NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES RACE RECAP
LOVE’S RV STOP 225 | Talladega Superspeedway
McQUEEN SWEEPS STAGES AND DOMINATES TALLADEGA FOR RECORD-TYING WIN
MCQUEEN LEADS TALLADEGA CHAOS TO TIE THE ALL-TIME TRUCK SERIES SINGLE-SEASON WINS RECORD
Talladega Superspeedway is unpredictable for almost everyone except, apparently, Logan McQueen III.
The Round of 8 rolled into the high banks on Saturday afternoon, and the driver of the No. 51 Horizon Hobby / Peak Motorsports Chevrolet delivered one of the most complete performances of his truck career. McQueen swept both stages, controlled the draft, avoided multiple mid-pack incidents, and executed a flawless final stage to secure his ninth win of the season, tying Greg Biffle’s long-standing all-time Truck Series single-season wins record.
And he did it with authority.
McQueen set the tone early by topping both rounds of qualifying, clocking a blistering time in Round 2 to take the pole over Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch, and Corey Heim. McQueen dropped back briefly in the opening laps but then worked the draft, hooking up with Ben Rhodes and going to the front. Once there the No. 51 was untouchable in clean air. McQueen led comfortably through Stage One, holding off Rhodes and Ross Chastain at the line to score the first 10 stage points.
Stage Two brought more of the same. Even as the lanes shifted and the aggression picked up, McQueen held firm, timing his blocks and pushes perfectly to beat Chandler Smith and Chastain for another maximum-points stage win.
The final stage became a strategic duel with McQueen pitting in the middle of the cycle, dropping back to the 20s and jumping back into the top ten when the rest of the field pitted. From there he picked off the rest of the pack.
In the closing laps, the race turned into a three-truck sprint between McQueen, Chastain, and Jake Garcia. The No. 51 never wavered. He crossed the stripe 0.187 seconds clear of Chastain, locking down an absolutely dominant victory and placing himself in a commanding Championship 4 position heading into Martinsville.
On social media afterward, reporters and drivers alike gave McQueen credit for a clean, professional superspeedway race, a rare sight at Talladega. As Adam Stern noted, the win officially ties McQueen with Greg Biffle for most Truck Series victories in a single season. One more, and the record is his alone.
If Saturday proved anything, it’s this.
When McQueen controls the draft, the field is in trouble.
Official Results | Love’s RV Stop 225 | Talladega | Race 23 of 25
| Pos | Driver | Manufacturer | Team | Interval |
|---|
| 1 | Logan McQueen III | Chevrolet | Peak Motorsports | ---- |
| 2 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | Niece Motorsports | +0.187 |
| 3 | Jake Garcia | Ford | ThorSport Racing | +0.281 |
| 4 | Timmy Hill | Toyota | Hill Motorsports | +0.369 |
| 5 | Ty Majeski | Ford | ThorSport Racing | +0.413 |
| 6 | Toni Breidinger | Toyota | TRICON Garage | +0.454 |
| 7 | Connor Mosack | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | +0.476 |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | +0.538 |
| 9 | Parker Kligerman | Chevrolet | Henderson Motorsports | +0.542 |
| 10 | Gio Ruggiero | Toyota | TRICON Garage | +0.673 |
| 11 | Corey LaJoie | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | +0.734 |
| 12 | Matt Mills | Chevrolet | Niece Motorsports | +0.742 |
| 13 | Ben Rhodes | Ford | ThorSport Racing | +0.795 |
| 14 | Cory Roper | Ford | Roper Racing | +0.822 |
| 15 | Grant Enfinger | Chevrolet | CR7 Motorsports | +0.856 |
| 16 | Corey Heim | Toyota | TRICON Garage | +0.908 |
| 17 | Rajah Caruth | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | +0.939 |
| 18 | Chandler Smith | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | +0.995 |
| 19 | Norm Benning | Chevrolet | Norm Benning Racing | +1.000 |
| 20 | Matt Crafton | Ford | ThorSport Racing | +1.060 |
| 21 | Tyler Ankrum | Chevrolet | HRE | +1.082 |
| 22 | Andres Perez de Lara | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | +1.144 |
| 23 | Luke Fenhaus | Ford | ThorSport Racing | +1.987 |
| 24 | Clay Greenfield | Toyota | GK Racing | +2.072 |
| 25 | Caleb Costner | Toyota | MHR | +3.795 |
| 26 | Brandon Jones | Toyota | TRICON Garage | +5.652 |
| 27 | Kaden Honeycutt | Chevrolet | Niece Motorsports | +5.717 |
| 28 | Daniel Hemric | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | +5.762 |
| 29 | Bryan Dauzat | Chevrolet | FDNY Racing | +5.861 |
| 30 | Dawson Sutton | Chevrolet | Rackley W.A.R. | +9.400 |
| 31 | Spencer Boyd | Chevrolet | FRE Motorsports | +9.405 |
| 32 | Frankie Muniz | Ford | AM Racing | +9.463 |
| 33 | Layne Riggs | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | +13.697 |
| 34 | Tanner Gray | Toyota | TRICON Garage | +26.746 |
| 35 | Stewart Friesen | Toyota | HFR | +27.406 |
| 36 | Jack Wood | Chevrolet | BHR | +32.112 |
Logan McQueen III — Talladega Recap
| Driver | Start | Finish | Pts |
|---|
| Logan “Lightning” McQueen (#51) | 1 | 1 | 60 |
They Said It
Logan McQueen III: “Talladega’s never easy, but today everything clicked. The crew was locked in. We controlled the lanes, made smart moves, and the truck was just unreal. Tying the record is cool, now we want one more.”
Ross Chastain: “Logan was tough to beat today. Clean air or dirty air, that 51 was fast.”
Gio Ruggiero: “When somebody sweeps both stages at Dega, you know they earned it. Logan did.”
Alex Ward, Crew Chief: “That’s one of the most complete superspeedway races we’ve ever run. Execution from start to finish.”
Next Up: Slim Jim 200 | Martinsville Speedway | Martinsville, VA
