2022 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum: TV schedule, entry list, format and more
Sean Montgomery
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Two legendary sports entities collide when the NASCAR Cup Series takes center stage in one of the most iconic venues in the world. Here is everything you need to know for the highly anticipated 2022 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum:
Started in 1979, and run under a variety of names since, premier series drivers competed in the Busch Clash at Daytona International Speedway to kickstart the annual competition. For the first time ever, this season's exhibition will be held Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. ET on a 0.25-mile asphalt oval inside Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
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February's race doubles as the competitive debut of the Next Gen cars and a variety of other team and driver changes from the offseason, giving race fans their long-awaited look at a full fleet of redesigned Chevrolet Camaros, Ford Mustangs and Toyota Camrys.
WHAT TV CHANNEL IS THE CLASH ON?
FOX Sports will have complete coverage of the event, including practice and qualifying. The lone practice session on Feb. 5 will be broadcast on FS2 at 12:30 p.m. ET, while qualifying at 8:30 p.m. ET that evening moves over to FS1.
Sunday's coverage kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on FOX with a slate of heat races before the main event at 6 p.m. ET. All weekend coverage will be broadcast live from LA.
Check out the full rundown of TV and national radio coverage below:
Date
Time (ET, -3 hours for local)
Event
TV/Radio/Stream
Saturday, Feb. 5
12:30 p.m.
Busch Light Clash practice
FS2/MRN/FOX Sports App
Saturday, Feb. 5
8:30 p.m.
Busch Light Clash single-car qualifying
FS1/MRN/FOX Sports App
Sunday, Feb. 6
3 p.m.
Busch Light Clash qualifying heats (four heat races)
ENTRY LIST
Fresh off of his first title at the Cup Series level, Kyle Larson looks to continue his dominance as the West Coast native battles a star-studded lineup to jump-start the season. The field will be open to 40 entrants, each vying for one of the 23 spots in Sunday's main event. Currently, 36 drivers from 16 different teams are slated to compete, including rookies Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland.
Kyle Busch is the reigning Busch Light Clash winner, making the Joe Gibbs Racing driver a two-time winner (2012) of the prestigious exhibition. Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch round out the list of active drivers with a Clash win. Dale Earnhardt holds the all-time record with six.
See the complete list of Busch Light Clash winners, dating back to Buddy Baker's inaugural win in 1979. | Every Busch Light Clash winner
Entry
Car No.
Driver
Team
Crew Chief
Manufacturer
1
1
Ross Chastain
Trackhouse Racing Team
Phil Surgen
Chevrolet
2
2
Austin Cindric
Team Penske
Jeremy Bullins
Ford
3
3
Austin Dillon
Richard Childress Racing
Justin Alexander
Chevrolet
4
4
Kevin Harvick
Stewart-Haas Racing
Rodney Childers
Ford
5
5
Kyle Larson
Hendrick Motorsports
Cliff Daniels
Chevrolet
6
6
Brad Keselowski
Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing
Matt McCall
Ford
7
7
Corey LaJoie
Spire Motorsports
Ryan Sparks
Chevrolet
8
8
Tyler Reddick
Richard Childress Racing
Randall Burnett
Chevrolet
9
9
Chase Elliott
Hendrick Motorsports
Alan Gustafson
Chevrolet
10
10
Aric Almirola
Stewart-Haas Racing
Drew Blickensderfer
Ford
11
11
Denny Hamlin
Joe Gibbs Racing
Chris Gabehart
Toyota
12
12
Ryan Blaney
Team Penske
Jonathan Hassler
Ford
13
14
Chase Briscoe
Stewart-Haas Racing
Johnny Klausmeier
Ford
14
15
Ryan Preece
Rick Ware Racing
Jason Houghtaling
Ford
15
16
AJ Allmendinger
Kaulig Racing
Matt Swiderski
Chevrolet
16
17
Chris Buescher
Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing
Scott Graves
Ford
17
18
Kyle Busch
Joe Gibbs Racing
Seth Chavka
Toyota
18
19
Martin Truex Jr.
