How NASCAR’s Busch Clash at Daytona works; Ryan Blaney on the pole
Staff Report
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The Busch Clash at Daytona is NASCAR's annual exhibition race that kicks off Speedweeks and the final countdown for the Daytona 500. This year's Clash, the 43rd such race, is set for Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. ET and will run for the first time on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.
Television coverage will start at 6 p.m. ET on FS1 with the RaceDay Daytona pre-race show. Then coverage of the Busch Clash will get underway at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. Radio coverage will start on MRN at 6 p.m. ET. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will also have coverage.
PHOTOS: See every winner of the Busch Clash
The lineup for the Busch Clash was determined on Monday, Feb. 8 with a drawing held virtually at Daytona International Speedway. Track president Chip Wile and the crew chiefs were with NASCAR.com's Alex Weaver on Daytona's Facebook page to reveal the results. Each crew chief picked a Busch Beer can that Wile turned over to reveal the lineup spot, and Ryan Blaney's crew chief Todd Gordon picked the pole-winning can. Here's the full lineup:
Lineup
Driver
Team
1.
Ryan Blaney
Team Penske
2.
Alex Bowman
Hendrick Motorsports
3.
Denny Hamlin
Joe Gibbs Racing
4.
Brad Keselowski
Team Penske
5.
William Byron
Hendrick Motorsports
6.
Tyler Reddick
Richard Childress Racing
7.
Chase Elliott
Hendrick Motorsports
8.
Cole Custer
Stewart-Haas Racing
9.
Erik Jones
Richard Petty Motorsports
10.
Joey Logano
Team Penske
11.
Ryan Newman
Roush Fenway Racing
12.
Matt DiBenedetto
Wood Brothers Racing
13.
Chris Buescher
Roush Fenway Racing
14.
Ty Dillon
23XI Racing
15.
Kurt Busch
Chip Ganassi Racing
16.
Kyle Busch
Joe Gibbs Racing
17.
Kevin Harvick
Stewart-Haas Racing
18.
Martin Truex Jr.
Joe Gibbs Racing
19.
Austin Dillon
Richard Childress Racing
20.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
JTG Daugherty Racing
21.
Aric Almirola
Stewart-Haas Racing
With the lineup set, the drivers are one step closer to the race. This year's race will feature 35 laps with one scheduled caution at Lap 15. As mentioned, this will be the first time the Clash is run on the road course, a 14-turn, 3.61-mile course that was introduced for the first time in NASCAR's top three national series last August.
Entrance into the Busch Clash is by invitation only, and here's how drivers qualified for the race:
2020 Busch Pole Award winners
Past Busch Clash winners who competed full-time in 2020
DAYTONA 500 champions who competed full-time in 2020
Former DAYTONA 500 Busch Pole winners who competed full-time in 2020
2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers
2020 NASCAR Cup Series race winners
2020 NASCAR Cup Series stage winners
There are 21 drivers on the entry list to compete in the 2021 Busch Clash, and they include: