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  • Hamlin reigns supreme with fourth Busch Light Clash victory, first at The Coliseum

    Hamlin reigns supreme with fourth Busch Light Clash victory, first at The Coliseum

    Amid an off-season surgery that nearly placed his availability status for NASCAR’s exhibition event at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in question, Denny Hamlin responded with resurgence and early momentum after surviving a war of attrition evening to win the third annual Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, February 3.

    The three-time Daytona 500 champion from Chesterfield, Virginia, led twice for 58 of 151 laps in an event where he claimed the pole position for The Clash based on setting the fastest lap during the event’s practice session that set the starting lineup. The event was bumped a day early from its original starting time on Sunday amid threat concerns of rain and flash flooding.

    Despite losing the lead to Joey Logano early, Hamlin regained the lead on the third lap and led through Lap 49 until he was overtaken by teammate Ty Gibbs. Amid a series of bumps and on-track chaos ensuing throughout the event, Hamlin would then capitalize on a 10-lap restart to overtake Gibbs and Logano for the lead. He retained the lead to fend off Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney during a two-lap shootout to achieve his fourth career victory at The Clash.

    The eligibility for the event included all NASCAR Cup Series chartered and non-chartered team competitors. The lineup for The Clash was initially set to be determined through each competitor’s fastest lap time from their final practice session that was originally scheduled to occur on Saturday. This would then be followed by four heat events and a Last Chance Qualifier Race between Saturday and Sunday that would feature 36 participants battling for 23 entrance spots.

    With the exhibition event being rescheduled to occur on Saturday night instead of Sunday due to the threat of rain and flooding on Sunday within the Southern California region, the starting lineup was instead determined through the event’s practice sessions separated into three groups, including the final session being a qualifying session, where the first 22 starting spots were determined based on practice speeds while the 23rd and final provisional spot was left for the top finisher in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series standings who has not qualified for the event.

    At the conclusion of the practice sessions that included qualifying, Denny Hamlin secured the pole position for the main event after posting a pole-winning speed at 68.498 mph in 13.139 seconds during his practice session. Joey Logano joined Hamlin on the front row after he posted the second-fastest speed at 67.925 mph in 13.25 seconds while Ty Gibbs, Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace and Justin Haley started in the top 10. The following names that included Tyler Reddick, Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Todd Gilliland, Michael McDowell, Noah Gragson, Corey LaJoie, Martin Truex Jr., Ricky Stenhouse Jr., John Hunter Nemechek and Chase Briscoe started 11th through 22nd, respectively, while Ryan Blaney was awarded the provisional, 23rd and final, starting spot into the main event based on being last year’s Cup Series champion.

    The following names that include Josh Williams, Carson Hocevar, Josh Berry, Daniel Suarez, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Chris Buescher, Austin Cindric, Daniel Hemric, Christopher Bell, Kaz Grala, Harrison Burton and Zane Smith did not qualify for the main event.

    When the main event commenced under green, Hamlin and Logano dueled for the lead amid two tight-packed lanes entering Turn 1 until Logano used the outside lane to rocket his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse ahead of Hamlin through Turn 2. Despite Hamlin’s efforts in side-drafting and making contact with Logano to stall his momentum, Logano managed to withstand his ground as he proceeded to lead the first lap. With Logano leading Hamlin, Ty Gibbs and Alex Bowman battled for third place before William Byron joined the battle along with Kyle Busch.

    Two laps later, Hamlin prevailed in his early battle and on-track skirmish with Logano to lead for the first time in his No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry XSE, where he moved in front of Logano in Turn 3, as Ty Gibbs would assume the runner-up spot over Logano during the following lap. Gibbs would then find himself locked in a tight situation of fending off Logano, Byron and a bevy of competitors for the runner-up spot while teammate Hamlin retained the lead by the fifth lap mark.

    Through the first 10 laps of the event, Hamlin was leading by six-tenths of a second over teammate Ty Gibbs followed by Logano, Byron and Kyle Busch while Alex Bowman, Ryan Preece, Kyle Larson, Justin Haley and Ross Chastain were scored in the top 10. Behind, Bubba Wallace occupied 11th place in front of Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr. and Michael McDowell while Noah Gragson, Corey LaJoie, Todd Gilliland, Chase Briscoe, Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. John Hunter Nemechek and Ryan Blaney rounded out the 23-car field.

    Ten laps later, Hamlin extended his advantage to nearly a second over teammate Gibbs while Logano, Byron and Busch occupied the top five in front of Bowman, Preece, Larson, Haley and Chastain. Meanwhile, Blaney, mired in 22nd place, was trying to carve his way up the leaderboard to avoid being pinned a lap down.

    Another 10 laps later, Hamlin lapped last-place Noah Gragson, all while having his advantage shrink to within four-tenths of a second over teammate Gibbs and nearly a second over third-place Logano. In the process, Byron and Busch remained in the top five ahead of Bowman, Larson, Preece, Haley and Wallace.

    At the Lap 50 mark and with the leaders mired in tight lapped traffic, the battle for the lead re-ignited as Gibbs used the lapped competitors of Gragson to move into the lead. Behind, Logano challenged Hamlin for the runner-up spot while Busch and Byron remained within close distance.

    Just past the Lap 60 mark, Gibbs stretched his advantage to more than two seconds over Logano while Busch, Larson and Byron moved into the top five. Meanwhile, Hamlin fell back to seventh behind Bowman while Haley, Wallace and Chase Elliott were mired in the top 10.

    Then 10 laps later, the first caution of the event flew after Todd Gilliland spun sideways into the Turn 1 outside wall as he became the first retiree of the event.

