Pre-season games may just be for exhibition purposes, but they are a crucial part of the season for any sport. For NASCAR, this pre-season event has been the Clash since 1979. Since its inception, it has been held at the Daytona International Speedway until 2022 when it was moved to the LA Memorial Coliseum in 2o22. 2024 is the third season in which the race will take place at the new venue and in this period, racing fans have had mixed feelings about the event.

What is Clash at the Coliseum?

The Clash at the Coliseum is a pre-season exhibition race that is held on the weekend preceding the official season opener of the NASCAR Cup Series, the Daytona 500. Clash is considered to be the unofficial commencement of a new season despite there being no Cup points for the drivers. The format of the race is also different from Cup Series races. It usually proves to be a testing ground for drivers to test their cars in a competitive setting before The Great American Race. Newer fans of the sport may believe that it is a recent concept, but the event has been around for more than four decades.

History of the Clash race

The first ever Clash dates back to 1979 at the Daytona International Speedway. For the first 11 editions, the race used to be a 20-lap race on a 50-mile track. The first-ever winner of this event was Buddy Baker driving for the Rainer-Lundy racing team. The race was called the Busch Clash when it began, as it was ideated by Busch Beer's then-brand manager, Monty Roberts. He had worked in motorsports before with Ford and the Ontario Motor Speedway.

Clash at the Los Angeles Coliseum

Moving away from the Daytona International Speedway was a tough decision for fans, but NASCAR decided to take the risk in 2022. There have been several changes since the move. The track is 0.25 miles in distance on which drivers will race for 150 laps. Only the laps ran under green flags are counted and the event must end under green flag racing. As of 2024, a total of 23 drivers take part in the main race and 40 drivers try out their luck over the weekend. For the 2024 edition, the purse amount is $2.21 million, which will be distributed among the racers.

Format for the Busch Light Clash at the LA Coliseum

Over the years, the Clash has seen several format changes. For the 2024 edition, a total of 36 drivers will attempt to qualify for the main race on Sunday. The qualification will be held over 6 races but before that, there is practice. The drivers will be split into 3 groups of 12 for 3 practice sessions each. The fastest drivers in the final practice session will be the pole-sitters for the heat races. For example, the fastest driver in practice will start the first heat race from P1, the second-fastest will lead the second heat race, and so on.

There will be a total of 4 heat races with 9 drivers each. The qualifying positions for the drivers that are outside the top 4 fastest in practice will also be determined by their lap times in the session. For example, the fifth-fastest will start P2 in the first heat, the second-fastest will start P2 in the second heat race, and so on. At the end of the heats, the top 5 drivers from each race will qualify for the main event.

For the remaining drivers, there will be 2 last-chance qualifying [LCQ] races of 75 laps each. The winner of those races will qualify for the event. If the previous year's champion or highest points scorer doesn't qualify through these means, they would enter the main race regardless, but would have to start from the last position. The main race will run for 150 laps divided into 2 stages of 75 laps.

Who are the past winners of the Clash?

It may be an exhibition, but winning the clash would put anyone on an elite list. The first winner of the event was Buddy Baker and the year after, the Intimidator Dale Earnhardt was victorious. Earnhardt would go on to win 5 more Clash races, making him the most successful driver of the event. Legends like Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Jimmie Johnson are also among the winners.

Since the race moved to the LA Memorial Coliseum, the two winners of the event have been Joey Logano (2022) and Martin Truex Jr (2023). Kyle Busch won the event in 2021 when it was held on the road course at Daytona and the last winner of the Clash on the Daytona oval was Erik Jones in 2020.

Changes in the name of the Busch Light Clash

Over the years, the event has seen some name changes. In 2013, it was renamed from the Busch Clash to the Sprint Unlimited at Daytona. In 2017, it was called the Advance Auto Parts Clash before being renamed Busch Clash again in 2020. When the race was moved to the LA Memorial Coliseum in 2022, it was once again rebranded and is now known as the Busch Light Clash.