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Corey Heim (No. 24 Sam Hunt Racing Upper Deck Toyota) leads a group of cars at turn two during the Xfinity Series Focused Health 250 on March 01,2025 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX.(Photo by Adam Davis\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Sam Hunt is trying to do something extraordinary. At 32 years old, he\u2019s attempting to become one of the youngest winning team owners in Nascar Xfinity Series history.<\/p>\n
The independent Sam Hunt Racing is managed by Hunt, a former racer himself, who had the foresight that he may not make it as a driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always been a realist and reality has never scared me or phased me,\u201d Hunt said. \u201cI was fortunate to race with some really good guys like Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott. I got to see the level of talent it was going to take to make it all the way. Racing with Kyle Larson was a pretty good indicator.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hunt competed in the ARCA Menards Series East from 2012-19 before realizing it\u2019s time for a change. He totaled a trio of top 10 finishes in 34 career starts with a best finish of sixth in 2013. Running the full 2012 campaign, he placed 12th in points, the same year in which Larson won the championship. Additional Cup Series stars Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick and part timer Corey LaJoie were victorious that season.<\/p>\n
But Hunt\u2019s passion for the sport, combined with a business degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, propelled him to start his own team in 2019. Slowly, Hunt began fielding an entry for more races in 2020 before going full-time in 2021. His team blossomed, growing to two full-time entries in 2023.<\/p>\n
Hunt\u2019s small group has come close to winning on numerous occasions. John Hunter Nemecheck has a trio of top fives for the organization, and Toyota driver Corey Heim also nearly won a few races in Hunt\u2019s equipment. This year, Christopher Bell was contending for a win at Mexico City in Hunt\u2019s No. 24 car until an engine expired.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have one step left to be there consistently,\u201d Hunt said of competing for wins. \u201cWe\u2019ve covered the bingo card all around victory lane. I want all of the people who have left bigger, Cup-affiliated teams and have gotten on board with what we\u2019re building to be in victory lane.<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t say it\u2019ll be the most special day in my life because I am married, but it\u2019ll be close to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hunt is currently fielding a single full-time entry with rookie Dean Thompson, while running a part-time second car with numerous drivers. Thompson struggled in the Craftsman Truck Series at times, but is now thriving as a rookie in the Xfinity Series. He has a top five and five top 10s through 23 races.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis confidence wasn\u2019t at its highest,\u201d Hunt said of when Thompson signed on with SHR. \u201cWhen he came in, we said he needed to embed himself into our program and be with us every single day. We were going to be hard on him, but we are his family.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Hunt does not have an official alliance with Toyota powerhouse Joe Gibbs Racing, the small team is succeeding because of JGR equipment. SHR purchases older JGR equipment and leases the team\u2019s engines.<\/p>\n
\u201cJ.D. Gibbs (one of Joe Gibbs\u2019 sons) was one of the first owners I met when I was younger,\u201d Hunt said. “How J.D. interacted and treated his people and how his people looked up to him was inspiring to me. The entire Gibbs family has always been very welcoming to me, a kid with a big dream trying to start a very improbable business.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to be extremely creative about how we develop as purist racers.\u201d<\/p>\n