During the Long John Silver’s 200 race at Martinsville, we saw a total of seven cautions by the midway point of the third stage, but the clash between Grant Enfinger and Dean Thompson really caught everyone’s eye. Around lap 146, Ben Rhodes was running in P19 when he smacked into the bumper of Grant Enfinger. And it wasn’t just a solo act; he managed to shake up Grant Enfinger going into turn 1, who then bumped into Dean Thompson, who was in 19th, sending Thompson crashing into the outside wall of turn 1.

Dean Thompson slams into the wall at Martinsville

Things were already looking rough for Grant Enfinger, and to add salt to the wound, he had to duck into the pits during the caution, which knocked him back to P28. Before this mess, Kaden Honeycutt in the #45 Niece Motorsports car had his own drama. It seemed like he tried to sneak inside Daniel Dye, clipped him, and ended up spinning out.

With just 50 laps left, Grant Enfinger nudged Dean Thompson, ending Thompson’s race as he hit the outside wall hard while he was climbing the ranks, wrecking his car for good. Thompson, who kicked off in 8th place, saw his race crumble to a 33rd-place finish, triggering the night’s seventh caution. From the clips, it was clear Thompson had zero chance to dodge the mayhem.

Right after the crash, a gutted Thompson told his team over the radio, “Sorry boys! There was nowhere I could go. Just got screwed there.” When Ben Rhodes’s car started to fishtail and nudged Enfinger’s bumper, Enfinger momentarily lost grip. He managed to realign his ride quickly, but by then, it was too late for Thompson. Trying to make a move by going two-wide for better positioning, he was clipped by Enfinger’s skidding car and sent crashing into the wall.

That mess was textbook short-track racing at its tightest. And with Martinsville going to be the do-or-die for the championship, coming off a ninth-place finish at the XPEL 225, where he started 17th, Dean Thompson was really hoping for more. He was holding an average spot of 11.9 last time out. Plus, his best lap in that race, lap 18, saw him clocking in at 135.9 seconds with a cruising speed of 90.3 mph.

Even Dean Thompson had to admit, that last night was classic Martinsville action through and through.

#5 driver expected the Martinsville race to be aggressive enough

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After ending up in a disappointing 33rd spot, Thompson tried to piece together what went sideways on the track. He speculated, “Someone packed the 9 (Grant Enfinger) into the fence and I just got stuck behind him. I got outside of him, and I think (Ben) Rhodes shoved him into me. Just hard racing.”

When asked about his take on the racing at Martinsville, he summed it up as “Just typical Martinsville truck racing. Just aggressive. I’m just blessed that I’m safe. Good Lord kept me safe today. I’ve just got to thank Thompson Pipe Group, TRICON Garage, Toyota, and Assured Partners.”

Despite a Loss, Tricon Driver Will Continue His Kickboxing Journey Offseason

But one thing is clear. Right now, Toyota’s the team to beat in NASCAR. They absolutely own the short tracks in the Cup series, and they’ve got a solid grip on the Truck series too.