The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the second of three years of racing.  Last year with a new car and very limited supplies of those cars, the teams were cautious; especially with some team using their Daytona cars in the annual exhibition race.

With a year under their belts, the crews and drivers were better prepared to hit the track for some good old fashioned short track racing including some beating and banging as they battle for position.

Like last year, the format for the race was four heat races with the top five finishers moving on to the main race and two Last Chance Qualifiers with the top three drivers moving on to the main race.

This year the field was expanded from 24 to 27 drivers.  With 36 teams bringing cars, nine drivers would not make the race.

The drivers had practice and ran qualifying laps on Saturday to set the field for the four heat races.  Justin Haley topped the list of drivers and will sit on the pole for the main race – a 150 laps affair with a break at halftime.  Only green flag laps count for all of the races.

After winning the Busch Light Clash last year, Joey Logano is the only driver assured of a spot in the main race.

This year the Memorial Coliseum is celebrating 100 years and NASCAR is kicking off its 75th anniversary year.  IN tribute to the history of the Memorial Coliseum including two Olympic Games and a third on the horizon, Victory Lane will honour not just the race winner but the top three finishes in a podium celebration that will include gold, silver, and bronze medals like in the Olympics.

Joining long time broadcaster Mike Joy in the booth for the race will be NASCAR Hall of Famer and co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing Tony “Smoke” Stewart and Clint Bowyer. 

Again this year, along with the racing was some musical entertainment with Cypress Hill entertaining the pre-race crowd and Wiz Khalifa providing the entertainment during the half time break while the Recording Academy celebrated the biggest night in music with the annual Grammy Awards.

Getting the night of racing started with Heat number one, Justin Haley sat on the pole with Aric Almirola alongside.  Last year Almirola had announced that he was going to retire at the end of the season but as Tony Stewart put it, Almirola was dragged back into staying…and not just for one year, but for three years.

The lineup for Heat number one:
Justin Haley
Aric Almirola
Alex Bowman
Harrison Burton
Joey Logano
Noah Gragson
Michael McDowell
Chris Buescher
Ty Dillon

The heat races are 25 green flag laps around the quarter mile track.  Crews are only allowed to change tires if they are flat and there is no fueling the cars.

Justin Haley brings the field to the green flag to get the night of racing started and goes nose to nose with Aric Almirola before edging out for the lead.

Harrison Burton brings out the caution flag on lap three after making some on track contact.

Justin Haley brings the field down for the green flag restart with Alex Bowman on his outside and gets out in front to hold on to the lead.

Lap five, the top five are Justin Haley, Aric Almirola, Noah Gragson, Alex Bowman, and Joey Logano

Alex Bowman passes Noah Gragson to take third.

Aric Almirola passes Justin Haley to take the lead and brings Alex Bowman with him; dropping Haley to third.

Michael McDowell is on Joey Logano’s bumper looking to take the fifth place spot.

Aric Almirola takes the white flag.

After not making the race last year, Aric Almirola will sit on the pole for the main race.  Almirola, Alex Bowman, Justin Haley, Noah Gragson, and Joey Logano will move on to the main race.

Michael McDowell, Harrison Burton, and Ty Dillon will all get another chance to make the race in the Last Chance Qualifier.


New teammates Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon will take the front row for Heat number two.

The starting lineup for Heat number two:
Kyle Busch
Austin Dillon
Kyle Larson
Kevin Harvick
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Martin Truex Jr
Austin Cindric
Chase Elliott
BJ McLeod

Sporting a new car, team, and number Kyle Busch brings the field down for the green flag start of Heat number two and edges out his new teammate Austin Dillon for the lead.  Kyle Larson takes second.

Drivers are getting three wide in the corner.

The top five are Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Austin Dillon.

Austin Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr battle for fourth place with Dillon taking fourth.

Third place driver Martin Truex Jr is running the fastest laps on the track.

Martin Truex Jr passes Kyle Larson for second.

With nine laps remaining in the heat, Martin Truex Jr challenges Kyle Busch for the lead and after a few laps of back and forth, Truex takes the lead.

Austin Cindric has a little help when he spins out; bringing out the caution flag.

