2022 Nascar Season and L.A. Busch Clash Preview


 

The L.A. Busch Clash is one week away as the Nascar offseason is coming to a close. A lot has happened this offseason with next-gen car testings, driver changes, new tracks added to the schedule, and more. Today as February is now two days away, we will be looking at all of the changes that have come over the past 3 and a half months. 


(The logo for the 2022 Busch Clash)

Starting off will be the next-gen car. Race fans will see a brand new car in the Cup Series as Daytona is on the horizon. The next-gen Ford, Toyota, and Chevrolet have been tested at the Charlotte Roval and regular oval track. Following the next-gen test in Charlotte, Nascar visited Daytona International Speedway and Phoenix Raceway to fill out their notebook heading into this year. Nascar officials have agreed on running the 670 horsepower package with a 4-inch spoiler at all non-superspeedway tracks not including Atlanta Motor Speedway. With the reconfiguration to Atlanta, the track is now supposed to race like a superspeedway, therefore it is no longer an intermediate track. For Daytona, Talladega, and Atlanta, Nascar will run a 510 horsepower and 7-inch spoiler package at these events. 


(Nascar's next-gen Daytona Test session from Jan. 11-12)


There have been a lot of key moves this offseason, here are some. Brad Keselowski has moved to the newly rebranded “RFK Racing”(Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing). Keselowski will leave the number 2 and take over the number 6, he will take on a driver and part-owner role at RFK with Jack Roush. Taking Keselowski's place at “Team Penske'' will be Austin Cindric, the 2020 Xfinity Series Champion will now be a rookie in the number 2 car for his first full Cup Series season. Another driver who will be a first-timer this year will be Harrison Burton. Burton will take over Matt Dibenedetto’s ride at Wood Brothers Racing. Burton will pilot the 21 car as a rookie next year, Dibenedetto will race full time in the Nascar Trucks Series for Rackley WAR Racing. The final newcomer in this year’s rookie class will be Todd Gilliland, the 21-year-old will drive the FrontRow Motorsports number 38, replacing Anthony Alfredo. Alfredo will move over to the Xfinity Series full-time driving for Our Motorsports. 


(Ross Chastain on track at the Daytona test)

Moving into the Chevrolet camp, many teams have expanded their lineups. Trackhouse Racing will add Ross Chastian to be Daniel Suarez’s teammate for the 2022 season. Trackhouse brought out Chip Ganassi Racing this past year which gives them a second charter. Chastain will drive the number 1 car over the course of this season. Petty GMS Motorsports is another team that has expanded this offseason. GMS Racing has brought a majority interest in formerly known as Richard Petty Motorsports. Petty Gms will have two cars for the 2022 season with Erik Jones in the iconic 43 ride and Ty Dillion back full time in the 42 car. Kaulig Racing is another team that has seen changes this offseason. The successful Xfinity Series team will expand to the Cup Series, Justin Haley will drive full time in 2022. Along with Haley, Daniel Hemric, Noah Gragson, and A.J. Allmendinger will split time in their second car. Hemric is on all of the superspeedways, Gragson on intermediate tracks, and Allmendinger on Road Courses. Allmendinger will run 16 races total. Hemric 9 races and Gragson 14, three additional races will be exhibitions. 

(Kurt Busch testing at Daytona)


23xi Racing will also see a new driver in Kurt Busch. Busch will join Bubba Wallace for the new season after 23xi purchased a charter from StarCom Racing. StarCom will not be running in 2022 as they have sold out and are shut down currently. Busch will drive the number 45 as Wallace will be in his second year driving the 23 car. JTG Daugherty Racing will shrink for the 2022 season by shutting down one of their charters. Ryan Preece will move over to a reserve role with Stewart Haas Racing, he will compete across all three series during the season and drive for Rick Ware Racing in several races across 2022. 

(The finished product at the L.A. Coliseum)

( Photo Credit to robin.at.tam via: Instagram)

As today is January 30th the Busch Clash in the L.A. Coliseum is today next weekend. The track is ready as well as the drivers. Pitbull and Ice Cube will headline the event as performers during the race break. Expect a lot of paint schemes, news, and content to release this week as the final weekend of the offseason is now. Practice will take place on Saturday at 12:30pm Eastern on FS2, single-car knock-out qualifying will be Saturday night at 8:30pm Eastern on FS1. The two additional knockout qualifier rounds will be Sunday afternoon at 4:30pm on FOX. Finally for the main event tune in Sunday, at 6:00pm Eastern only on FOX.


(An overview look of the L.A. Coliseum ahead of February 6th)

( Photo Credit to robin.at.tam via: Instagram)




For next week's race information please view the links down below.


2022 Busch Clash:

https://www.nascar.com/2022/busch-light-clash-at-the-coliseum/


2022 Daytona 500:

https://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/









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