Brett Moffitt Wins Love’s RV Stop 250 in One-Off Truck Drive

Brett Moffitt, driver of the #34 Fr8Auctions Ford, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Love's RV Stop 250 at Talladega Superspeedway on September 30, 2023 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

(TALLADEGA, AL. – SEPT 30, 2023 – RIS) Brett Moffitt led 22 laps on five different occasions on his way to winning the Love’s RV Stop 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. Avoiding a block by leader Christian Eckes on the last lap and using a push by Ben Rhodes, Moffitt headed the final lap in an overtime finish for his thirteenth career Truck Series win and first since the Kansas event in 2020.

Chase Purdy led the field to the green flag in Kyle Busch Motorsports’ 70th series pole with the middle of the pack running three-wide. He led the first four rounds before Nick Sanchez took the lead and Purdy drifted back in the field. Sanchez went on to lead the rest of the stage and take the stage win in front of Carson Hocevar, Corey Heim, Ty Majeski and Bret Holmes.

Zane Smith spun entering his pit stall, hitting his tire carrier and sending a tire rolling down pit road. The carrier appeared uninjured, going about his chores and helping to reset the stall after the stop. “We’re ready to go for the next one,” said the tire carrier.

Sanchez, Majeski and Kligerman headed the field to the restart but Smith pulled back into the pits at the restart before rejoining the race, reporting that the truck was jumping out of gear. Smith then drove the truck to the garage where the team worked on the shifter problems. Kligerman took the lead with challenges from Hocevar and Gilliland.

With two laps left in the second stage, a two-truck incident eliminated Stewart Friesen’s truck when it slammed into the outer wall. After being checked out in the track’s care center, Friesen was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation and observation. Kligerman took the stage win with Sanchez earning second-place stage points. Tire strategies started to be evident with some teams electing to take on four tires, others none after taking four new Goodyears at the end of the first stage.

Brothers Tanner and Taylor Gray led at the restart with the pack breaking into three lines immediately before settling down into two lines.

Enfinger, Ankrum, Taylor Gray, Matt Crafton and a couple of other trucks got involved in an incident when the outer line slowed, sending Majeski to the pits for body repairs, with most of the field stopping for fuel as the remaining distance is too far for a full fuel load.

Tanner Gray and Nick Sanchez headed the field at the restart, with Colby Howard, Chase Purdy and Corey Heim the rest of the top five.  Tyler Hill and Bayley Currey received the worst of an almost immediate incident that started with Grant Enfinger swerving to avoid Currey and spinning the m down the back stretch. Again, fuel-only stops dominated pit strategy with a couple of teams taking on tires. 

Brett Moffitt got a long push from Chandler Smith down the back straight to take over the lead, while Nick Sanchez had a pass-throght penalty for a restart violation. Chandler Smith took the lead from Moffitt approaching 27 laps to run, before Purdy with Ben Rhodes third and Smith all started swapping positions with the two lanes moving back and forth hunting for the lead.

Jack Wood’s truck shed its hood and a lot of BearBond tape down the back straight to cause a debris caition with 22 laps left in the race.

Chase Purdy and Chandler Smith led the restart but Purdy’s truck slowed and he pulled down to the apron immediately, avoiding a restart crash. He reported on the team radio that the engine just shut off and after cycling the main power switches, it restarted and he continued in the race, separated from the main pack by almost a half lap. Brett Moffitt and Ben Rhodes led but then Rajah Caruth spun down the front straight for the sixth caution of the race. Caruth’s spin was caused by an off-center push and he hit Ryan Vargas, sending his truck into the outside wall. 

Moffitt, Eckes, Rhodes, Chandler Smith and Dean Thompson ran top five at the restart, then an immediate spin exiting the fourth turnsent Colby Howard spinning and Chase Purdy’s truck sliding into the wall with damage that took it out of the race. The trucks involved in this crash meant that half the field has been involved in a crash to some extent. Eckes, Moffitt, Smith and Rhodes led to the restart after a brief red flag to allow cleanup and a green flag finish, with Matt Crafton and Nick Sanchez starting a huge multi-truck crash on the front straight that immediately brought out a second red flag and an overtime finish with 26 trucks involved in at least one incident.

