‘The Clash’ encore at LA Memorial Coliseum!

Article posted by Coliseum, June 16^th, 2022

Image: NASCAR

The Busch Light Clash (annual pre-season National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing [NASCAR] Cup Series exhibition event) at the LA Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California (US), will have an encore.

The ‘NASCAR’ stated that following a first-of-its-kind 2022 event on a 0.25-mile track built inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, NASCAR Senior Vice-President of Racing Development and Strategy Ben Kennedy announced on June 12^th that the sanctioning body planned to run it back.

The Busch Light Clash is an annual pre-season NASCAR Cup Series exhibition event held in February before the season-opening Daytona 500. The event was held each year at the 1,01,500-capacity Daytona International Speedway in Florida (US) since the race’s inception in 1979 until 2022, when it was moved to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

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Florida (US)-based the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), LLC is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately-owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and his son, Jim France, has been the head honcho since August 2018.

The 78,467-capacity Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a multipurpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California (US).

The ‘NASCAR’ further stated that the sequel will take place on February 5^th on FOX (Fox NASCAR is the branding used for broadcasts of NASCAR races produced by Fox Sports and have aired on the Fox television network in the United States since 2001) and again serve as the prelude to the Daytona 500 (motor race) two weeks later. The exhibition also will be the first of three visits to California with NASCAR’s premier series also visiting the 1, 22,000-capacity Auto Club Speedway in California and the 47,000-capacity Sonoma Raceway also in California in 2023. The remainder of next season’s NASCAR Cup Series schedule will be announced at a later date.

Kennedy said in a news release, “Our entire industry made a bold move by bringing the Busch Light Clash to the LA Coliseum this past February and it paid off by becoming an instant classic with both new and existing fans. We are intent on showcasing our sport and drivers on the biggest stage and there is none bigger than the LA Coliseum. We’re thrilled to return to the heart of Los Angeles to officially start the season and set the stage for Daytona 500.”

American motorsports racing driver Joey Logano was the winner of the inaugural event, a reimagined and innovative approach to the annual preseason race. There was a pre-race concert featuring American rapper Pitbull, an in-race performance by American rapper Ice Cube – and oh yeah, plenty of beating and banging among the best stock-car racers in the world, with ‘The City of Angels’ (Los Angeles) as the backdrop.

Last year’s rendition marked the first instance that The Clash was held away from the Daytona International Speedway, which hosted the event since its inaugural running in 1979. The 2.5-mile superspeedway was home to The Clash through 2020. The 2021 preseason race was held on the facility’s road course before moving West.

Last year’s event was a landmark success, with heat races and last-chance qualifiers setting the tone for the frenetic action that would follow in the main event.

American motorsports racing driver Kyle Larson said after the race earlier this year, “I feel like I came in with pretty high expectations, and I think everything was just a little bit better. I think the atmosphere was amazing, just everything about it was really cool. … I hope we can do more of this in the future. I don’t know what the fans think of it, the new fans that are here, but I hope they enjoyed it. That’s the most important part. Just really proud of NASCAR for the effort they put in and what they were able to execute. I felt like this was a really smoothly run event, no real hiccups at all and that’s all you can ask for.”

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