    With the event restarting on Lap 71, where Gibbs and Logano occupied the front row, Logano and Gibbs dueled for the lead through Turn 1 until Gibbs bounced off of Logano and nearly got loose, which allowed Busch to place Gibbs and Logano in a tight three-wide battle for the lead until the latter muscled ahead from the outside lane in Turn 2. Logano would retain the lead through Turns 3 and 4 over Busch while Gibbs fell back to third in front of Larson and Byron. During the following lap, Hamlin would overtake Bowman for sixth place while Wallace tried to follow suit.

    Then on Lap 74 and just as Logano was within reach of reaching the halfway segment under green flag conditions, the caution returned after John Hunter Nemechek was sent for a spin in between Turns 3 and 4 after Corey LaJoie threw a divebomb move beneath Nemechek entering Turn 3 that sent the latter into a spin.

    During a one-lap shootout to the halfway mark, Logano and Busch dueled for the lead through the first turn until Logano managed to pull ahead with the lead through Turn 2. Shortly after, Larson and Gibbs placed Busch in a tight three-wide battle for the runner-up spot through Turn 2, which resulted in Larson assuming the runner-up spot as Gibbs and Busch nearly got sideways amid light contact, which allowed Byron to join the battle while Logano retained the lead. As the field returned to the start/finish line to reach the halfway mark on Lap 75, the event was placed in a brief intermission period. By then, Logano was scored the leader followed by Larson, Gibbs, Byron and Busch while Hamlin, Wallace, Bowman, Reddick and Chastain were scored in the top 10.

    At the conclusion of the intermission period, the event restarted under green on Lap 76. At the start, Logano retained the lead over Larson, Busch and Ty Gibbs until Larson made his move on the inside lane as he challenged Logano for the top spot during the following lap. The caution, however, would return on Lap 77 after Bowman bumped Reddick into Wallace entering Turn 3 as Wallace spun his No. 23 Columbia Toyota Camry XSE in between Turns 3 and 4. Amid the incident, Elliott took his car to the Coliseum’s infield area due to a mechanical issue to his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

    When the race restarted on Lap 78, Logano and Gibbs dueled for the lead again while Reddick, who restarted in the top 10, made a bold three-wide move on the inside lane to move his No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota Camry XSE up within the top five just before entering Turn 1. Amid more bumps and side-by-side action within the field, the caution quickly returned after McDowell and Stenhouse bumped against one another and proceeded to send Chastain for a spin in Turn 1 while LaJoie slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting Chastain’s No. 1 Busch Light Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The incident resulted in McDowell and Stenhouse rubbing fenders under a cautious pace to express their displeasure towards one another. Meanwhile, Reddick, who made the three-wide move during the restart, was assessed a restart violation and sent to the rear of the field for pulling out of line before reaching the start/finish line.

    During another Lap 78 restart, Gibbs muscled ahead of Logano and cleared the field through Turns 1 and 2. Entering Turn 3 and as Gibbs retained the lead, Larson bumped and sent Hamlin up the track and almost into the path of Byron, which enabled Larson to move into third place followed by Truex while Hamlin was left battling and bumping Busch for fifth place. Four laps later, Larson engaged in repetitive bumps into Logano’s rear bumper for the runner-up spot while Truex maintained his distance in fourth place. Amid the battles, Gibbs stretched his advantage to more than two seconds.

    By Lap 90, Gibbs was leading in his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE by more than two seconds over Logano, who was continuing to fend off Larson for the runner-up spot as Truex, Busch, Hamlin, Preece, Byron, Bowman and Blaney followed suit in a tight single-file line in the top 10.

    At the Lap 100 mark, Ty Gibbs continued to lead by more than two seconds over Logano while Larson, Truex, Busch, Hamlin, Preece, Byron, Blaney and Bowman continued to run in the top 10. Behind, Wallace occupied 11th place in front of Chastain, Bowman, Haley and Keselowski while Stenhouse, Reddick, McDowell, Nemechek, LaJoie and Gragson occupied the remaining top-21 spots on the track.

    With 35 laps remaining, Ty Gibbs retained the lead by within two seconds over Logano. By then, Busch was up in third place in his No. 8 Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 followed by Hamlin and Truex while Blaney continued his late march to the front in sixth place. Meanwhile, Larson dropped to seventh ahead of teammate Byron, Briscoe and Wallace while Preece was down in 11th ahead of Chastain, Bowman, Haley and Keselowski.

    Down to the final 25 laps of the event and as the leaders were navigating through lapped traffic, Gibbs continued to lead despite having his advantage decreased to a second over a hard-charging Logano. Behind, Hamlin trailed in third place by two seconds while Busch and Truex followed suit in the top five. Gibbs would continue to lead Logano by more than a second with 20 laps remaining, all while trying to bump and place Chastain a lap down.

    With 14 laps remaining, Haley, who was having a steady run within the top 15, fell off the pace due to a mechanical issue to his No. 51 Walmart Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Amid the issue, he managed to coast his entry into the infield without drawing a caution. Amid Haley’s late issues, Gibbs retained the lead by a second over Logano.

    Then with 10 laps remaining, the caution flew after McDowell, who was battling Chastain for 13th place, made contact with Chastain through Turn 2, which resulted in the latter sending the former sideways as he spun his No. 34 Margaritaville at Sea Ford Mustang Dark Horse backward towards the outside wall in Turn 3.