For the restart, Kyle Busch chose to line up on the inside lane behind leader Martin Truex Jr with Kyle Larson alongside Truex on the outside.  Truex holds on to the lead.

With five laps remaining tin the heat, Chase Elliott spins out Austin Cindric but the track stays green.

Martin Truex Jr wins the heat.  Truex, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr move on to the main race.

Chase Ellliott, Kevin Harvick, Austin Cindric, and BJ McLeod will run in the Last Chance Qualifier.


The lineup for Heat number three:
Christopher Bell
Denny Hamlin
Daniel Suarez
Chase Briscoe
Tyler Reddick
Brad Keselowski
Todd Gilliland
JJ Yeley
Ryan Blaney

Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag start of heat number three and takes the lead with Denny Hamlin on his bumper.

Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin battle for the lead with Hamlin getting out in front and Tyler Reddick taking second; followed by Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Ryan Blaney.

Chase Briscoe passes Christopher Bell for third; Ryan Blaney follows suit, putting Bell in fifth place.

Brad Keselowski gets loose but the track stays green.

The top five are Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, and Christopher Bell.

Brad Keselowski and Daniel Suarez make contact and bring out the caution flag; Keselowski gets turned around on the track.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart with just six laps remaining in the heat; Hamlin holds on to the lead.

Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell make contact; spinning out Bell and bringing out the caution flag.

After his race, Joey Logano goes up to the broadcast booth.  He notes that it is more fun watching the race.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart with just three laps remaining in the race and holds on to the lead.

Denny Hamlin wins the heat.

Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, Todd Gilliland, and Ryan Blaney move on to the main race.

Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, JJ Yeley, and Brad Keselowski will move to the Last Chance Qualifier.


The lineup for Heat number four:
William Byron
AJ Allmendinger
Ross Chastain
Bubba Wallace
Erik Jones
Ryan Preece
Corey LaJoie
Cody Ware
Ty Gibbs

William Byron brings the field down for the final heat of the night with AJ Allmendinger alongside and takes the lead with Ross Chastain in second.

Kyle Busch joins Joey Logano in the broadcast booth.

The top five are William Bryon, Ross Chastain, AJ Allmendinger, Erik Jones, and Bubba Wallace.

William Byron has pulled out to a one second lead on Ross Chastian; AJ Allmendinger, Erik Jones, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

Bubba Wallace passes Erik Jones for fourth.

After not being able to qualify due to a penalty for unapproved adjustments during repairs after a fire, Ty Gibbs is moving up and passes Corey LaJOie for seventh.

Bubba Wallace passes AJ Allmendinger for third.

With nine laps to go, William Byron has a lead of nearly two seconds on Ross Chastain; Bubba Wallace, AJ Allemndinger, and Ryan Preece round out the top five.

As the laps count down, AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Preece, and Erik Jones are in a battle for position.

Bubba Wallace passes Ross Chastain for second with three laps to go.

William Byron wins the heat.

Byron, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, Ryan Preece, and Erik Jones will move on to the main event.
Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Corey LaJoie, and Cody Ware will move on to the Las Chance Qualifier.

Joey Logano has departed the broadcast booth and Kevin Harvick joins Kyle Busch along with broadcasters Mike Joy, Smoke, and Clint Bowyer.


The drivers who did not finish in the top five of their heats have one more chance to make it in to the main race with two 50 laps LCQ – Last Chance Qualifier – races.  The top three drivers from each race will move on to the 150 lap main race.

The lineup for the first Last Chance Qualifier:
Michael McDowell
Christopher Bell
Harrison Burton
Todd Gilliland
Ty Dillon
Brad Keselowski
Chris Buescher
JJ Yeley

Michael McDowell brings the field down for the green flag start of the race and takes the lead.

On lap six, Michael McDowell leads the race with Harrison Burton in second; Todd Gilliland, Ty Dillon, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

On lap 13 Michael McDowell leads the race with Harrison Burton on his bumper; Todd Gilliland is in third.

Lap 25, Christopher Bell passes Todd Gilliland for third; followed by Ty Dillon to take fourth.

Halfway – lap 25 – Michael McDowell continues to lead the race with Harrison Burton in second and Christopher Bell in third.

With 10 laps to go, Todd Gilliland is back in fourth place.

