The NHL has turned football fields into hockey rinks, the NCAA has turned a race track into a college football field, and NASCAR has taken a high banked asphalt track into a dirt track.  This weekend race fans will see a historic football field become a quarter mile short track as the NASCAR Cup Series kicks off with the annual Busch Light Clash at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.

But exactly what did it take to transform the football field into a race track?

The process began with asking the question “how do you protect what they have here and build up a track within the middle of a football field?”

While a small patch of the grass field remains, much of the grass is now covered in asphalt; but the asphalt has been laid in such a way that it will not harm the grass even though two dozen 3,400 pound cars will be racing on the track.  The east endzone is now turns three and four.

On December 21, 2021, construction began and in just one month the track was laid and ready for painting.

It began with placing a big plastic barrier of Visqueen laid upon the floor of the Coliseum; covering the field, turf, and dirt.  Next came a layer of plywood.  Then came a layer of geotextile woven fabric that will also help with slipping.

Next came 9,200 cubic yards of crushed miscellaneous base making 12 inches of fill in the infield and four feet on the track to create a banking of 2.5 degrees.

Finally it was time for the asphalt – four inches deep and over 13,000 square yards of it.

Laying the track was a tricky experience, construction crews had to be very careful not to damage the Visqueen or create pockets in the base that could damage the course.

In its long history, the LA Memorial Coliseum has been host to UCLA Trojan football games, Los Angeles Gitinis rugby, two summer Olympic games, a World Series in 1959, two Super Bowl games, and numerous rock concerts including Kanye West.  In fact, some of the base used to build the track was left over from West’s show.

The catch fence, walls, and safer barriers were all loaned to the effort by Auto Club Speedway in nearby Fontana and the Long Beach Grand Prix.

One minor modification had to be made to the Coliseum in relation to the entrance tunnel.  Building up of the track meant a portion of the tunnel had to be repaved in order for the new Next Gen cars to get on the track without bottoming out.

Press and coaches boxes are reserved for NASCAR officials.  The home team locker room will become the Media Center; with the away locker room reserved for the “green room”.  The training room will become the “infield care center”.  FOX Sports will take over the television booth for the broadcast; while the jumbotrons will be dedicated to the entertainment.

With no garage or pit lanes, the haulers will take up part of the parking lot.  There will be no in race live pit stops but there is a “halftime” break that will include a musical performance.

Once the Clash is complete, NASCAR has until February 26 to get everything cleared out.  The Giltinis have a home game on February 27.

Since its inception in 1979, this is the first time that the Clash will take place outside of its home at Daytona International Speedway.