    As the event restarted with 10 laps remaining, Gibbs and Logano briefly dueled for the lead through Turn 1 until Gibbs slipped and moved Logano up the track, which resulted with Logano getting sideways and losing his momentum as Hamlin issued his challenge for the lead beneath teammate Gibbs through Turn 2. Then in Turn 3, Hamlin moved into the lead over teammate Gibbs as Busch joined the battle and tried to shove Gibbs up the track in Turn 1 while Hamlin locked up his front tires. Hamlin, though, maintained his ground through Turn 2 over teammate Gibbs and Busch while Logano was mired back in sixth behind teammate Blaney and Larson.

    With seven laps remaining, Hamlin went wide entering Turn 1, which allowed teammate Gibbs to draw even with Hamlin entering Turn 2 until Hamlin quickly rocketed back ahead with the lead. Hamlin would continue to retain the lead by a tight margin over teammate Gibbs, Busch and Blaney with five laps remaining despite getting constantly bumped by Gibbs through the turns.

    With four laps remaining, however, Gibbs overshot Turn 1, which allowed Busch to draw even with Gibbs entering Turn 2. As Busch and Gibbs made contact entering Turn 3, Blaney tried to shove his way in between both, but Busch assumed the runner-up spot during the following lap. Blaney would follow suit into third place followed by Logano as Gibbs fell back to fifth. Then just as Hamlin was about to start the final lap of the event, the caution flew after Gibbs was bumped and sent for a spin off the front nose of Larson in Turn 3 as he plummeted below the leaderboard.

    With the field restarting under green for a two-lap shootout to conclude the event, where Hamlin and Blaney occupied the front row, Hamlin launched ahead from the inside lane as he fended off both Blaney and Busch through Turns 1 and 2. Despite locking up his tires entering Turn 3, which allowed Busch to try and get to Hamlin’s rear bumper, Hamlin maintained the top spot as he started the final lap of the event.

    During the final lap, Hamlin again locked up his front tires entering Turn 1, which nearly provided another opportunity for Busch to use the bumper. Hamlin, though, managed to pull away from the field through Turn 2. With Hamlin placing a reasonable gap between himself and Busch with the lead through Turn 3, he was able to smoothly navigate his way to the fourth turn and streak across the finish line to claim the first checkered flag of the 2024 Cup Series season.

    With the victory, Hamlin notched his fourth career victory in The Clash, which makes him the second-winningest competitor in The Clash behind Dale Earnhardt, who has six Clash victories, and his first in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. He also recorded the first NASCAR victory for the new Toyota Camry XSE Cup Series’ stock car as the nameplate racked up its eighth victory in The Clash. The 2024 Clash victory was also the fourth in five years and the 12th overall for Joe Gibbs Racing.

    “A lot of it was just what happened in front of me, with [Gibbs] and [Logano], and you just never know what was going to happen there, but I got a really good run off of Turn 2 and just got position and was able to hang on from there,” Hamlin said on FS1. “It’s so chaotic, the restarts, with everyone just bumping and banging, but it feels great to win here at [Los Angeles]. [The win]’s just a great momentum boost. It doesn’t do much more than that, but I’ve cleaned off all the trophies every January 1st into the entryway of the house and now, we get to add one pretty quick. Really happy about that.”

    Meanwhile, Kyle Busch, a two-time winner of The Clash, settled in the runner-up spot for the second time in three years while Ryan Blaney, the reigning Cup Series champion, navigated his way from the rear of the field to settle in third place. Amid the disappointment of ending up in second place in The Clash, Busch remained optimistic ahead of the 2024 season.

    “[The runner-up finish] definitely does sting,” Busch said. “I felt like the first half [of the race], we were better. [I] Had a better car than [Hamlin], but some of the adjustments we made weren’t as good, some of the adjustments they made were better. All in all, just glad to have a good night. Glad to come out of here in one piece, even with all the bumping and banging and everything else that happens. We’ll try to figure out rest of the year.”

    Logano, who led eight laps, came home in fourth place followed by Larson while Bowman, Briscoe, Brad Keselowski, Truex and Byron finished in the top 10. Notably, Ty Gibbs, who led a race-high 84 laps, ended up in 18th place, the final competitor on the lead lap.

    There were seven lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured a total of seven cautions.

    Results.

    1. Denny Hamlin, 58 laps led

    2. Kyle Busch

    3. Ryan Blaney

    4. Joey Logano, eight laps led

    5. Kyle Larson

    6. Alex Bowman

    7. Chase Briscoe

    8. Brad Keselowski, one lap led

    9. Martin Truex Jr.

    10. William Byron

    11. Ryan Preece

    12. Bubba Wallace

    13. John Hunter Nemechek

    14. Tyler Reddick

    15. Ross Chastain

    16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    17. Corey LaJoie

    18. Ty Gibs, 84 laps led

    19. Michael McDowell, one lap down

    20. Noah Gragson, three laps down

    21. Justin Haley – OUT, Engine

    22. Chase Elliott – OUT, Steering

    23. Todd Gilliland – OUT, Brakes

    The NASCAR Cup Series teams and competitors will be taking a one-week break before returning to action at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for the 66th running of the Daytona 500. Qualifying that will determine the front row for the main event will occur on February 14 and air at 8:15 p.m. ET on FS1 while the rest of the lineup will be determined through the Bluegreen Vacation Duels on February 15, beginning at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. The Daytona 500, which will officially launch NASCAR’s 76th season of competition, is scheduled to commence on February 18 with the event’s coverage to occur at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Hamlin, Kyle Busch primed for milestone Clash starts

    Hamlin, Kyle Busch primed for milestone Clash starts

    With Kevin Harvick set to join the FOX Sports’ NASCAR broadcast team for the 2024 season following his retirement from full-time Cup Series competition, Denny Hamlin enters this year’s Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum weekend with the most starts in the Clash as an active Cup competitor at 18, all occurring in consecutive years.

