(Photo: NASCAR Media)
By Aaron Bearden
NASCAR’s Next Gen era is about to get underway in one of America’s historic sports venues.
Announced in September, the season-opening exhibition race is being held at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 6. The event will be known as the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum and will be held on a quarter-mile paved track constructed in a stadium that’s hosted the Olympics, Super Bowl and World Series games in the past.
There’s going to be a lot to learn heading into the event. But before things get underway in the Golden State, here’s a primer with everything you need to know.
What is the Clash?
The Busch Clash has historically been an all-star race of sorts that serves as the unofficial beginning of the NASCAR season. It’s an exhibition event that takes place before the season-opening Daytona 500. The race was traditionally held on the Daytona International Speedway oval, save for the 2021 edition held on the track’s road course.
Starting spots were most recently awarded to winners of prior Busch Clash events, Daytona 500 champions and pole sitters, race and stage winners, playoff contenders and pole sitters from the prior season.
What’s different for this year?
The obvious answer is the venue. But tied to it are some shifts in entries and the race’s format.
Race Format
Sunday’s main feature will be a 150-lap exhibition race featuring a 23-car field. All 36 chartered entries will be permitted to attempt to make the race.
Four 25-lap heat races will be used to help set the field, with the top-four finishers in each heat automatically advancing to the Busch Light Clash. Starting lineups for the heats will be determined by qualifying on Saturday. Caution flag laps won’t count toward the lap total.
The winner of Heat 1 will start on the pole, followed the the winners of Heats 2, 3 and 4. This same format will be used for those that finish second through fourth in each heat, awarding them positions five through 16. The remaining seven feature positions will be determined through a pair of Last Chance Qualifiers.
Each LCQ will be 50 laps, with caution laps again not counting. The top-three finishers from both races will advance to the feature, with a 23rd and final spot awarded to the driver with the best points finish from the prior year that isn’t already locked into the race. That means defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson is the only driver locked into the field for Sunday’s feature.
The Clash will be a 150-lap race, with caution laps again not counting. There will be a half-time break after Lap 75, featuring a concert performed by Ice Cube.
Who’s going to be competing?
Pretty much everyone you’d expect to be there will be present, with all 36 chartered entries offered an opportunity to compete.
This will be the first chance for fans to get used to the new-look field and Next Gen cars. The machines are designed with hopes of improving parity in the Cup Series.
Many parts on the cars are supplied by vendors instead of being built by the teams. The cars will feature larger tires, bigger brakes, composite bodies and an independent rear suspension. They’ll be making their competitive debut after a string of offseason tests at tracks like Daytona, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway.
Among the changes for drivers are the shift of Cup champions Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch to RFK Racing and 23XI Racing, respectively. Keselowski’s move also inspired the new team name for the squad formerly known as Roush Fenway Racing, with the 2012 champ being given an ownership stake in the organization. Busch will pilot the No. 45 Toyota, while Keselowski takes over the No. 6 Ford.
Austin Cindric will replace Keselowski at Team Penske, driving the No. 2 Ford. He’ll compete for rookie of the year honors with Wood Brothers Racing newcomer Harrison Burton in the No. 21 Ford and Todd Gilliland, who is taking over the No. 38 Ford at Front Row Motorsports (FRM). Justin Haley and AJ Allmendinger will be competing for Kaulig Racing in the race as the team steps up to full-time Cup competition.
Gone from the field are 2008 Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman and 2021 Cup rookie Anthony Alfredo. Newman is out of a ride after Keselowski’s arrival at RFK, while Alfredo is stepping down to the Xfinity Series with Our Motorsports following a lone year with FRM. This will also be the first race without longtime NASCAR entrants Chip Ganassi Racing, who left the sport after the 2021 season. Busch and Ross Chastain moved on from the organization, with Chastain taking over the No. 1 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing.
The full entry list is at the bottom of this article.
When will cars be on-track?
(All times Eastern)
Saturday, Feb. 5
12:30-2:30 p.m. – Cup practice (Three groups, three eight-minute sessions for each group.) (Coverage: MRN)
8:30 p.m. – Cup qualifying (Coverage: FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday, Feb. 6
3:00 p.m. – Heat races (Coverage: Fox, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
4:10 p.m. – Last Chance Qualifiers (Coverage: Fox, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
6:00 p.m. – Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum (Coverage: Fox, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Where can I learn more about how this Clash came to be?
Numerous journalists have detailed the process of creating and building the Busch Light Clash. The Athletic wrote about how the track development process went. NASCAR.com shared a photo gallery of the track’s construction over time. NBC Sports detailed the “significant investment” that made the track possible, while also noting that the Clash could remain at the LA Coliseum through 2024. RACER reported on how FOX Sports is preparing to cover an unpredictable event.
Entry List
| Entry | No. | Driver | Organization | Mfg. |
| 1 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 5 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 6 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 7 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 8 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 11 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 13 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 14 | 15 | Ryan Preece | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 15 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 16 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 17 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 18 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 19 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 21 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 22 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 23 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 24 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 25 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 26 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 27 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 28 | 42 | Ty Dillon | Petty GMS Racing | Chevrolet |
| 29 | 43 | Erik Jones | Petty GMS Racing | Chevrolet |
| 30 | 45 | Kurt Busch | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 31 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daughterty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 32 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 33 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 34 | 77 | Landon Cassill | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 35 | 78 | BJ McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford |
| 36 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
