Logano Claims Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum

Winner Logano salutes the crowd-
Winner Logano salutes the crowd-
Winner Logano salutes the crowd-

NASCAR took a big chance this past weekend, bringing its 44th Busch Light Clash away from the familiarity of Daytona International Speedway’s oval (and road course) to bring the show to Southern California. Always fickle with regard to racing activities, would fans show up at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to watch stock cars on a purpose-built quarter-mile oval atop the football field? And would NASCAR’s Cup Series put on a good enough show – with brand new Next Gen unibody cars – to convince first-time race-goers that this kind of racing is worth their hard-earned paystubs?

The answers to these questions were all positives. The four-inch, newly-built asphalt track held up beautifully, the cars looked and sounded great – and were very loud inside the bowl that is the Coliseum – and at minimum 50,000 fans braved traffic and a brilliant sunny day to watch four 25-lap heat races, two 50-lap last chance qualifiers and a 150-lap main event, with an Ice Cube music-filled intermission at the halfway point. The racing was tight, there were spin-outs, angry drivers and, of course, only one winner on the track.

Photo: GettyImages

NASCAR was the true victor of this event, the brain-child of third-generation France family member Ben Kennedy, 30, whose generation is known for its dislike of long events, enjoyment of a mixture of contexts (like music and racing) and need for stimulation throughout an event of this nature. NASCAR delivered on NASCAR senior vice president of strategic innovation Kennedy’s vision, and that of Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer.

“When you look at this Next Gen car, all the pressure that was on, really the entire industry, all the long hours coming into this,” O’Donnell said, “I think a lot of us in the industry forgot that we’re in a pretty cool sport. It is fun to be a part of. This event delivered. You saw it in the drivers, the industry, saw it with a lot of folks in the media. I think a lot of folks had fun,” he said. “The Next Gen car really wasn’t a story, and I’m happy for that. This is probably the toughest test we could have on the track that we set up, in terms of durability, beating and banging, driveline, different things. All in all really successful debut for the car.”

Kennedy’s vision was recognized in the energy of the crowd on hand and the large number of younger fans who decided to come to the Coliseum this Sunday. While not many showed up for late afternoon qualifying  on Saturday, they streamed onto the facility at least two hours before the noon kick-off of racing on Sunday and stayed through to the end. In addition to the high-energy music set by Ice Cube during the main event intermission, DJ SKEE regaled attendees throughout the day with his choice of music cuts and, prior to the start of the main event, new NASCAR team co-owner Pit Bull performed a set of his own to get the crowd excited about the first-time festivities they were about to witness.

During this event, caution laps did not count so fans got to witness action throughout. and a clean finish  And there were plenty of cautions in both the preliminary portions and during the main event itself. There was rubbing, and there was a single instance where an interior wall (only the outside walls had SAFER barriers) moved a bit after being hit. The cars all held up to the banging and the drivers – for the most part – were pleased with the way the event played out.

The main event came down to two former Cup Series champions: Joey Logano and Kyle Busch battled for the victory in this 44th Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum. Busch’s Toyota had captured pole position and, by winning his heat race, the Las Vegas-born Joe Gibbs Racing driver earned pole for the main. Logano’s Team Penske Ford, which won its heat, started fourth. Tyler Reddick’s Chevrolet won the second heat while Kaulig Racing s full-time driver Justin Haley took his Chevrolet to the win in his heat.

Four drivers at the front of each heat made the main while, in the two last-chance qualifiers (LCQ), only the top three advanced, along with the driver most successful in 2021 competition who couldn’t make the field in any of the six preliminary contests was the 23rd and final contestant. That left 13 very disappointed drivers and teams on the sidelines, including the cars of Aric Almirola, Cody Ware, Corey LaJoie, Todd Gilliland, Landon Cassill, Ty Dillon, Ross Chastain, Chris Buescher, Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, Austin Cindric, and Brad Keselowski, the latter making his debut as part-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing (RFK). Martin Truex Jr. got the 23rd and final spot despite finishing last in his LCQ.