    Hamlin and former teammate Kyle Busch, who has made 17 starts in the Clash, will also enter this weekend with potential milestone starts in the Clash set to occur. By earning a spot and competing in the main event at The Coliseum, Hamlin will tie Harvick, Ken Schrader and Rusty Wallace for having the fourth-most starts in the Clash at 19 while Busch will tie brother Kurt, Jimmie Johnson and Terry Labonte for eighth place in the Clash’s all-time starts list at 18.

    Hamlin’s debut in the Clash occurred during the 2006 season at Daytona International Speedway. By then, the Chesterfield, Virginia, native had made his first seven career starts in the Cup Series in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 11 FedEx entry in the second half of the 2005 season, where he recorded three top-10 results and notched his first career pole position at Phoenix Raceway in November, the latter of which earned him a spot into the 2006 Clash.

    During his first Clash start, Hamlin pulled the upset by leading three times for 16 laps and fending off a bevy of Cup stars amid a two-lap shootout to win the event and become the first Rookie-of-the-Year candidate to win the Clash. The Clash victory would serve as a pivotal moment for Hamlin, who would proceed to win his first two Cup points-paying victories by sweeping both Pocono Raceway events, qualifying for the Playoffs, settling in third place in the 2006 final driver’s standings and capturing the Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    Following the 2006 season, Hamlin finished no higher than ninth place during his next three starts at The Clash as he would be involved in two final lap accidents during the three years. Then after finishing in fifth place during the 2010 Clash event, Hamlin was in a prime position to win the 2011 Clash as he pulled a slingshot move on drafting partner Ryan Newman entering the frontstretch on the final lap and came across the finish line dead even with Kurt Busch. With Hamlin overtaking Newman’s No. 39 Wix Filters Chevrolet by racing below the double yellow line boundary zone, however, he was relegated to 12th place, the final competitor scored on the lead lap, as Busch would be awarded the victory.

    Three years later, Hamlin achieved his second career Clash victory after overtaking teammate Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski amid a three-wide pass for the lead with two laps remaining before steering his No. 11 FedEx Toyota to victory in an event where he led a race-high 27 laps and where only eight of 18 starters finished the event. Another two years later, the Virginia veteran would fend off a late challenge from former teammate Joey Logano amid an overtime shootout to claim his third Clash victory after retaining the lead before a multi-car wreck on the final lap that concluded the event under caution. Ironically, Hamlin, who led a race-high 39 laps, rallied from being involved in an early incident with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. During the 2016 season, he would proceed to win the 58th running of the Daytona 500 and achieve his first Great American Race victory after edging Martin Truex Jr. across the finish line by 0.010 seconds, which stands as the closet margin of victory in a 500 event.

    Following the 2016 Clash victory, Hamlin would finish no higher than sixth three times in the next five Clash events that continued to occur at Daytona. Since the Clash’s move to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2022, he has finished no higher than ninth, which occurred during the previous season’s event.

    Through 18 previous starts at The Clash, Hamlin has racked up a total of three victories, five top-five results, 10 top-10 results, 201 laps led and an average-finishing result of 9.89.

    Ironically, Kyle Busch’s first start in the Clash also occurred in 2006, a year after he won his first two Cup career victories, claimed his first pole position at Auto Club Speedway and achieved the 2005 Rookie-of-the-Year title. Driving the No. 5 CARQUEST Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, Busch ended up in 15th place despite leading four laps. The following season, the Las Vegas native led a race-high 39 laps and was leading with eight laps remaining until he was shoved out of both the lead and draft by Tony Stewart. Stewart would proceed to win while Busch, who dodged a final lap wreck, managed to finish seventh.

    After not being eligible to compete in the 2008 Clash due to not securing a pole position in 2007, Busch returned to the featured event in 2009. By then, he was campaigning in his second season piloting the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and was coming off a season where he had notched 10 victories and finished in 10th place in the final standings. Ultimately, Busch would finish in 10th place after being involved in a final lap wreck and would finish fourth and 16th, respectively, during his next two Clash starts (2010-11).

    Then during the 2012 Clash, Busch achieved the impossible by rallying from two near spins amid a shower of sparks to draft Stewart to the lead on the final lap and pull a successful slingshot move on Stewart to win his first career Clash event by 0.013 seconds. By then, Busch recorded the fifth Clash career victory for Joe Gibbs Racing and the first for the Toyota nameplate. As noted earlier, Busch’s victory occurred after he slipped sideways twice on different occasions, but managed to straighten his car amid a shower of sparks to finish and ultimately, win the race.

    The first incident occurred with 28 laps remaining after Busch, who was carving his way to the front, attempted to turn left and move his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota in front of Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet amid the draft in Turn 1 when he made contact with Johnson and veered sideways twice through the superspeedway’s banked apron before managing to proceed without completely spinning sideways as the field scattered to avoid him. Then with two laps remaining, Busch was running in the runner-up spot behind Stewart and had Jeff Gordon drafting him through Turns 3 and 4 when Busch veered sideways off of Gordon’s No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet and triggered a multi-car wreck.

    As a result, Gordon was turned across the outside wall and sent on his side before he slid across the track and barrel-rolled three times entering the frontstretch before coming to rest on his roof. Amid the carnage, Busch veered sideways three times across the apron in a shower of sparks before he fully spun below the track entering the frontstretch and managed to keep his car intact before he proceeded and eventually navigated his way to victory.