The overtime start had Eckes leading but Moffitt and Rhodes managed to ease ahead until Chandler Smith gave Eckes a push to the leadand they pulled ahead of Moffitt. Moffitt moved outside and Ekes misjudged the block, fading back in the field to the last truck on the lead lap and Moffitt 

“It reminds me of the good old days and I want to get to doing this on a regular basis” said Moffitt in celebration.

Unofficial Results: Love?s RV Stop 250, September 30, 2023 - Talladega Superspeedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Truck, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 31, Brett Moffitt(i), No. 34 Fr8Auctions Ford, 99, , , 5, 22, , 0, Running
2) 8, Ben Rhodes (P), No. 99 Campers Inn RV Ford, 99, , 5, , , , 41, Running
3) 4, Dean Thompson, No. 5 CST Industrial Toyota, 99, 10, 9, , , , 37, Running
4) 28, Chandler Smith(i), No. 25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet, 99, , , , , , 0, Running
5) 9, Corey Heim (P), No. 11 Safelite Toyota, 99, 3, 10, , , , 41, Running
6) 29, Daniel Dye #, No. 43 RaceToStopSuicide.com Chevrolet, 99, , , , , , 31, Running
7) 2, Nick Sanchez # (P), No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet, 99, 1, 2, 4, 25, 1, 49, Running
8) 23, Hailie Deegan, No. 13 Odyssey Battery Ford, 99, , , , , , 29, Running
9) 13, Parker Kligerman(i), No. 75 Tide Chevrolet, 99, 7, 1, 2, 10, , 0, Running
10) 21, Lawless Alan, No. 45 AUTOParkit Chevrolet, 99, , , , , , 27, Running
11) 7, Carson Hocevar (P), No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 99, 2, 3, 1, 5, , 43, Running
12) 14, Rajah Caruth #, No. 24 Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet, 99, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 25, Grant Enfinger (P), No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet, 99, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 6, Jack Wood, No. 51 TrueTimber Chevrolet, 99, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 32, Garrett Smithley(i), No. 02 Trophy Tractor/Celsius Chevrolet, 99, , , , , , 0, Running
16) 15, Bret Holmes #, No. 32 First Bank of Alabama Chevrolet, 99, 5, 8, 1, 3, , 30, Running
17) 33, Ryan Vargas, No. 30 Critical Path Security Toyota, 99, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 24, Taylor Gray #, No. 17 Dead On Tools Toyota, 99, , 7, 1, 1, , 23, Running
19) 16, Christian Eckes (P), No. 19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet, 99, , , 2, 8, , 18, Running
20) 10, Jake Drew, No. 61 Toyota Tsusho Toyota, 98, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 5, Ty Majeski (P), No. 98 Soda Sense/Curb Records Ford, 93, 4, 4, , , , 30, Accident
22) 35, Cory Roper, No. 04 Fly Alliance/CarQuest Ford, 93, , , , , , 15, DVP
23) 17, Colby Howard, No. 9 Titan Construction Chevrolet, 92, 6, , , , , 19, Accident
24) 12, Matt Crafton, No. 88 Jack Links/Menards Ford, 91, , , 1, 1, , 13, Accident
25) 19, Tanner Gray, No. 15 Sport Clips Toyota, 91, 8, 6, 3, 12, , 20, Accident
26) 26, Greg Van Alst, No. 20 CB Fabricating Chevrolet, 91, , , , , , 11, Accident
27) 36, Jason M White, No. 22 Powder Ventures Excavations Ford, 88, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 1, Chase Purdy, No. 4 Bama Buggies Chevrolet, 84, , , 3, 11, , 9, Accident
29) 3, Jake Garcia #, No. 35 Quanta Services Chevrolet, 79, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 34, Tyler Hill, No. 56 Buffalo Wild Wings/UNITS Toyota, 59, , , , , , 7, Accident
31) 27, Bayley Currey, No. 41 Unishippers Chevrolet, 58, , , 1, 1, , 6, Accident
32) 18, Zane Smith (P), No. 38 Love's/ RV Stop Ford, 55, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 22, Tyler Ankrum, No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota, 50, , , , , , 4, Accident
34) 20, Stewart Friesen, No. 52 GearWrench Toyota, 38, , , , , , 3, Accident
35) 11, David Gilliland, No. 1 Serial 1 Premium E-Bikes Toyota, 38, 9, , , , , 4, Accident
36) 30, Bryan Dauzat, No. 28 FDNY Racing Chevrolet, 5, , , , , , 1, Handling
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs

Total Race Length: 99 Laps, 263.34 Miles
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 26 Mins, 7 Secs.
Average Speed: 108.136 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.089 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 2, 42, 11, 98, 32, 9, 75, 15, 1, 5
Stage 2 Top 10: 75, 2, 42, 98, 99, 15, 17, 32, 5, 11

Comments: Brett Moffitt won the Love's RV Stop 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, his thirteenth NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory.

Prior to the start, the following trucks dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason indicated: No. 5 (unapproved adjustments).

Failed to Qualify: (4) 12 Spencer Boyd, 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb, 33 Keith McGee, 95 Clay Greenfield.
Cautions: 8 for 41 laps;
Laps: 22-27 (Stage 1 Conclusion [51]);
40-46 (#52, 16, 35, 1 Incident Turn 3 / Stage 2 Conclusion [22]);
52-57 (#16, 17, 23, 98 Incident Backstretch [22]);
60-62 (#41, 23, 56 Incident Backstretch [None]);
73-76 (Debris On The Backstretch [23]);
81-84 (#42, 24, 30 Incident Frontstretch [17]);
86-91 (#9, 4 Incident Frontstretch [Red Flag 5:26] [17]);
93-97 (#88, 20, 15, 98, 04, 24, 32, 23, 42, 2 Incident Frontstretch [Red Flag 5:38] [22]).

Lead Changes: 23 among 11 drivers;
C. Purdy 1-4;
N. Sanchez # (P) 5-22;
M. Crafton 23;
N. Sanchez # (P) 24-27;
P. Kligerman(i) 28-31;
C. Hocevar (P) 32-36;
P. Kligerman(i) 37-42;
B. Currey 43;
T. Gray 44-45;
T. Gray # 46;
T. Gray 47-48;
N. Sanchez # (P) 49;
T. Gray 50-57;
N. Sanchez # (P) 58-59;
B. Holmes # 60-62;
B. Moffitt(i) 63-67;
C. Purdy 68;
B. Moffitt(i) 69;
C. Purdy 70-75;
B. Moffitt(i) 76-84;
C. Eckes (P) 85-91;
B. Moffitt(i) 92-97;
C. Eckes (P) 98;
B. Moffitt(i) 99.

Points Report: Love’s RV Stop 250, Talladega Superspeedway
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) Corey Heim (P), 11, 20, 0, 3121, 0, 0, 3, 5, 30
2) Carson Hocevar (P), 42, 21, 1, 3111, -10, 10, 3, 3, 22
3) Christian Eckes (P), 19, 21, -1, 3097, -24, 14, 3, 6, 24
4) Nick Sanchez # (P), 2, 21, 3, 3091, -30, 6, 0, 4, 6
5) Grant Enfinger (P), 23, 21, -1, 3088, -33, 3, 3, 3, 24
6) Ben Rhodes (P), 99, 21, 0, 3086, -35, 2, 1, 1, 13
7) Ty Majeski (P), 98, 21, 1, 3072, -49, 14, 1, 6, 16
8) Zane Smith (P), 38, 21, -3, 3055, -66, 17, 2, 4, 22
9) Matt Crafton, 88, 21, 1, 2103, -1018, 952, 0, 1, 2
10) Matt Dibenedetto, , 20, -1, 2102, -1019, 1, 0, 0, 2
11) Chase Purdy, 4, 21, 0, 506, -2615, 1596, 0, 0, 0
12) Stewart Friesen, 52, 21, 0, 480, -2641, 26, 0, 1, 0
13) Tanner Gray, 15, 21, 1, 479, -2642, 1, 0, 0, 0
14) Jake Garcia #, 35, 20, -1, 475, -2646, 4, 0, 0, 0
15) Taylor Gray #, 17, 18, 1, 445, -2676, 30, 0, 0, 0
16) Tyler Ankrum, 16, 21, -1, 428, -2693, 17, 0, 1, 0
17) Rajah Caruth #, 24, 21, 0, 427, -2694, 1, 0, 0, 0
18) Daniel Dye #, 43, 21, 0, 368, -2753, 59, 0, 0, 0
19) Hailie Deegan, 13, 21, 0, 354, -2767, 14, 0, 0, 0
20) Dean Thompson, 5, 21, 1, 319, -2802, 35, 0, 0, 0
21) Colby Howard, 9, 21, -1, 317, -2804, 2, 0, 0, 0
22) Bret Holmes #, 32, 21, 0, 303, -2818, 14, 0, 0, 0
23) Lawless Alan, 45, 19, 0, 275, -2846, 28, 0, 0, 0
24) Timmy Hill, , 14, 0, 222, -2899, 53, 0, 0, 0
25) Bayley Currey, 41, 9, 0, 213, -2908, 9, 0, 0, 0
26) Jack Wood, 51, 11, 3, 163, -2958, 50, 0, 0, 0
27) Kaden Honeycutt, , 10, -1, 161, -2960, 2, 0, 0, 0
28) Spencer Boyd, , 19, -1, 161, -2960, 0, 0, 0, 0
29) Kris Wright, , 11, -1, 150, -2971, 11, 0, 0, 0
30) William Sawalich, , 6, 0, 138, -2983, 12, 0, 0, 0
31) Ryan Vargas, 30, 7, 4, 114, -3007, 24, 0, 0, 0
32) Jake Drew, 61, 5, 2, 112, -3009, 2, 0, 0, 0
33) Matt Mills, , 8, -2, 108, -3013, 4, 0, 0, 0
34) Conner Jones, , 8, -2, 108, -3013, 0, 0, 0, 0
35) Josh Reaume, , 10, -2, 101, -3020, 7, 0, 0, 0
36) Tyler Hill, 56, 6, 0, 70, -3051, 31, 0, 0, 0
37) Toni Breidinger, , 3, 1, 55, -3066, 15, 0, 0, 0
38) Jesse Love, , 2, 1, 52, -3069, 3, 0, 0, 0
39) Cory Roper, 04, 3, 5, 45, -3076, 7, 0, 0, 0
40) Mason Maggio, , 5, 0, 43, -3078, 2, 0, 0, 0
41) David Gilliland, 1, 2, 4, 32, -3089, 11, 0, 0, 0
42) Logan Bearden, , 2, -1, 31, -3090, 1, 0, 0, 0
43) Justin Carroll, , 4, -1, 31, -3090, 0, 0, 0, 0
44) Chris Hacker, , 4, -1, 30, -3091, 1, 0, 0, 0
45) Johnny Sauter, , 3, 1, 28, -3093, 2, 0, 0, 0
46) Jason M White, 22, 2, 14, 26, -3095, 2, 0, 0, 0
47) Stephen Mallozzi, , 4, 0, 25, -3096, 1, 0, 0, 0
48) Greg Van Alst, 20, 5, 15, 23, -3098, 2, 0, 0, 0
49) Jason White, , 1, -1, 22, -3099, 1, 0, 0, 0
50) Norm Benning, , 2, -1, 22, -3099, 0, 0, 0, 0
51) Landen Lewis, , 2, -1, 22, -3099, 0, 0, 0, 0
52) Jonathan Shafer, , 2, -1, 21, -3100, 1, 0, 0, 0
53) Akinori Ogata, , 1, -1, 20, -3101, 1, 0, 0, 0
54) Chase Janes, , 2, -1, 20, -3101, 0, 0, 0, 0
55) Conor Daly, , 1, -1, 19, -3102, 1, 0, 0, 0
56) Memphis Villarreal, , 3, -1, 19, -3102, 0, 0, 0, 0
57) Will Rodgers, , 2, -1, 19, -3102, 0, 0, 0, 0
58) Marco Andretti, , 1, -1, 18, -3103, 1, 0, 0, 0
59) Shane Van Gisbergen, , 1, -1, 18, -3103, 0, 0, 0, 0
60) Colin Garrett, , 1, -1, 17, -3104, 1, 0, 0, 0
61) Max Gutierrez, , 1, 0, 16, -3105, 1, 0, 0, 0
62) Sean Hingorani, , 1, 0, 14, -3107, 2, 0, 0, 0
63) Mason Filippi, , 1, 1, 11, -3110, 3, 0, 0, 0
64) Tanner Carrick, , 1, 1, 11, -3110, 0, 0, 0, 0
65) Dale Quarterley, , 2, 1, 11, -3110, 0, 0, 0, 0
66) Armani Williams, , 2, 1, 10, -3111, 1, 0, 0, 0
67) Austin Wayne Self, , 1, 1, 10, -3111, 0, 0, 0, 0
68) Derek Lemke, , 2, 1, 10, -3111, 0, 0, 0, 0
69) Nick Leitz, , 2, 1, 9, -3112, 1, 0, 0, 0
70) Tyler Carpenter, , 1, 1, 8, -3113, 1, 0, 0, 0
71) Trey Hutchens, , 1, 1, 7, -3114, 1, 0, 0, 0
72) Keith Mcgee, , 3, 1, 6, -3115, 1, 0, 0, 0
73) Christian Rose, , 1, 1, 5, -3116, 1, 0, 0, 0
74) Clay Greenfield, , 2, 1, 5, -3116, 0, 0, 0, 0
75) Codie Rohrbaugh, , 1, 1, 4, -3117, 1, 0, 0, 0
76) Chad Chastain, , 1, 1, 3, -3118, 1, 0, 0, 0
77) Jennifer Jo Cobb, , 1, 1, 3, -3118, 0, 0, 0, 0
78) Ed Jones, , 1, 1, 1, -3120, 2, 0, 0, 0
79) Tim Viens, , 1, 1, 1, -3120, 0, 0, 0, 0
80) Spencer Davis, , 1, 1, 1, -3120, 0, 0, 0, 0
81) Bryan Dauzat, 28, 1, 29, 1, -3120, 0, 0, 0, 0
82) Kyle Busch(i), , 5, -1, 0, -3121, 1, 2, 2, 0
83) Joey Logano(i), , 1, -1, 0, -3121, 0, 1, 2, 0
84) Kyle Larson(i), , 1, -1, 0, -3121, 0, 1, 1, 0
85) Brett Moffitt(i), 34, 1, 0, 0, -3121, 0, 1, 0, 0
86) William Byron(i), , 3, -2, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 1, 0
87) John Hunter Nemechek(i), , 2, -2, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
88) Layne Riggs, , 3, -45, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
88) Layne Riggs, , 3, -45, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
89) Christopher Bell(i), , 2, -2, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
90) Chandler Smith(i), 25, 1, 0, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
91) Ross Chastain(i), , 7, -3, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
92) Bubba Wallace(i), , 2, -3, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
93) Chase Briscoe(i), , 1, -3, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
94) Derek Kraus(i), , 2, -3, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
95) Kaz Grala(i), , 3, -3, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
96) Parker Kligerman(i), 75, 7, 4, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 1, 0
97) Chase Elliott(i), , 1, -4, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
98) Mason Massey(i), , 7, -4, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
99) Carson Kvapil(i), , 1, -4, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
100) Travis Pastrana(i), , 1, -4, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
101) Sammy Smith(i), , 1, -4, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
102) Jonathan Davenport(i), , 1, -4, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
103) Garrett Smithley(i), 02, 1, 0, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
104) Corey Lajoie(i), , 2, -5, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
105) Brennan Poole(i), , 3, -4, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
106) Stefan Parsons(i), , 2, -4, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
107) Josh Williams(i), , 1, -4, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
108) Austin Hill(i), , 1, -4, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
109) Brad Perez(i), , 2, -4, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
110) Dawson Cram(i), , 1, -4, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
111) Josh Bilicki(i), , 1, -4, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
112) Samuel Lecomte, , 0, -4, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
113) Dexter Bean(i), , 0, -4, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
114) Alex Bowman(i), , 0, -3, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
115) Caleb Costner, , 0, -3, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
116) Danny Bohn, , 0, -3, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
117) Todd Peck, , 0, -3, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
118) Jessica Friesen, , 0, -3, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
119) Jerry Bohlman, , 0, -3, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
120) Andrew Gordon, , 0, -3, 0, -3121, 0, 0, 0, 0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series