It was Stage 1, lap 75, and the field was tight, drivers jostling for position in a race where every move mattered. Sheldon Creed, in the No. 00 Ford for Haas Factory Team, was battling hard in 15th, chasing the free-pass position behind Jeb Burton. Dean Thompson, the 23-year-old rookie in the No. 26 Toyota for Sam Hunt Racing, was right on his tail, hungry to prove himself in his first full Xfinity season. Brennan Poole, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet for Alpha Prime Racing, was charging through the pack, both he and Creed eyeing the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus. The stage was set for a moment that would stop hearts and spark fury.
Then it happened—a collision that brought the race to a screeching halt. The red flag waved, silencing the crowd as safety crews rushed to the frontstretch. Creed’s car sat mangled, its left side torn open like a tin can. Poole’s No. 44 was a wreck, its right side obliterated, a rear wheel and suspension lying on the track. Both drivers climbed out, shaken but miraculously unharmed, as the debris told a story of chaos. Fans held their breath, replay screens flashing the violent impact. What had gone wrong? Who was to blame? The answers lay in a split-second decision that turned a routine battle into a nightmare.
Sheldon Creed and Brennan Poole are still reeling from the tragic wreck
Creed, still catching his breath, spoke to reporters after exiting the infield care center. “Yeah, I feel fine. Knocked the air out of me there for a second,” he said. “I mean, [Jeb Burton] was the lucky dog at the moment, and he was doing a really good job of holding onto that, and I was just trying to play with things. I was clearly free at the moment, just trying to search. I saw [Kyle Larson] diamond [the corner] when he was lapping us, and I felt like it worked pretty good, so I went and tried to work that into my line.” But then came the contact. “The 26 [Dean Thompson] got me a few times by then, and then just got me enough there.”
Poole, equally rattled, shared his side. “It did knock the breath out of me,” he admitted. “I was back to the gas coming off the corner. I can’t see, I couldn’t see the double zero [Sheldon Creed], he’s like, my spotter said check up, I started checking up immediately as soon as I saw him in frame, you know, before I could see out of my windshield, I was like, he was in the middle of the track, I just didn’t expect him to even be there, so I just, I started to spin out.” The impact was unavoidable, a high-speed T-bone that sent Poole’s car skidding and Creed’s rolling into the pit road wall. Bristol’s 30-second lap time in the Xfinity cars makes sudden braking a tall task, especially while running the high line as Poole was. However, why was a car sitting sideways so dangerously on a track like Bristol? Well, that’s where all fingers have been pointing at Dean Thompson.
The replay told a grim story. Dean Thompson’s No. 26 nudged Creed’s rear, not a blatant shove but enough to unsettle him on Bristol’s unforgiving surface. Creed slid up, then down, blocking the track and sitting sideways. Most drivers dodged the melee, but Poole, exiting Turn 4 at full tilt, had no escape. The impact was catastrophic, ending both their races—Creed in 37th, Poole in 36th—and torching their Dash 4 Cash hopes. Thompson, meanwhile, soldiered to 10th, but the damage was done. His move, aggressive and ill-timed, had turned a routine battle into a spectacle of destruction.
Here is a look at the absolutely scary crash that both Sheldon Creed and Brennan Poole thankfully walked away from. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/V9NSrKd6SH
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) April 12, 2025
Sheldon Creed didn’t blame Poole, knowing Bristol’s chaos leaves little room for reaction. But Thompson’s role was undeniable. He’d lit the fuse. Creed’s 2025 season had been a fresh start at Haas Factory Team, a chance to build on years of almost-wins at Joe Gibbs Racing. Creed holds the Xfinity record for most 2nd-place finishes with 14 and is nicknamed ‘Silver Creeed’ for the same. However, that is a tag he would want to absolve as he searched for his first win, but Bristol wasn’t kind today. Now, his car was scrap, momentum stalled. Meanwhile, Brennan Poole, a journeyman clawing for every opportunity, faced a gutted No. 44 and a long repair bill for Alpha Prime Racing. The culprit was a rookie, and one who has a history with such incidents.
Dean Thompson’s journey to Xfinity wasn’t paved with gold. After dominating late models at Irwindale Speedway with titles in 2020 and 2021, he jumped to the Craftsman Truck Series in 2022 with Niece Motorsports, then TRICON Garage through 2024. In 70 starts, he managed just two top fives—both thirds in 2023 at Charlotte and Talladega—and 11 top 10s, with an average finish of 20.8. His 2024 Xfinity cameo with Sam Hunt Racing showed promise, like a 20th at Talladega, but also struggles, like a 34th at Charlotte. Bristol exposed that growing pain, and fans weren’t forgiving.
The fallout was swift and fierce, especially on X, where fans didn’t hold back, bringing up past incidents as they slammed the rookie.
Fans rip into Dean Thompson for his careless driving
“Good old Dean Thompson,” one fan wrote, sarcastic as hell. The jab stings because it’s not new. In 2022 at Daytona’s Truck race, Thompson’s aggressive push spun out Ty Majeski, costing him a shot at the win and drawing heat from fans. Bristol’s wreck, ending two drivers’ races in Stage 1, felt like déjà vu—another case of Thompson overreaching on a track demanding precision.
“Tf is the 26 doing,” another fan demanded, capturing the shock as Dean Thompson’s bump sent Creed spinning. His post reflects fans’ real-time horror at watching the red flag drop. Thompson’s misstep wasn’t just a racing incident; it was a gut punch to Creed and Poole’s teams, who’d poured months into those cars. A 2024 Truck Series wreck at Kansas, where Thompson’s contact with Matt Mills sparked a multi-truck crash, fuels the narrative—he’s fast but reckless.
“I guess if you run like s— in truck, might as well run like s— and wreck people in Xfinity Dean Thompson,” one fan snapped. It’s a brutal link to Thompson’s 2023 Truck season, where he crashed out of six races, including a Pocono wreck that collected three others after he misjudged a gap. His Xfinity jump was supposed to show growth, but Bristol’s chaos—his contact costing two drivers a shot at $100,000—says otherwise. Fans aren’t wrong to see a trend. Thompson’s Truck Series struggles back it up—70 races, only two podiums, and multiple wrecks, like a 2023 Texas crash where he spun, triggered a pileup, and got hospitalized after finishing 29th.
“Dean Thompson is a hack,” one fan declared, a verdict echoing Thompson’s rocky resume. Beyond Bristol, his 2024 Martinsville Truck race saw him spin Bayley Currey late, finishing 22nd while drawing boos. Even his best Xfinity run—20th at Talladega—came with contact that frustrated competitors. Sam Hunt Racing’s Kris Bowen, his crew chief, pushes for patience, saying Thompson needs “base hits” to grow. But fans don’t buy it when those swings wreck others. His Irwindale dominance feels distant against 11 DNFs in Trucks and now this Xfinity disaster.
Thompson’s defenders might argue he’s a rookie, just six races into Xfinity, learning a new car and tougher competition. But at Bristol, where precision is king, Thompson’s error was a sledgehammer. Fans don’t care about potential when cars are totaled and races are ruined. Until Thompson tightens up, the social media firestorm will burn on. Do you think Dean Thompson was at fault here? Let us know in the comments!
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