    During his next eight starts in the Clash, Busch notched two top-three results and four top-10 finishes in the Clash, with his best result being a runner-up result in 2017 after edging Alex Bowman and Danica Patrick in a three-wide photo finish. Then in 2021, when the Clash occurred on the Daytona road-course layout for the first time, Busch capitalized on a final lap incident involving Ryan Blaney and reigning Cup Series champion Chase Elliott to storm to his second Clash career victory.

    Busch’s 2021 Clash victory would serve as the final time where the exhibition event occurred at Daytona International Speedway. For the previous two seasons, where the Clash occurred at The Coliseum, Busch has finished in the top three during both events. He finished in the runner-up spot behind Logano despite leading a race-high 64 laps and ended up in third place during the 2023 Clash in his first event driving the No. 8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.

    Through 18 previous starts at The Clash, Busch has achieved two victories, seven top-five results, 12 top-10 results, 131 laps led and an average-finishing result of 7.71.

    Photo by David Myers for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    Currently, Hamlin and Kyle Busch are the top two active Cup Series competitors with the most starts in the Clash at 18 and 17, respectively, followed by Joey Logano (15), Martin Truex Jr. (12), Austin Dillon and Brad Keselowski (nine) and Kyle Larson (eight), as they attempt to race their way into the main event to extend their current starts streak in The Clash and contend for more victories.

    Hamlin’s three Clash victories place him in a four-way tie with Dale Jarrett, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick for the second-most wins in The Clash while Dale Earnhardt holds the record for most Clash wins at six. Meanwhile, Busch is tied with Neil Bonnett, Ken Schrader, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano for the third-most Clash victories at two.

    The starting lineup for the 2024 Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will be determined through four Heat Race qualifying events that will set the majority of the grid and occur on Saturday, February 3, beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1 followed by a 75-lap Last Chance Qualifying Race that will occur on Sunday, February 4, at 6:30 p.m. on FOX. Afterward, 23 competitors from a field of 40 will make the main event, The Clash, which will occur on Sunday and air at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Truex notches late dramatic victory in Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum

    Truex notches late dramatic victory in Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum

    After enduring a difficult 2022 season mired with no victories and missing the Playoffs, Martin Truex Jr. responded back with vengeance by winning the second annual Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 5.

    The 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion from Mayetta, New Jersey, took care of business at the start of the weekend by being the fastest competitor during Saturday’s practice session before winning the second of four Heat qualifying events, which placed him on the front row for the main event. During the main event, he led the final 25 of 150-scheduled laps and survived a chaotic evening mired with multiple on-track incidents and restarts, including the last one with seven laps remaining, to fend off Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch for his first career victory in the Clash.

    The eligibility for the event included all NASCAR Cup Series chartered team competitors along with open teams. The lineup for the heat qualifying events was determined through a single-round and single-car qualifying session that occurred on Saturday, Feb. 4.

    At the conclusion of Saturday’s qualifying session, Justin Haley posted the fastest-qualifying lap at 67.099 mph in 13.413 seconds and started on the pole position for the first heat event. Kyle Busch, who posted the second-fastest qualifying lap at 66.406 mph in 13.553 seconds, started on the pole position for the second heat event while Christopher Bell, who posted the third-fastest qualifying lap at 66.328 mph in 13.569 seconds, claimed the top starting spot for the third heat event. Lastly, William Byron, who posted the fourth-fastest qualifying lap at 66.196 mph in 13.596 seconds, was awarded the number one starting spot for the fourth and final heat event.

    The lineup for the exhibition feature was determined through four 25-lap heat races as nine competitors from a total of 36 competed in each. The top-five finishers from each heat (20 total) earned a one-way ticket to the Clash. Afterward, the competitors who did not advance to the Clash via the heat races participated in two 50-lap Last Chance Qualifying races. The top-three finishers in each Last Chance Qualifying event advanced to the Clash while the rest were left on the sidelines.

    In the first Heat event, Aric Almirola, who started on the front row alongside Justin Haley, capitalized in a race-long battle against Haley to win and claim the pole position for the main event as he also made the Clash at Los Angeles for the first time in his career. Also transferring to the main event were Alex Bowman, Haley, rookie Noah Gragson and reigning series champion Joey Logano, all of whom finished in the top five in the first heat event, while Michael McDowell, Harrison Burton, Ty Dillon and Chris Buescher were sent to the Last Chance Qualifiers.

    In the second Heat event, Martin Truex Jr. prevailed in a five-lap shootout to beat Kyle Busch and win as he claimed a front-row starting spot for the main event. Busch, who led a race-high 18 laps, settled in second followed by teammate Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick, who edged Chase Elliott at the finish line to claim the fifth transfer spot as he makes his 19th and final career start at the Clash. Meanwhile, Elliott joined Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Cindric (who spun twice) and BJ McLeod as competitors who were sent to the Last Chance Qualifiers.

    In the third Heat event, Denny Hamlin overtook teammate and pole-sitter Christopher Bell on the sixth lap and retained the lead for the remainder of the event, which included two late-race shootouts, to win and claim the third-place starting spot for the main event. Joining Hamlin in the main event were Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and, Daniel Suarez, who rallied from a late run-in with Brad Keselowski and overtook Todd Gilliland on the final lap to claim the fifth and final transfer spot. Meanwhile, Bell, who spun with three laps remaining, was sent to the Last Chance Qualifier along with Gilliland, Keselowski and JJ Yeley.

