The 2023 Love's RV Stop 250 was the 21st stock car race of the

2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series The 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was the 29th season of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season started with the NextEra Energy 250 on February 17 at Daytona ...

, the second race of the Round of 8, and the 18th iteration of the

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

. The race was held on Saturday, September 30, 2023, in

Lincoln, Alabama Lincoln is a city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1911. At the 2020 census, the population was 6,845. It was named for Major General Benjamin Lincoln, who served in the American army during the Revolutionar ...

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway (Alabama International Motor Speedway from 1969 to 1989) is a tri-oval superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Built in 1969, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The track is ...

, a permanent tri-oval shaped superspeedway. The race was originally scheduled to be contested over 94 laps, but was extended to 99 laps due to a

NASCAR overtime The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

finish. In a wreck-filled race with numerous cautions,

Brett Moffitt Brett Bradley Moffitt (born August 7, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 1 Toyota Tundra for Tricon Garage and the No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado ...

, driving in a one-off race for

Front Row Motorsports Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team began running part-time in 2004 as Means-Jenkins Motorsports under a part ...

, would steal the win after making an aggressive move on

Christian Eckes Christian Donald Eckes (pronounced "eck-iss"; born November 10, 2000) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet SS for Kaulig Racing, and part-time in the ...

for the lead on the final lap. This was Moffitt's 13th career

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...

win, and his first of the season. Moffitt and

Nick Sanchez Nicholas Anthony Sanchez (born June 10, 2001) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation), Chevrolet SS for Big Machine Racing and ...

would dominate the majority of the race, leading 22 and 25 laps, respectively. To fill out the podium, Ben Rhodes, driving for

ThorSport Racing ThorSport Racing is an American professional stock car racing team competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Founded in 1996 as SealMaster Racing and based in Sandusky, Ohio, the team is owned by Duke Thorson and his wife, Rhonda. Currently ...

, and Dean Thompson, driving for

Tricon Garage Tricon Garage, formerly known as David Gilliland Racing, DGR-Crosley, and Team DGR, is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in early 2017 ...

, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Background

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a

motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

s complex located north of

Talladega, Alabama Talladega (, also ) is the county seat of Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1835. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 15,861. Talladega is approximately east of one of the state's la ...

. It is located on the former

Anniston Air Force Base Anniston Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force airfield located approximately 10 miles north-northeast of Talladega, Alabama. It was active from 1942 to 1945 and 1949 to 1952. It is currently the site of the Talladega Superspeedway ...

in the small city of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

. The track is a

tri-oval A tri-oval is a shape which derives its name from the two other shapes it most resembles, a triangle and an Oval (geometry), oval. Rather than meeting at sharp, definable angles as the sides of a triangle do, in a tri-oval these angles are instea ...

and was constructed in the 1960s by the

International Speedway Corporation International Speedway Corporation (ISC) was a corporation whose primary business was the ownership and management of motorsports race tracks. ISC was founded by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. in 1953 for the construction of Daytona International ...

, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

series such as the

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

and the

Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...

. Talladega is the longest

oval with a length of tri-oval like the

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...

, which also is a tri-oval.

Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver. * (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points. * (P) denotes playoff driver.

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Saturday, September 30, at 8:30 AM CST. Since

is a

superspeedway Oval track racing is a form of motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traffic is almost uni ...

, the qualifying system used is a single-car, single-lap system with two rounds. In the first round, drivers have one lap to set a time. The fastest ten drivers from the first round move on to the second round. Whoever sets the fastest time in Round 2 wins the pole.

Chase Purdy Charles Russell "Chase" Purdy III (born November 11, 1999) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He most recently competed full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Mot ...

, driving for

Kyle Busch Motorsports Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) is an American professional dirt racing team that competes in dirt divisions across the United States. They formerly competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, CARS Tour, CRA Super Series, A ...

, would win the pole after advancing from the preliminary round and setting the fastest time in Round 2, with a lap of 53.368, and an average speed of .

Spencer Boyd Spencer Paul Boyd (born June 26, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 76 Chevrolet Silverado#Fourth-generation Silverado / fifth-gener ...

Jennifer Jo Cobb Jennifer Jo Cobb (born June 12, 1973) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. She competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 10 truck for her own team, Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing. She has als ...

, Keith McGee, and Clay Greenfield failed to qualify.

Race results

Stage 1 ''Laps: 20'' Stage 2 ''Laps: 20'' Stage 3 ''Laps: 59''

Post-race conflict

After the conclusion of the race, a post-race fight broke out near the garage area, between

Rev Racing Rev Racing, short for Revolution Racing, is an auto racing team competing at the regional level of NASCAR. Owned by former Dale Earnhardt, Inc. president Max Siegel, the team primarily fields participants in the Drive for Diversity, an initiat ...

driver

and

driver

Matt Crafton Matthew Justin Crafton (born June 11, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 88 Ford F-Series (fourteenth generation), Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing ...

. During the late stages of the race, Sanchez would make an aggressive move on Crafton, which would ultimately trigger a 15 truck pileup on the frontstretch. While walking back to his hauler, Sanchez would be tapped on the back by Crafton, for which he would give Sanchez a

sucker punch A sucker punch (American English), also known as a cheap shot, coward punch, one-punch attack, or king-hit (Australian English), is a punch thrown at the recipient unprovoked and without warning, allowing no time for preparation or defense on t ...

to the face when he turned around. Multiple crew members from

McAnally-Hilgemann Racing McAnally–Hilgemann Racing (MHR) (also known as Bill McAnally Racing (BMR) is an American professional stock car racing team that competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team is based in Roseville, California, and is owned b ...

and

GMS Racing GMS Racing was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. GMS Racing previously competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series from 2016 to 2019 ...

would jump in to break up the altercation. While Sanchez was being restrained by fellow driver

Cory Roper Micah Cory Roper (born July 31, 1977) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 04 Chevrolet Silverado for Roper Racing. He is not related to Ton ...

, blood covering most of his face, he would ultimately yell "I'm going to fucking kill you at Homestead. You fucked with the wrong guy motherfucker. It's on now." On October 3, Crafton was fined $25,000 and Sanchez was fined $5,000 for their involvement in the fight. In addition, Sanchez's father, Rene, was suspended for the remainder of the season for his involvement in the altercation.

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings *Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.

References

{{2023 NASCAR Truck Series NASCAR races at Talladega Superspeedway

Love's RV Stop 250 The Love's RV Stop 225 is a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race that takes place at Talladega Superspeedway. The race has been in the NASCAR playoffs, playoffs ever since the addition of it to the Truck Series schedule and every year since then, th ...