Lewis, “Just got really free. These trucks race so free and they’re fast, so just a hard race. And there on the restart, it got really free and I couldn’t hold on to it.” Reflecting on his misfortunes, Thompson felt that the #5 Toyota Tundra had everything going for it till the second stage. Unfortunately for Crafton, the late wreck ended any chances of a visit to Victory Lane. He concluded, “Had a fast enough truck too, but just couldn’t close it out.” 

Corey Heim, who had been in the lead at the time Busch had wrecked, lost it all as he finished 28th instead. But for Crafton and Caruth, matters were worse as the pair finished in 30th and 31st, respectively. After seeing how many other drivers were affected by Thompson losing control, fans pulled no punches on X.

The NASCAR community calls out Dean Thompson for his Darlington heroics

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While fans headed to Darlington expecting major wreckfests all around, no one saw Thompson’s incident coming. After all, the #5 Tricon driver had been running fairly well for the majority of the race, only for it to all unravel with 50 laps to go. And just like Busch’s incident, fans didn’t cut Thompson any slack either.

Reflecting on Thompson’s lackluster results compared to his teammate, one fan stated; “Dean Thompson runs out of talent yet again” For many fans, Thompson’s three top-tens and zero top-fives were a stark contrast to Corey Heim’s results this season. Thompson’s teammate had not only brought in 8 top tens but also surpassed Thompson by a long shot with 2 wins and 6 top 5s.

This was the final nail in the coffin for many Thompson doubters. Fans highlighted how sponsors needed to “Stop funding Dean Thompson.” But some also pointed out the poor fate of innocent bystanders; “LAYNE IS NEVER GONNA GET AN OUNCE OF LUCK ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME” 

But at the end of the race, fans targeted their frustrations toward Dean Thompson. One fan brought up his altercations from 2023 – “When does Dean Thompson not screw up a race? He was pretty consistent wrecking Hailie Deegan last year.” With how things were lining up for the #5 Tricon Garage driver lately, fans couldn’t help but feel that “Dean Thompson Lost Talent”.

That being said, it appears that the NASCAR community is pulling no punches against any driver at Darlington. With the track’s notoriety proving itself to be for good reason once again, do you think Dean Thompson can save face at North Wilkesboro?