    In the fourth and final Heat event, William Byron cruised to the heat event after leading all 25 laps as he claimed a second-row starting spot for the main event. Byron beat runner-up Bubba Wallace by more than a second as both, along with top-five finishers Ross Chastain, Ryan Preece and Erik Jones, who fended off rookie Ty Gibbs, and AJ Allmendinger on the final lap, transferred to the main event. Meanwhile, Gibbs and Allmendinger joined Corey LaJoie and Cody Ware as the next four competitors to be sent to the Last Chance Qualifier.

    Prior to the event, Logano was the lone competitor who was guaranteed a spot in the 2023 Busch Light Clash based on a point provisional and being the reigning Cup Series champion. With both Logano and championship runner-up Chastain earning a top-five result in their respective heat events and racing their way into the main event, however, Bell was the next competitor in line to be guaranteed a spot for the Clash based on the points provisional after finishing in third place in the 2022 Cup standings. Despite having the option to not run the Last Chance Qualifier and take the provisional to start in 27th and last place for the main event, he opted to compete in the first Last Chance Qualifier as he started alongside pole-sitter McDowell.

    In the first Last Chance Qualifying event, Michael McDowell led all 50 laps en route to the qualifier victory to claim a transfer spot for the Clash. Bell and Todd Gilliland finished second and third as they both also transferred into the main event while Harrison Burton, Brad Keselowski, Ty Dillon and JJ Yeley failed to qualify.

    With Bell racing his way into the Clash based on a transfer spot, Elliott, who started on the pole position for the second and final Last Chance Qualifying event, was the next competitor in line to be guaranteed a provisional to compete in the main event. In addition, Chris Buescher, who initially did not earn a transfer spot in the first Last Chance Qualifier, was left to await his fate of racing or not racing in the main event, based on if both Elliott and Austin Cindric would earn transfer spots through the upcoming qualifying event.

    In the second and final Last Chance Qualifying event, Elliott led all 50 laps and edged rookie Ty Gibbs in a photo finish to win and race his way into the Clash. Gibbs and AJ Allmendinger, both of whom finished second and third, also transferred along with Cindric, who finished fifth but was awarded a provisional to make his first career start in the Clash, where he will roll off the starting grid in 27th and last place. This officially left Buescher out of the event along with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Corey LaJoie, Cody Ware and BJ McLeod.

    When the main event commenced under green, the 27 starters battled against one another for positions through two lanes around the one-quarter mile short track, among which included front-row starters Almirola and Truex until Almirola pulled ahead to lead the first lap by a fender over Truex. During the following lap, Almirola managed to clear Truex and control both lanes through the first two turns. Behind, Truex managed to settle in second in front of a side-by-side battle between Denny Hamlin and William Byron while Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch battled for fifth place.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Almirola was leading by nearly half a second over Truex followed by Hamlin, Bowman and Byron while Busch, Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, Justin Haley and Austin Dillon were running in the top 10. Meanwhile, Tyler Reddick was in 11th ahead of Ross Chastain, Ryan Preece, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney while a flurry of names led by Joey Logano duked it out for spots within the top 20.

    Ten laps into the event, Almirola extended his advantage to more than a second over Hamlin, who was being pressured by teammate Truex for the runner-up spot, while Bowman led a parade of competitors in fourth place.

    Six laps later and just as Almirola started to catch and lap the competitors at the rear of the field, including Todd Gilliland, the first caution of the event flew when Erik Jones, who was trying to challenge Harvick for position midway in the field, spun his No. 43 Allegiant Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through Turns 1 and 2 after getting bumped and turned by McDowell as he became the first retiree of the event.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 16, Hamlin and Almirola dueled for the lead until Hamlin prevailed during the following lap by a fender. Shortly after, Truex got sideways entering Turn 1 after he got hit by Byron as he bumped and rubbed against Almirola, which moved the latter up the track as he fell out of the battle toward the front of the pack.

    Then on Lap 23, the caution returned when a domino effect within the middle of the pack resulted in Chase Briscoe bumping and sending Ryan Blaney spinning his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang through Turns 3 and 4. Blaney’s incident ignited a stack-up and chain reaction as Daniel Suarez, Elliott and Gibbs sustained damage to their respective cars while trying to avoid Blaney.

    During the following restart on Lap 23, Hamlin retained the lead ahead of Busch and Truex as the rest of the competitors behind jostled for positions. Hamlin would continue to lead through the Lap 35 mark. By then, teammate Truex was in second followed by Wallace and Austin Dillon while Busch was back in fifth. The third caution of the event would then fly on Lap 42 when Gibbs bumped Gilliland into AJ Allmendinger entering Turn 2 as Allmendinger spun his No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the Turn 2 outside wall. The caution period allowed Elliott, who was lapped by Hamlin, to cycle back on the lead lap.

    With the event restarting under green on Lap 42, Hamlin retained the lead by a narrow margin through the first two turns. Then entering Turn 3, an accordion effect that started with Truex bumping into the rear of Wallace on the inside line resulted in Wallace bumping and sending his owner Hamlin up the track as he lost the lead and was relegated back to sixth. This, however, allowed Wallace to move into the lead followed by Truex, Byron, Dillon and Busch.

    At the Lap 50 mark, Wallace was leading by six-tenths of a second over Truex followed by Byron, Dillon and Busch while Reddick, Preece, Bowman, Larson and Logano were running in the top 10. Amid the battles around the circuit, Hamlin had fallen back to 12th.

    Ten laps later, Wallace continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over Truex while Byron, Dillon and Busch remained in the top five. By then, Almirola was lapped by Wallace while Hamlin was still mired in 12th.

