Sam Hunt Emerges As A Leader For The Next Generation Of Nascar Team Owners

Forbes

3 days ago

Sam Hunt is trying to do something extraordinary. At 32 years old, he's attempting to become one of the youngest winning team owners in Nascar Xfinity Series history.
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.
'I have always been a realist and reality has never scared me or phased me,' Hunt said. 'I 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.'
Hunt competed in the ARCA Menards Series East from 2012-19 before realizing it's 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.
But Hunt's 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.
Hunt's 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's equipment. This year, Christopher Bell was contending for a win at Mexico City in Hunt's No. 24 car until an engine expired.
'We have one step left to be there consistently,' Hunt said of competing for wins. 'We've 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're building to be in victory lane.
'I won't say it'll be the most special day in my life because I am married, but it'll be close to it.'
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.
'His confidence wasn't at its highest,' Hunt said of when Thompson signed on with SHR. 'When 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.'
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's engines.
'J.D. Gibbs (one of Joe Gibbs' sons) was one of the first owners I met when I was younger,' 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.
'We have to be extremely creative about how we develop as purist racers.'
The journey to get to this point was extremely tough. Hunt moved to Mooresville, N.C. with nothing. He was living in a van outside of the old Robert Yates Racing engine shop until he got some floor space inside.
Now, as Hunt looks to win as a team owner, the most reachable goal at the moment is qualifying for the playoffs. Thompson is 16th on the playoff grid with three races remaining in the regular season, four positions away from the cutoff line and 82 points back. He will likely need to deliver SHR its first win in the next three races to qualify for the postseason. The series has a couple of wild card races remaining, first visiting Daytona International Speedway next weekend.