The 2023 Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on February 5, 2023, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. Contested over 150 laps, it was the first exhibition race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Format and eligibility On September 14, 2021, NASCAR announced that the Busch Clash would move to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. On December 22, 2022, the format for the 2023 Clash was announced:
The event is open for all teams and drivers. A total of 350 laps in six races. The 36 charter teams and up to four open teams will participate in qualifying. Should more than 40 teams enter the race, it is unknown if qualifying will determine who advances to heat races. Based on lap times, cars are put in one of four heat races of 25 laps each. The top five drivers in each heat advance to the feature. All non qualifying drivers are assigned to one of two 50 lap heat races. The top three drivers in each heat advance to the feature. The highest driver in 2022 Cup Series points standings not in will also advance to the feature in the last position. The feature is 150 laps and will have 27 cars start the race.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 J. J. Yeley Rick Ware Racing Ford 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Noah Gragson (R) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 13.361 with an average speed of .
Practice results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13.361 67.360 2 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 13.371 67.310 3 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 13.383 67.250Official practice results
Qualifying Justin Haley scored the pole for the first heat race with a time of 13.413 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 13.413 2 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 13.553 3 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13.569 4 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 13.596 5 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 13.600 6 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 13.605 7 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13.621 8 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 13.623 9 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 13.624 10 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 13.638 11 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 13.663 12 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 13.683 13 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 13.714 14 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 13.734 15 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 13.735 16 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 13.742 17 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 13.749 18 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 13.767 19 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 13.793 20 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 13.817 21 42 Noah Gragson (R) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 13.823 22 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13.851 23 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 13.863 24 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 13.870 25 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 13.890 26 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 13.910 27 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 13.915 28 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 13.919 29 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 13.935 30 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 14.087 31 15 J. J. Yeley Rick Ware Racing Ford 14.254 32 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 14.316 33 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 14.489 34 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 15.308 35 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 40.301 36 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 0.000Official qualifying results
Qualifying heat races Aric Almirola scored the pole for the race after winning the first qualifying heat race.
Race 1 Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps1 2 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 252 3 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 253 1 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 254 6 42 Noah Gragson (R) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 255 5 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 256 7 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 257 4 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 258 9 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 259 8 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 25Official heat race 1 results
Race 2 Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps1 6 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 252 1 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 253 2 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 254 3 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 255 4 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 256 8 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 257 5 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 258 7 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 259 9 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 25Official heat race 2 results
Race 3 Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps1 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 252 4 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 253 5 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 254 9 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 255 3 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 256 1 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 257 7 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 258 6 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 259 8 15 J. J. Yeley Rick Ware Racing Ford 25Official heat race 3 results
Race 4 Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps1 1 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 252 4 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 253 3 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 254 6 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 255 5 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 256 2 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 257 9 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 258 7 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 259 8 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 25Official heat race 4 results
"Last Chance" qualifying race 1 Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps1 1 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 502 2 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 503 4 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 504 3 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 505 6 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 506 5 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 507 7 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 508 8 15 J. J. Yeley Rick Ware Racing Ford 49Official last chance race 1 results
"Last Chance" qualifying race 2 Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps1 1 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 502 2 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 503 4 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 504 3 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 505 5 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 506 6 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 507 8 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 498 7 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 48Official last chance race 2 results
Starting lineup Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 2 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 4 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 5 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 7 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 8 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 9 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 10 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 11 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 12 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 13 42 Noah Gragson (R) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 14 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 16 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 17 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 18 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 19 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 20 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 21 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 22 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 24 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 25 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 26 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 27 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske FordOfficial starting lineup
Race
Race results Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps1 2 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1502 10 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1503 6 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1504 5 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1505 14 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1506 11 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 1507 16 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1508 12 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 1509 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 15010 4 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15011 9 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 15012 18 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15013 23 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 15014 13 42 Noah Gragson (R) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 15015 7 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15016 17 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 15017 15 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 15018 1 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15019 19 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 15020 26 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 15021 22 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15022 8 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 15023 25 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 14024 21 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 13725 27 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 10626 24 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 8127 20 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 16Official race results
Media
Television Fox covered the race on the television side. Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing Tony Stewart handled the call in the booth for the race, while pit reporters Jamie Little and Regan Smith as well as Larry McReynolds handled interviews. Chris Myers and Jamie McMurray were the host and analyst in the studio.
FoxBooth announcersReportersStudio Lap-by-lap: Mike JoyColor-commentator: Clint BowyerColor-commentator: Tony Stewart Jamie LittleRegan SmithLarry McReynolds Host: Chris MyersAnalyst: Jamie McMurray
Radio