    Then with two laps remaining in the first half of the event, trouble struck for Hamlin as he spun his No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota TRD Camry entering Turn 2 after getting bumped by former rival Chastain. Hamlin’s incident generated the event’s fourth caution and set the stage for a two-lap shootout to conclude the first half of the event.

    During the two-lap shootout, Wallace managed to fend off Austin Dillon and retain the lead for two cycles around the Coliseum before the event reached its halfway mark and the competitors entered an intermission period. With Wallace out in front, Truex managed to move into second followed by Dillon, Byron and Reddick while Preece, Busch, Bowman, Logano and Larson were scored in the top 10. In addition, 23 of the 27 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    At the conclusion of the intermission period, which included a performance by rapper Wiz Khalifa, the race proceeded under green with 75 laps remaining. At the start, Wallace remained as the leader by a narrow margin over Truex before Truex started to ignite a challenge for the top spot followed by Dillon. The caution, however, was quick to return during the following lap when Gibbs got bumped by teammate Hamlin and spun his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry in Turn 2.

    Over the course of the next five laps, starting with 74 laps remaining, Wallace retained the lead ahead of Truex, Dillon and Preece amid three caution periods and three separate incidents that involved Harvick, Bell, McDowell, Hamlin, Gibbs and Gilliland. Then during a restart with 68 laps remaining, Preece, who had slowly moved his way up the leaderboard and was running within the top five, executed his mark as he moved into the lead over Wallace, which dropped Wallace into the runner-up spot while Bowman and Truex battled for third place. It only took three laps for the caution to fly due to an incident in Turn 2 that involved Allmendinger, Cindric and Bell. Then as Preece retained the lead during the following restart with 65 laps remaining, the caution quickly returned a lap later when Logano, who overshot his entrance into Turn 3, got into the left-rear quarter panel of Busch’s No. 8 BetMGM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as Busch spun and plummeted below the leaderboard.

    As the race resumed under green flag conditions with 64 laps remaining, Preece managed to fend off Bowman to retain the lead while Truex was in third ahead of Wallace while Austin Dillon and Byron were in fifth and sixth.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Preece was leading by three-tenths of a second over Bowman followed by Truex, Wallace and Dillon while Byron, Larson, Haley, Reddick and Briscoe were in the top 10. By then, all but two of 27 starters were running on the track, with 26 scored on the lead lap.

    Six laps later, the caution flew when Haley spun his No. 31 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 2 after getting hit by Reddick, who got hit by Briscoe entering the turn.

    With the race restarting with 44 laps remaining, Preece and Bowman engaged in another brief battle until the former prevailed. Three laps later, another accordion effect resulted in Briscoe spinning in Turn 3 as he also collected Gragson, thus drawing another caution period. As the field attempted to restart with 41 laps remaining, where Preece outdueled Bowman with the lead, it only took four laps for the caution to return as Blaney wrecked against the outside wall in Turn 2 after getting bumped by Reddick and Chastain.

    Amid a restart with 37 laps remaining, Preece pulled ahead once again through the first two turns to retain the lead as Truex started to intimidate Bowman for the runner-up spot by bumping him. A few laps later, Truex carved his way into second, which allowed Wallace to challenge Bowman for third as Austin Dillon joined the battle.

    Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Preece was leading by half a second over Truex followed by Wallace, Dillon and Bowman. Behind, Byron was in sixth ahead of Larson, Chastain, Gragson and Reddick.

    Then with six laps remaining, Truex overtook Preece and assumed the lead, with the latter reporting a mechanical issue but keeping his No. 41 United Rentals Ford Mustang on the track. Soon after, Preece started to fall off the pace as both Dillon and Wallace moved into podium spots.

    With 15 laps remaining, Truex was out in front by more than a second over Dillon and more than two seconds over Wallace while Bowman and Byron were in the top five. Meanwhile, Preece was back in sixth while Chastain, Busch, Larson and Reddick were in the top 10. By then, McDowell was also starting to fall off the pace due to a mechanical issue.

    With 10 laps remaining, the caution flew when McDowell stopped on the track amid a fuel issue with his No. 34 FR8Auctions.com Ford Mustang. The caution erased Truex’s steady advantage over Dillon as the field stacked up for a 10-lap shootout.

    At the start of the 10-lap shootout to the finish, Truex managed to persevere over a brief challenge from Wallace to retain the lead as Dillon ignited a challenge on Wallace before overtaking him for the runner-up spot. Wallace, however, fought back as he repeatedly bumped against Dillon through the straightaways and the turns in front of Busch and Bowman. Then with seven laps remaining, Dillon delivered the final blow to Wallace as he sent the latter spinning into the Turn 1 outside wall with the caution flying. Under the caution period, Wallace pulled his No. 23 DoorDash Toyota TRD Camry in front of Dillon and hit the right-front fender of Dillon’s No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to express his displeasure before dropping back to the rear of the field.

    As the race restarted with seven laps remaining, Truex engaged in a tight battle with Busch, who had methodically carved his way back to the front, before the former prevailed on the inside lane during the following lap and through Turn 4. As the laps started to dwindle, Truex retained the lead as Busch surrendered the runner-up spot to teammate Dillon with four laps remaining.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Truex retained the lead with a decent advantage over Dillon. As a series of late battles and chaos ensued within the middle of the pack, Truex was able to cruise away with the lead and cycle his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry around the quarter-mile short track for a final time as he crossed the finish line in first place and claim the first checkered flag of the 2023 Cup season.

