Story By: Hal Jack
Photos By: Hal Jack
Los Angeles, CA–
As they have said many times in show business before, the show must go on… well tonight that was the case for the NASCAR Busch Clash at the Coliseum.
With the impending weather that was forecasted for the Los Angeles area for the next three to four days, NASCAR had some tough decisions to make for this non-points race. Should they wait and see what happens from the storm? Or do they just do a free open to the public race on Saturday without all of the glitz and glam to just get the race in? They opted for the first option.
Denny Hamlin emerged victorious from the race that might been the final race as this is the last year of a three-year contract with the Coliseum. The race also had to be moved to the secondary tv market in FS1 due to the scheduling.
Should NASCAR return to the LA area in some capacity next year? Some drivers don’t mind, others wonder why they have to race for nothing just weeks before Daytona.
“I think it’s awesome,” said Chase Elliott, who was voted the most popular driver six years in a row. “I think it’s one of the most logical decisions we’ve made as an industry, potentially ever. I appreciate it. I know a lot of the industry personnel really appreciates the willingness to make a change like that.”
“It’s great that we get to race,” Larson said. “I’m sure NASCAR is taking a huge hit on money being made or whatever now, but at least we get to get the event in and all that. I was not expecting to run any more than a heat race tonight.”
The race didn’t end without some post-race drama that has followed some of these younger drivers of late. This time between Joey Logano and Ty Gibbs.
The Team Penske driver was fired up after Gibbs had moved Logano up the track on a late-race restart while they battled for the lead. Gibbs initially motioned for Logano to speak with him in private, but Logano then grabbed Gibbs and the two engaged in a heated debate on the liftgate of the No. 54 hauler.
“There is Daytona and there is this,” said Logano. It appears that this is not over, and we will see what happens in a couple of weeks.
“The racing is usually an eye for an eye more times than not, or trying to come out with some explanation of what happened,” said Logano, who won the inaugural L.A. Clash in 2022. “Mistakes are mistakes. Here obviously lends for a lot of things, and I’ve been on both ends of it. I got Kyle last year, so … it’s part of racing here, and you try not to because you know, yeah, there’s bigger races down the line, but sometimes you’re in a bad spot and you just make a mistake. That can happen, too. Or it’s just flat-out aggressive in doing that type of stuff. I don’t know.”