Joe Gibbs Racing
James Small
Toyota
19
20
Christopher Bell
Joe Gibbs Racing
Adam Stevens
Toyota
20
21
Harrison Burton
Wood Brothers Racing
Brian Wilson
Ford
21
22
Joey Logano
Team Penske
Paul Wolfe
Ford
22
23
Bubba Wallace
23XI Racing
Bootie Barker
Toyota
23
24
William Byron
Hendrick Motorsports
Ryan Fugle
Chevrolet
24
31
Justin Haley
Kaulig Racing
Trent Owens
Chevrolet
25
34
Michael McDowell
Front Row Motorsports
Blake Harris
Ford
26
38
Todd Gilliland
Front Row Motorsports
Seth Barbour
Ford
27
41
Cole Custer
Stewart-Haas Racing
Mike Shiplett
Ford
28
42
Ty Dillon
Petty GMS Racing
Jerame Donley
Chevrolet
29
43
Erik Jones
Petty GMS Racing
Dave Elenz
Chevrolet
30
45
Kurt Busch
23XI Racing
Billy Scott
Toyota
31
47
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
JTG Daugherty Racing
Brian Pattie
Chevrolet
32
48
Alex Bowman
Hendrick Motorsports
Greg Ives
Chevrolet
33
51
Cody Ware
Rick Ware Racing
Billy Plourde
Ford
34
77
Landon Cassill
Spire Motorsports
Kevin Bellicourt
Chevrolet
35
78
BJ McLeod
Live Fast Motorsports
Lee Leslie
Ford
36
99
Daniel Suarez
TrackHouse Racing Team
Travis Mack
Chevrolet
CLASH FORMAT
After Saturday's practice and the initial single-car qualifying session, drivers will be placed into heat races based on their best-posted speed. Every car entered into the Clash automatically advances to one of the heat races, giving them a chance to move on to the main event.
On Sunday, drivers compete in one of four 25-lap heat races with up to 10 cars in each race. The fields will be filled out in a manner consistent with their initial qualifying speed. Fastest will start on pole in the first heat race, second fastest starts on pole in the second heat race and so on (one, five, nine, etc. line up in Heat 1).
The top four finishers in each heat race will automatically advance to the main event, totaling 16 drivers with a ticket to Sunday night's feature. Drivers who do not advance from their qualifying race will be placed into one of two 50-lap Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) races. The top three from each LCQ advance to the Sunday feature.
The final spot in the 23-man main event is reserved for the driver who finished the highest in the 2021 points standings who does not transfer on finishing position in the heat races or LCQ.
RELATED: Alex Weaver explains the new format | Full format rundown, graphic
WHO WILL BE AT THE CLASH?
In short: A lot of people. You really have to be there to experience at all, but here's a quick rundown.
• Pitbull, Ice Cube and DJ Skee. Pitbull will perform a pre-race concerted presented by Coca-Cola. Ice Cube will perform during the race break. DJ Skee will become the first live DJ to perform during the caution breaks of a NASCAR race.
• Cobi Jones, a former player on the U.S. national soccer team, joins Monica Palumbo as in-stadium hosts.
• Riki Rachtman, formerly of Headbangers Ball, will be the host of the NASCAR Fan Fest.
• Speaking of NASCAR Fan Fest, Lightning McQueen makes his first public display in three years in the NASCAR Fan Fest. Guests can take photos with him.
• NASCAR Refuel is launching a new menu item: the Torch Taco at the Clash. The torch taco is a fusion of great track food with two iconic LA street foods – the taco and the LA street dogs.
• The grand marshals will be announced this week, and all will have a notable tie to the Los Angeles area.
CONSTRUCTING THE COLISEUM
The legendary stadium, host to the Olympic Games and University of Southern California (USC) sporting events, was revamped and transformed into a quarter-mile asphalt short track in a matter of months. Infield grass was removed, a track was paved, and walls and catch fences were erected to form a paperclip shape, similar to Martinsville Speedway.
https://twitter.com/NASCAR/status/1473371522328895494?s=20
RELATED: More on how NASCAR turned a football field into a race track
See more images of the groundbreaking and ongoing construction.
[caption id="attachment_338200" align="alignright" width="235"] Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images[/caption]
LAST YEAR AT THE CLASH
Throughout Clash history, there have been a number of dramatic finishes; and 2021's exhibition on the Daytona Road Couse was no exception. Bobbing and weaving through the final third of the course, road-course ace Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney made contact battling for the lead, spinning both out on the last lap. Kyle Busch pounced at the opportunity and capitalized on the duo's misfortune, securing the first checkered flag of the season.
RELATED: Kyle Busch sidesteps Elliott, Blaney | Race Rewind: 2021 Clash at Daytona