Harrison Burton misses the corner and falls to fourth with Michael McDowell continuing to lead the race; Christopher Bell is in second and Todd Gilliland is in third.

After leading every lap, Michael McDowell wins LCQ1 and will move on to the main race; along with Christopher Bell and Todd Gilliland.

Harrison Burton, Brad Keselowski, Ty Dillon, Chris Buescher, and JJ Yeley have been eliminated.


The lineup for the Last Chance Qualifier number two:
Chase Elliott
Ty Gibbs
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
AJ Allmendinger
Austin Cindric
Corey LaJoie
BJ McLeod
Cody Ware

Chase Elliott brings the field down to the green flag and gets out in front for the lead with Ty Gibbs and Ricky Stenhouse Jr battling for position.

The top three are Chase Elliott, AJ Allmendinger, and Ty Gibbs.

Ty Gibbs passes AJ Allmendinger for second place.

Lap nine, Chase Elliott is nearly a second and a half in front of the field.

Lap eleven, Chase Elliott’s lead is down to a second.

On lap 16 Chase Elliott’s lead is down to half a second.

Ty Gibbs catches up to leader Chase Elliott on lap 19.  Corey LaJoie and Austin Cindric battle for position.

Lap 25 – halfway – Chase Elliott has pulled out to a lead of over half a second in front of Ty Gibbs; AJ Allmendinger rounds out the top three.

On lap 30, leader Chase Elliott catches up to slower traffic and puts BJ McLeod and Cody Ware a lap down.

Lap 33, Chase Elliott continues to lead the race.

“The Voice” coach and singer Gwen Stefani comes to the broadcast booth.  Stefani and husband Blake Shelton are friends with Clint Bowyer.  She noted that Blake told her is Clint can do it (as a broadcaster) than any moron can do it.

With 13 laps to go, Chase Elliott has just a quarter of a second lead on Ty Gibbs with AJ Allmendinger rounding out the top three.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Austin Cindric, Corey LaJoie, Cody Ware, and BJ McLeod are all a lap down.

Just eight laps to go, Chase Elliott holds on to the lead by half a second.

Just five laps remain in the race, Chase Elliott has led every lap so far.

On the final lap, Chase Elliott and Ty Gibbs battle for the lead.  Chase Elliott wins the race after leading every lap.  Elliott, Ty Gibbs, and AJ Allmendinger will all move on to the main race.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Austin Cindric, Corey LaJoie, Cody Ware, and BJ McLeod have all been eliminated.


The lineup for the 150 lap main race:
Aric Almirola
Martin Truex Jr
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Alex Bowman
Kyle Busch
Chase Briscoe
Bubba Wallace
Justin Haley
Austin Dillon
Tyler Reddick
Ross Chastain
Noah Gragson
Kyle Larson
Ryan Blaney
Ryan Preece
Joey Logano
Kevin Harvick
Daniel Suarez
Erik Jones
Michael McDowell
Chase Elliott
Christopher Bell
Ty Gibbs
Todd Gilliland
AJ Allmendiger
Austin Cindric

Grand marshal actor Rob Lowe gave a rousing command to start the engines.

Jimmie Johnson joins the crew in the broadcast booth.

When the heat races started the track temperature was 93 degrees; at race start the track temperature is 68 degrees.

Aric Almirola brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Heisman trophy winner Caleb Williams waving the green flag as the honourary race starter.

There are no stages in The Clash race, just a halftime break at 75 laps to give the crews a chance to make adjustments to the cars.

Aric Almirola and Martin Truex Jr battle for the lead with Almirola getting out in front for the lead.

On lap four the are already getting three wide.

Lap six, Aric Almirola leads the race; Martin Truex Jr, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.

Denny Hamlin passes Martin Truex Jr for second on lap nine.

Bubba Wallace passes Chase Briscoe on the outside for seventh place.

On lap 12, Kyle Busch passes Alex Bowman for fifth.

Lap 13, the top five are Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr, William Byron, and Kyle Busch.

Lap 15, the leaders have caught up to the back of the field.  Prior to the start of the race Clint Bowyer, Smoke, Mike Joy, and Jimmie Johnson were discussing the over/under on how long it would take for the leaders to begin lapping cars.

Erik Jones brings out the caution flag on lap 17 when he spins out after making contact with Michael McDowell and Kevin Harvick.

Aric Almirola brings the field down for the green flag on lap 17 with Denny Hamlin on the inside.  Almirola and Hamlin battle side by side for the lead.

Erik Jones heads for the infield pits with a damaged car.

Christopher Bell gets turned around but saves the car and the track stays green.

Denny Hamlin takes the lead of the race.

On lap 21 the top five are Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Busch, William Byron, and Bubba Wallace with Aric Almirola in sixth.

Ryan Blaney brings out the caution flag on lap 24 after spinning out due to some on track contact.

Aric Almirola’s crew noted that he ended up on the outside lane during the last restart after he missed the choose cone.

Erik Jones is out of the race.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 24 with Kyle Busch alongside.  Hamlin gets out in front for the lead.  Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr battle for second.

With Martin Truex Jr in second, Bubba Wallace and Austin Dillon pass Kyle Busch on lap 27.

It may be an exhibition race but the drivers are running the race like it was a points race.

On lap 32 the top five are Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr, Bubba Wallace, Austin Dillon, and Kyle Busch.

Ryan Blaney goes a lap down.

On lap 37, Denny Hamlin has a one second lead with Martin Truex Jr, Bubba Wallace, Austin Dillon, and Kyle Busch rounding out the top five.

On lap 41, Denny Hamlin continues to lead the race and passes Chase Elliott to put Elliott a lap down.

AJ Allmendinger brings out the caution flag on lap 43; he calls the car undrivable.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart but Bubba Wallace alongside on lap 43; Hamlin gets out in front with Bubba taking second.

Bubba Wallace bumps Denny Hamlin and takes the lead; Hamlin drops to seventh place.

On lap 46 the top five are Bubba Wallace, Martin Truex Jr, William Byron, Austin Dillon, and Kyle Busch; Denny Hamlin falls to ninth place.

Denny Hamlin finally gets into line in 12th place.

On lap 52 the top five are Bubba Wallace, Martin Truex Jr, William Byron, Austin Dillon, and Kyle Busch.

On lap 59, 20th place driver Kevin Harvick is only a quarter of a lap in front of the leaders.

Bubba Wallace is over half a second out in front on lap 61 with Martin Truex Jr, William Byron, Austin Dillon, and Kyle Busch rounding out the top five.

Austin Dillon passes William Byron for third on lap 64.

On lap 66, pole sitter Aric Almirola goes a lap down in 23rd place.

Denny Hamlin spins and brings out the caution flag on lap 76 after  some contact with Ross Chastain just two laps before the break.

After the halftime break, Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag restart with Austin Dillon alongside.  There are 26 cars on the track with 23 on the lead lap.  Bubba Wallace gets out in front for the lead while Martin Truex Jr and Austin Dillon battle for second.

With the slower speeds on the quarter mile track, NASCAR has modified the safer barriers at the Coliseum by removing some of the foam barriers.

Ty Gibbs brings out the caution flag after he spins out.

Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 76 with Martin Truex Jr alongside.  Wallace edges out for the lead with Truex on his bumper.

Kevin Harvick brings out the seventh caution flag on lap 78.

Once again Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag restart with Austin Dillon alongside; Wallace holds on to his lead while Martin Truex Jr and Austin Dillon battle for second.

The top five on lap 80 are Bubba Wallace, Martin Truex Jr, Ryan Preece, Alex Bowman, and Austin Dillon.

Michael McDowell brings out the caution flag on lap 81 after some contact with Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney.  One of the remote camera along the track was also damaged in the melee.

Ty Gibbs’ car is in the infield pits with the hood up.

Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag restart with Martin Truex Jr alongside with 69 laps remaining in the race.  The Memorial Coliseum has been the sight of many football games and track and field events; something the Wallace family is very familiar with, Bubba Wallace’s mother used to run track.

Todd Gilliland spins out in front of the leaders and brings out caution flag number nine.  There was some contact between Gilliland and Kevin Harvick.

Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ryan Preece alongside; Ryan Preece takes the lead.

With 67 laps to go the top five are Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr, and Kyle Busch.

Alex Bowman passes Bubba Wallace for second.

The caution flag comes out on lap 86 when AJ Allmendinger, Christopher Bell, and Austin Cindric make contact.

Since the halftime restart, the drivers have had only three green flag racing laps.

Ryan Preece brings the field down for the green flag restart with Alex Bowman alongside; there are 65 laps remaining in the race

With 64 laps to go, Joey Logano never slowed down when he make contact with Kyle Busch and spinning Busch around.  Busch gets the car moving again.

Ryan Preece brings the field down for the green flag restart with Alex Bowman alongside; Ryan Preece takes the lead.

With 62 laps to go the top five are Ryan Preece, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr, Bubba Wallace, and Austin Dillon.

Lap 98, the drivers have gotten single file on the track.

Lap 105, the top five are Ryan Preece, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr, Bubba Wallace, and Austin Dillon.

Justin Haley brings out caution flag number 12 on lap 106 after some contact with Chase Briscoe.

Ryan Preece brings the field down for the green flag restart with Alex Bowman alongside; Preece takes the lead with Martin Truex Jr and Alex Bowman battling for second.

Lap 108 Chase Briscoe spins out and brings out caution flag number 13.  Briscoe’s engine stops but he gets it going again.

Ryan Preece brings the field down for the green flag restart.

On lap 110 the top five are Ryan Preece, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr, Bubba Wallace, and Austin Dillon.

Ryan Blaney brings out the caution flag when he hits the wall after some on track contact.

Ryan Preece brings the field down for the green flag restart with Alex Bowman alongside; Preece edges out in front for the lead.  Martin Truex Jr and Alex Bowman battle for second.

Martin Truex Jr takes second place

Bubba Wallace and Austin Dillon battle for third; Wallace takes third.

Lap 118 the top five are Ryan Preece, Martin Truex Jr, Bubba Wallace, Austin Dillon, and Alex Bowman.  After the wreck that dropped him to 25th, Kyle Busch has moved back into the top 10.

With 27 laps to go, Ryan Preece leads the race with Martin Truex Jr on his bumper.

With 25 laps remaining in the race, Martin Truex Jr passes Ryan Preece to take the lead; Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.

With 20 laps to go, Austin Dillon hits Ryan Preece but the track stays green.  Preece reports an electrical issue.

On lap 132 the top five are Martin Truex Jr, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, and Ryan Preece.

William Byron passes Ryan Preece for fifth

With 15 laps to go, Ryan Preece reports that he is back up to speed.

Martin Truex Jr has pulled out to a lead of nearly two seconds.

Michael McDowell is slowed on the track.

Just 10 laps remain in the race, Martin Truex Jr has a lead of nearly two seconds on Austin Dillon; Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, and William Byron round out the top five.

Michael McDowell brings out the caution flag after getting up against the sand barrels at the entrance to pit road with just nine laps remaining in the race.

With the plethora of caution flag during the second half of the race, the broadcast crew reported that in the overtime rules, the leader must cross the finish line under the green flag.

Martin Truex Jr leads the race with Bubba Wallace alongside as the green flag drops for the final 10 laps.  With Truex in front, Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace battle for second while Alex Bowm and Kyle Busch battle for fourth.

With eight laps to go, Austin Dillon hits Bubba Wallace; sending Wallace spinning into the wall.

The drivers who ran in the Last Chance Qualifier races were not allowed to refuel the cars and are now experiencing some fuel issues.

With four laps remaining in the race the top five are Martin Truex Jr, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, and Kyle Larson.

Martin Truex Jr takes the white flag.

Martin Truex Jr wins the race for the first time and his first race win after not winning any races during the 222 season. 

With the special podium finish, Martin Truex Jr, Austin Dillon, and Kyle Busch will all receive medals.

The results of the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum:
Martin Truex Jr
Austin Dillon
Kyle Busch
Alex Bowman
Kyle Larson
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Preece
Ross Chastain
Kevin Harvick
William Byron
Denny Hamlin
Justin Haley
Chase Briscoe
Noah Gragson
Christopher Bell
Joey Logano
Ryan Blaney
Aric Almirola
AJ Allmendinger
Daniel Suarez
Chase Elliott
Bubba Wallace
Todd Gilliland
Michael McDowell
Austin Cindric
Ty Gibbs
Erik Jones