2022 Busch Light Clash at the L.A. Colisuem Race Review

 

The 2022 Busch Clash at the L.A. Coliseum! Located in the heart of Los Angeles, California this was something to see. 23 drivers filled out the lineup card as this race finished as the sun was setting. Joey Logano takes it home after a wild one to close out the weekend. Logano battled with Kyle Busch throughout the race with heated action back in the pack. This is Logano’s second Busch Clash win and becomes the first driver ever to win at the L.A. Coliseum. 

( Joey Logano doing his burnout post-race)

The heat races and last chance qualifiers were something to see! Wreck after wreck which just repeated itself went on all afternoon. Drivers and teams voiced their concern over next-gen car parts. With there being a shortage of parts teams only had one backup car if they were to crash. With what happened today, that was all thrown out the window. Six cautions took place in the final LCQ race( Last Chance Qualifiers). Ty Dillion kept the 50 lap sprint interesting, Dillion and Cup rookie Harrison Burton had an ongoing back and forth as the laps winded down. Each chance Burton or Dillion got, they were trading paint. Dillion was later disqualified for jumping the restart in the closing laps, as a result this sent him home. When this LCQ sprint ended, it looked like a demolition derby. Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, A.J. Allmendinger, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Preece, and Harrison Burton all advanced to the main event. 

(All 36 drivers taking a group photo)

Certain moments during today’s race caught my eye. Number 1, a decent turnout in the grandstands. Two, an odd moment where a handful of drivers had issues at one point in the race. Three, how the performances worked out with the race. To start off, it was reported 70% of ticket buyers for this weekend's race were first-timers. This is a good thing, it expands Nascar as a whole and brings the racing product to a new venue and set of eyes. Setting this aside, the odd mechanical failures do concern me. Three failures took place not too long apart from each other. Hopefully, this isn’t a common trend throughout the season. With those issues coming during the race, Ice Cube and Trackhouse Racing Co-owner Pit Bull performed. Pit Bull’s piece took place pre-race as Ice Cube took the stage midway through the race after 75 laps. A concert as a halftime show in Nascar is rare, you don’t normally see that. It was something new as this is an exhibition race. Many people questioned this idea from Nascar as they rightfully can, but it worked out. Ice Cube performed for 15 minutes which didn’t upstage the second half of the race. This in my opinion was ok, I feel like Nascar should only hold concerts like this during an All-Star race or an exhibition event. 

(Joey Logano standing with the trophy post race)

Temper flared throughout the weekend as nearly two million dollars were on the line. The winner was awarded this cash prize if they came out on top after the 150 laps. Many cars were destroyed or damaged in this process. With this being said, this could bring concern as next-gen cars have a short stockage on pieces and parts. Daytona is two weeks from today which is a short time from now. Each car out of the 38 car field received damage after this weekend. This has added even more pressure headed into Daytona prep this week. 

(A look at the flyover from today's pre-race)

In my opinion, this weekend was great for the sport. Nascar has reached out to an uncharted area, by building a quarter-mile track in the L.A. Coliseum. Many fans doubted this experiment including me to an extent but it wasn’t bad. You saw grit, determination, hope, perseverance, and patience from all teams this weekend. I personally feel like the next-gen car has and will balance the playing field when it comes to advantages. Smaller teams will become more competitive over the season as February rolls in. So all in all, the L.A. Coliseum was a success after this track was built in a short amount of time. I would score today’s action a 9 out of 10 after what was on display this weekend. I am looking forward to Daytona and speedweeks pretty soon. 

As we are now past the L.A. Coliseum, drivers, teams, and fans can now look forward to Daytona. The Daytona 500 is next up on the list and is not far away. Speedweeks will take place February 15th - 20th and the 64th annual Daytona 500 is February 20th. Practice, Qualifying and the duels will take place throughout the week on FS1. Nascar will take a week long break for the NFL’s Super Bowl 56 on February 13th. As we pack up from the L.A. Coliseum, tune in for Daytona speedweeks on FS1 the 15 - 20 and the 2022 Daytona 500 on February 20th only on FOX. 

( All images credited to https://www.foxsports.com/nascar/cup-series.)

For next week's race information please view the link down below:

https://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/