    Truex’s first Clash career victory occurred in his 12th start in NASCAR’s exhibition event as he also recorded the 11th Clash victory for Joe Gibbs Racing and the seventh for Toyota. The 2023 season is set to mark Truex’s 18th full-time season competing in NASCAR’s premier series as he sets his sights on winning a second Cup championship.

    “It was just a really good race car,” Truex said on FOX. “The [pit crew] guys did a great job with this Bass Pro Shops Club Toyota Camry. Last year was a pretty rough season for us with no wins. To come out here and kick it off this way, just really proud of all these guys. Tonight was just kind of persevere, not give up and just battle through it. We found ourselves in the right spot at the end. Sometimes, they work out. Sometimes, they don’t. Tonight, it went our way and we made some good adjustments too.”

    With Truex winning the event, Austin Dillon nursed his wounded No. 3 car to a second-place finish while teammate Busch settled in third place in his first start driving for Richard Childress Racing. At the conclusion of the event, all three competitors took part in the series’ inaugural medals ceremony beneath the Coliseum’s Olympic cauldron.

    Photo by David Myers for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “I hate it for Bubba [Wallace],” Dillon, who achieved his fourth top-five result in the Clash, said. “He had a good car and a good run. You can’t tell who’s either pushing him or getting pushed. I just know he sent me into the corner. I saved it three times through there, released the brake, all kinds of stuff and when I got down, I was gonna give the same [to Wallace]. Probably, it was a little bit too hard. The Get Bioethanol Chevy was pretty good. It’s beat up, used up. [Thanks to] Teammate [Kyle Busch] for letting me go try and get Truex at the end. That was nice. It’s been fun. Hopefully, we can do this more often.”

    “It was a battle all night long,” Busch added. “You can’t count us out. You always gotta bet on us with the BetMGM Camaro. We’ve used the outside [lane] on a lot of passes, everybody would get bottled up on the bottom [lane] and start bumper-tagging, and I’d just go around them on the outside. When you’re deep in the field, you can do some of that and work your way around. Overall, good to get back up to third. We could’ve got second, but like Austin [Dillon] said, I let him go. He was better than us in practice and was better than us in the beginning of the race there on the long runs. I thought he could have a shot at trying to get closer to [Truex] and I’ll push him through [Truex] in order for us to get the one, two [finish], but never made it there.”

    Bowman and Larson claimed top-five results while Reddick, Preece, Chastain, Hamlin and Byron finished in the top 10.

    There were four lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured a total of 16 cautions as 22 of 27 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results:

    1. Martin Truex Jr., 25 laps led

    2. Austin Dillon

    3. Kyle Busch

    4. Alex Bowman

    5. Kyle Larson

    6. Tyler Reddick

    7. Ryan Preece, 43 laps led

    8. Ross Chastain

    9. Denny Hamlin, 26 laps led

    10. William Byron

    11. Justin Haley

    12. Kevin Harvick

    13. Christopher Bell

    14. Noah Gragson

    15. Chase Briscoe

    16. Joey Logano

    17. Ryan Blaney

    18. Aric Almirola, 16 laps led

    19. Daniel Suarez

    20. AJ Allmendinger

    21. Chase Elliott

    22. Bubba Wallace, 40 laps led

    23. Todd Gilliland – OUT, Fuel

    24. Michael McDowell – OUT, Fuel

    25. Austin Cindric – OUT, Engine

    26. Ty Gibbs – OUT, Suspension

    27. Erik Jones – OUT, Suspension

    The NASCAR Cup Series teams and competitors will be taking a one-week break before returning to action at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for the 65th running of the Daytona 500. Qualifying that will determine the front row for the main event will occur on February 15 at 8:15 p.m. ET on FS1 while the rest of the lineup will be determined through the Bluegreen Vacation Duels on February 16, beginning at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. The 500, which will launch NASCAR’s 75th season of competition, is scheduled to commence on February 19 with the event’s coverage to occur at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Kyle Busch fastest in qualifying for Busch Light Clash, heat race lineups set

    Kyle Busch fastest in qualifying for Busch Light Clash, heat race lineups set

    Kyle Busch drove the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the top of the speed chart during qualifying for the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum Saturday night. His lap time of 13.745 seconds gained him the advantage of starting on the pole for the first heat race Sunday afternoon.

    “I never would have thunk it,” Busch said. “I don’t know, you know, it’s pretty cool. It’s just different with the opportunity to do something like this … we’re having a great time. We had a bunch of fans come out just to witness the qualifying.

    “I’m looking forward to seeing what this place will look like (Sunday) and have the opportunity to race this No. 18 Toyota and keep it up front. We’re not in (the main event) yet—we still have to go through that heat race.”

    Tyler Reddick was second fastest and will start first in Heat 2. Justin Haley, third-fastest, will pace the field in Heat 3 and Joey Logano, who had the fourth-fastest qualifying time, will lead Heat 4.

    There will be 10 drivers in each of the four 25-lap heat races and the top four finishers in each heat race (16 drivers) will automatically advance to the main event.

    Following the heat races, there will be one final opportunity to qualify for entry into the Clash with two Last Chance Qualifiers comprised of 50 laps each. The top three finishers in each LCQ race (6 drivers) will advance to the Busch Light Clash.

    The last position (23rd) in the Clash will go to the driver who finished the highest in the 2021 points standings but did not earn a spot in the heat races or the Last Chance Qualifiers.

    The Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum is set for Sunday at 6 p.m. ET and will be comprised of 150 laps. The event will be televised on FOX with radio coverage provided by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    More: Format for Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum