2023 Love's RV Stop 250

The 2023 Love's RV Stop 250 was the 21st stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the second race of the Round of 8, and the 18th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, September 30, 2023, in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 mi 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 finish. In a wreck-filled race with numerous cautions, Brett Moffitt, driving in a one-off race for Front Row Motorsports, would steal the win after making an aggressive move on Christian Eckes for the lead on the final lap. This was Moffitt's 13th career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win, and his first of the season. Moffitt and Nick Sanchez would dominate the majority of the race, leading 22 and 25 laps, respectively. To fill out the podium, Ben Rhodes, driving for ThorSport Racing, and Dean Thompson, driving for Tricon Garage, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Background
Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, 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 series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Craftsman Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66 mi tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5 mi 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 Talladega Superspeedway is a superspeedway, 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, driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, 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 179.433 mph.

Spencer Boyd, Jennifer Jo Cobb, 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 driver Nick Sanchez and ThorSport Racing driver Matt Crafton. 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 to the face when he turned around. Multiple crew members from McAnally-Hilgemann Racing and GMS Racing would jump in to break up the altercation. While Sanchez was being restrained by fellow driver Cory Roper, 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.