STEWART-HAAS RACING
Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum
Date: Feb. 5, 2023
Event: Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum (non-points race)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (quarter-mile, asphalt oval)
Format: 150-lap Feature with a 27-car field set by Heats and Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQs)
Event Winner: Martin Truex Jr., of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang
● Qualified fifth to start second in Heat No. 1.
● Finished first in Heat to start first in Feature.
● Finished 18th in Feature after leading the opening 16 laps. Completed all 150 laps.
“Man, we just made a big mistake there. I didn’t get notified that it was the choose lap and we got stuck on the outside and lost track position, and then I kind of burned the tires up trying to get down. It was a track position race all night. You needed to stay in the top three or four and I felt like took off really good. The car had great speed and it was doing everything I needed it to, but you can’t make mistakes like that. I’m not sure what happened on the communication side there, but it didn’t get relayed to me fast enough that we were coming to the choose. I hate that, but still a great way to start the year. We had a lot of speed in our Smithfield Ford Mustang and led some laps in the big show, but once you get in the back it turns into bumper cars. It is what it is. We’ll go to Daytona.”
Race Notes:
● Martin Truex Jr., won the Busch Light Clash by .786 of a second over runner-up Austin Dillon. Kyle Busch rounded out the podium.
● All but five of the 27 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum kicked off its milestone 100th anniversary with the Busch Light Clash.
Next Up:
The official start of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season begins with Daytona Speedweek Feb. 15-19 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Daytona 500 qualifying takes place at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Feb. 15 with live coverage on FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Only the top-two positions will be locked into the 65th Daytona 500. The rest of the field will earn their respective starting positions in the Bluegreen Vacations Duel – twin 150-mile heat races that set the rest of the Daytona 500 field. The Duel gets underway at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16 with live coverage on FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Daytona Speedweek then culminates with the Daytona 500 at 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 19 with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.