During the 150-lap main event, there were five cautions, but none in the final 30 circuits. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. caused the first yellow just over 50 laps in, 2020 Cup Series champ Chase Elliott spun in the second turn on lap 65, there was caution for the intermission, while Ryan Blaney caused the fourth yellow after being bunted and Justin Haley brought out the last yellow when he hit the front-straight wall and moved it. There were five lead changes: Tyler Reddick and Kyle Busch traded the lead a couple of times before Logan took over after the final caution at lap 116 and held sway to the finish.

There was plenty of bumping between Logano and Busch but the cars held up well and even their tempers didn’t flare too heavily, unlike Blaney, who was incensed at being taken out on the 115th lap. The Team Penske driver threw his HANS device on the track, forcing the safety crew to fetch it for him. Most of the action occurred in the tight turns, and it was exciting to see how little carnage there really was. Fans stuck around to see Logano celebrate, with donuts throughout the quarter-mile oval, particularly at the start-finish line. He then ascended the Coliseum’s Peristyle to receive his trophy, for the driver’s second Clash victory.

Behind Logano and Busch, Austin Dillon was third, Erik Jones fourth, Kyle Larson fifth and William Byron sixth, all driving Chevrolets. Cole Custer (Ford), Christopher Bell (Toyota) and A.J. Allmendinger’s Chevrolet completed the top 10. Notably last in the main event, Denny Hamlin completed only 52 laps before experiencing a powertrain issue, both Chase Briscoe’s Ford and Tyler Reddick’s Chevy had drivetrain trouble, Ryan Preece experienced an oil pressure problem and Justin Haley was the final retiree after his smack of the front stretch wall, leaving Bubba Wallace in 18th the final running driver, four laps down and emitting smoke after numerous run-ins – but no cut tires rubbing the body to the point of taking him to the pits.

While he struggled in Saturday practice, Logano’s crew chief, Paul Wolfe found the answers the team needed after being in the lower part of the practice results. “We worked with our teammate, Ryan Blaney a lot,” Logano acknowledged after taking the checkered flags. “I owe a lot to him, to see some of the gains that they made and ultimate get the win.” The expectant father, whose wife Brittany is expecting a child any moment, told his wife, “If you’re having the baby, I’m just running right off the track from here! It’s special to get the first Next Gen win, the first win out here in the Coliseum. It’s a special one, so we’re going have some fun and celebrate it.

“I’m pretty sure not everyone had fun today, but we have fun when we win, so we had fun. This Next Gen car is the busiest off-season I can ever remember having, whether we’re testing or not.,” Logano continued. “Just so many variables, so many unknowns as you try to build a car and be ready for the weekend. There was a lot of bumping and banging, and it was okay. That says a lot about the body on the car, but also the tire and wheel package that we were able to have really, honestly, full contact without being nervous about cutting tires down.”

With about 70 percent of the fans in the stands being first-time NASCAR Cup Series attendees, both the series and its competitors were pleased. It remains to be seen how many will show up the final weekend of February for the 25th anniversary season of Cup Series racing on the Auto Club Speedway 2-mile oval in Fontana, Calif., just about 30 miles east of The Coliseum. Hearing about this number of first-time fans, Logano noted, “That’s incredible. That’s nuts. To know that only happened because we came to them, we’re racing in the city. We’ve never been able to do that. Today proved that, hey, we can race anywhere. That says a lot about our sport. That’s the biggest win today for the future of our sport. It’s so big!”

About Anne Proffit 1237 Articles
Anne Proffit traces her love of racing - in particular drag racing - to her childhood days in Philadelphia, where Atco Dragway, Englishtown and Maple Grove Raceway were destinations just made for her. As a diversion, she was the first editor of IMSA’s Arrow newsletter, and now writes about and photographs sports cars, Indy cars, Formula 1, MotoGP, NASCAR, Formula Drift, Red Bull Global Rallycross - in addition to her first love of NHRA drag racing. A specialty is a particular admiration for the people that build and tune drag racing engines.

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