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 playoffs ever since the addition of it to the Truck Series schedule and every year since then, the race has been won by a non-playoff driver. The winner has only led the last lap of the race in several recent years it has been run.
Gio Ruggiero is the defending winner.
History The race was first held on October 7, 2006, as the John Deere 250. The race was won by future NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin. The race also saw Todd Bodine receive a penalty for passing below the yellow line with less than ten laps to go. In what could have been a major moment in the championship battle, Bodine recovered from the penalty to finish fourth and retain a 121-point lead over Johnny Benson.
In 2007, Mountain Dew would become the race sponsor and the race would be known as the Mountain Dew 250.
The 2009 running of the race would make history for multiple reasons. For the first time in NASCAR National Series event, a father-daughter combo was set to race. Mike Wallace was joined on the entry list by his daughter, Chrissy Wallace. While Chrissy had run Truck Series events in the past, this was the first time her father would be one of the competitors. The race would also mark the first time the event had gone to overtime.
With three laps to go in the 2010 race, a multi-car crash would bring out the caution. The crash saw Ron Hornaday Jr get airborne and land on its roof as it skid back onto the backing in Turn One. When it reached the banking, the truck began to barrel roll and once again, land on its roof. The accident brought out the red flag.
In 2020, Chevrolet became the sponsor of the event, promoting its Silverado truck.
In 2023, Love's RV Stop became the new title sponsor. In 2024, the race kept the same sponsor but the distance was reduced from 250 to 225 miles and was run on a Friday afternoon.
The race has been known to have many close finishes. In 2007, Todd Bodine would edge out Rick Crawford by 0.014 seconds, the 9th closest finish. In 2010, after a muli-wreck incident, Kyle Busch won by 0.002 seconds over Aric Almirola. This would be the second closest finish in series history. In 2019, Spencer Boyd would beat Todd Gilliland by 0.027 seconds, the 17th closest finish. In the 2021 event, Tate Fogleman would hold off Tyler Hill to get the 27th closest finish. In 2024, the race would end up being the 23rd closest finish when Grant Enfinger would hold off Taylor Gray near the end of the race. After starting on pole and led 37 laps, the race would end up being the 30th closest finish when rookie Gio Ruggiero would hold off Corey Heim in overtime.
Past winners YearDateDriverTeamManufacturerRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed(mph)ReportRef Laps Miles (km) 2006 October 76 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford94250.04 (402.4)1:48:33138.207 Report 2007 October 630 Todd Bodine Germain Racing Toyota94250.04 (402.4)1:55:25129.985 Report 2008 October 430 Todd Bodine Germain Racing Toyota94250.04 (402.4)1:43:06145.513 Report 2009 October 3151 Kyle Busch Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota98*260.68 (419.523)2:02:21127.837 Report 2010 October 3018 Kyle Busch Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota95*252.7 (406.681)1:48:51139.293 Report 2011 October 2233 Mike Wallace Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet94250.04 (402.4)1:57:41127.481 Report 2012 October 67 Parker Kligerman Red Horse Racing Toyota94250.04 (402.4)1:56:26128.85 Report 2013 October 1998 Johnny Sauter ThorSport Racing Toyota94250.04 (402.4)2:02:09122.819 Report 2014 October 1817 Timothy Peters Red Horse Racing Toyota95*252.7 (406.681)1:54:19132.632 Report 2015 October 2417 Timothy Peters Red Horse Racing Toyota98*260.68 (419.523)2:00:16130.051 Report 2016 October 2224 Grant Enfinger GMS Racing Chevrolet94250.04 (402.4)2:05:54119.161 Report 2017 October 1475 Parker Kligerman Henderson Motorsports Toyota95*252.7 (406.681)1:57:18129.258 Report 2018 October 1325 Timothy Peters GMS Racing Chevrolet94250.04 (402.4)1:48:47137.911 Report 2019 October 1220 Spencer Boyd Young's Motorsports Chevrolet98*260.68 (419.523)2:07:21122.817 Report 2020 October 34 Raphaël Lessard Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota94250.04 (402.4)1:55:55129.424 Report 2021 October 2 12 Tate Fogleman Young's Motorsports Chevrolet99*263.34 (423.72)2:06:17125.119 Report 2022 October 1 25 Matt DiBenedetto Rackley W.A.R. Chevrolet95*252.7 (406.681)2:12:40114.286 Report 2023 September 30 34 Brett Moffitt Front Row Motorsports Ford99*263.34 (423.72)2:26:07108.136 Report 2024 October 4 9 Grant Enfinger CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet85226.1 (363.9)1:48:24125.148 Report 2025 October 17 17 Gio Ruggiero Tricon Garage Toyota90*239.4 (385.305)2:00:27119.253 Report 2026 October 23 Report
2009–10, 2014–2015, 2017, 2019, 2021-2023, and 2025: The race was extended due to a NASCAR Overtime finish.
Multiple winners (drivers) # Wins Driver Years won 3 Timothy Peters 2014, 2015, 2018 2 Todd Bodine 2007, 2008 Kyle Busch 2009, 2010 Parker Kligerman 2012, 2017 Grant Enfinger 2016, 2024
Multiple winners (teams) # Wins Team Years won 3 Red Horse Racing 2012, 2014, 2015 2 Germain Racing 2007, 2008 GMS Racing 2016, 2018 Kyle Busch Motorsports 2010, 2020 Young's Motorsports 2019, 2021
Manufacturer wins # Wins Make Years won 11 Toyota 2007-2010, 2012-2015, 2017, 2020, 2025 7 Chevrolet 2011, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024 2 Ford 2006, 2023
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