CUP Series Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

NASCAR CUP Series

Race Lineup

The official 2022 Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum NASCAR CUP Series race lineup, determined by qualifying results, shows the starting positions of all drivers at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum

Sunday, February 6th, 2022

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA

  • 15 Chevrolet
  • 15 Ford
  • 6 Toyota

  • Sunday, February 6th, 2022
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
Joey Logano holds off Kyle Busch to win memorable Busch Light Clash in Los Angeles

At the end of a transformative NASCAR experience that took the City of Angels by storm, Joey Logano held off hard-charging pole winner Kyle Busch to triumph in Sunday's Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.

Logano got the lead on Lap 116, moments before Kyle Larson retaliated against Justin Haley for earlier contact that was not of Haley's doing. Larson steered toward the bottom of the track, knocking Haley's Chevrolet into the concrete Jersey barrier on the frontstretch.

In the competitive debut of the Next Gen race car, Logano had control of the race for the restart on Lap 117 and held the top spot to the finish, with Busch frustrated in pursuit on the quarter-mile track built for the NASCAR Cup Series event in iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as part of NASCAR's daring foray into downtown L.A.

"I can't believe it," Logano exulted after the race. "We're here. The L.A. Coliseum. We got the victory with the old Shell/Pennzoil Mustang. This is an amazing event. Congratulations, NASCAR. Such a huge step in our industry to be able to do this, put on an amazing race for everybody.

"I'm out of breath. I was so excited about this. This is a big win. My wife is having a baby tomorrow, our third one, so a pretty big weekend for us."

It was an exhibition race—but what an exhibition. Rapper Pitbull, who co-owns Trackhouse Racing with Justin Marks, warmed up the crowd with a 45-minute set before the green flag. At the halfway break in the 150-lap event, crews changed tires and made adjustments to the Next Gen cars as rapper Ice Cube filled the Coliseum with loud, rhythmic music.

A pantheon of California sports stars—among them former Southern Cal tailback Reggie Bush and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts—joined NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon in a corps of grand marshals and shouted the command to start engines.

The race itself crystallized into a battle between Logano, Busch, Larson and Austin Dillon. After the final restart, Larson briefly took second from Busch, who regained the spot with more than 20 laps left and charged after Logano.

"I was being perfect doing everything I needed to do—keep the tires underneath me," said Busch, who led a race-high. "When I got close, I was like, ‘OK, I've got to try more and pounce at an opportunity,' and just overheated the tires and smoked them in three laps and that was it. Disappointing, obviously.

"Come out here and win the pole, and lead laps, run up front. The finish goes green and it's not chaotic and we can't win, so it sucks. Congratulations to my son (Brexton Busch) – he won yesterday. That's cool. I was trying to match him. He's winning more than me these days, so somebody better send him a contract."

Dillon passed Larson to finish third, and Erik Jones ran fourth after overtaking the reigning Cup Series champion in the closing laps. Larson held fifth, as William Byron, Cole Custer, Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger and Kevin Harvick completed the top 10.

Busch earned the pole position for the main event with a wire-to-wire victory in Sunday's first heat race, with Daniel Suarez, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Blaney joining him in the Clash as the second-, third- and fourth-place finishers.

Blaney used his bumper to shove past Denny Hamlin to claim the final transfer spot from the opening heat.

In fact, drivers who started first won all four heat races, with no one else leading a lap. Tyler Reddick dominated Heat 2—winning by a full straightaway—as Chase Briscoe, Dillon and Custer qualified behind him.

Driving for Kaulig Racing's newly minted NASCAR Cup Series team, Haley took the third heat, with Byron, Bell and Chase Elliott joining him in the main event. In Heat 4, Logano and Larson ran 1-2, with defending Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell and Jones taking the final two transfer positions.

Hamlin made the Clash by winning the first of two Last Chance Qualifiers, with Harvick and Allmendinger finishing second and third to advance.

If the first LCQ was relatively tame by short-track standards, the second was utter chaos. After hitting everything but the lottery, as FOX broadcaster Mike Joy put it, Ty Dillon took the checkered flag but was demoted to the rear for jumping the final restart with three of the 50 laps left.

That gave Ryan Preece the race win and the final two transfer spots to Bubba Wallace and Harrison Burton, who was spun while leading on Lap 47.

The second LCQ featured seven cautions and saw strong contenders Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman eliminated when their cars sustained irreparable damage.

  • Drivers Entered: 36
  • Laps Scheduled: 150
  • Margin of Victory: 0.877 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 0 Hours 57 Minutes 39 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 39.029
  • Cautions: 5 for laps
  • Lead Changes: 5
  • Green Flag Passes: 313 (2.1 passes per green flag lap)

  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum
  • Race Winner: Joey Logano
  • Age: 31
  • Team : No. 22 - Shell Pennzoil Ford
  • Owner: Roger Penske
  • Crew Chief: Paul Wolfe
  • Joey Logano is one of 24 different drivers to win the Busch Light Clash (1979-2022).
  • This is Joey Logano's second Busch Light Clash victory (2017 Daytona, 2022 L.A. Memorial Coliseum), he becomes the 12th different driver to win multiple Clash races.
  • This is Team Penske's fifth Busch Light Clash victory.
  • This is the 10th time Ford has won the Busch Light Clash.
  • Today's event had five lead changes among three leaders: Kyle Busch (64), Tyler Reddick (51), Joey Logano (35).
  • Kyle Busch (second) has finished runner-up in the Busch Light Clash twice (2017 Daytona, 2022 LA Memorial Coliseum)
Regan Smith, Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart and Jamie Little speak at a press conference
Los Angeles, California - February 4, 2022 : Former NASCAR drivers and members of the NASCAR on Fox broadcast team, Regan Smith,Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart and Jamie Little speak at a press conference during previews for the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Clash at Los Angeles Coliseum.
Sean GardnerGetty Images
Race lineup for the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
ST # DRIVER MAKE SPD TIME BHND SPONSOR TEAM CREW CHIEF
1 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 M&M's Joe Gibbs Racing Seth Chavka
2 8 Tyler Reddick Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Guaranteed Rate Richard Childress Racing Randall Burnett
3 31 Justin Haley Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Kaulig Racing Trent Owens
4 22 Joey Logano Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 Shell Pennzoil Team Penske Paul Wolfe
5 99 Daniel Suarez Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Freeway Insurance Trackhouse Racing Travis Mack
6 14 Chase Briscoe Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 Mahindra Tractors Stewart-haas Racing Johnny Klausmeier
7 24 William Byron Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Valvoline Hendrick Motorsports Rudy Fugle
8 5 Kyle Larson Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 HendrickCars.com Hendrick Motorsports Cliff Daniels
9 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 Food 4 Less Jtg Daugherty Racing Brian Pattie
10 3 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 True Velocity Richard Childress Racing Justin Alexander
11 20 Christopher Bell Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Sirius XM Joe Gibbs Racing Adam Stevens
12 34 Michael McDowell Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 Love's Travel Stops Front Row Motorsports Blake Harris
13 12 Ryan Blaney Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 Menards / Great Lakes Flooring Team Penske Jonathan Hassler
14 41 Cole Custer Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 HaasTooling.com Stewart-haas Racing Mike Shiplett
15 9 Chase Elliott Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 NAPA Auto Parts Hendrick Motorsports Alan Gustafson
16 43 Erik Jones Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 FOCUSfactor Petty Gms Motorsports Dave Elenz
17 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 FedEx Express Joe Gibbs Racing Chris Gabehart
18 15 Ryan Preece Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 Jacob Companies Rick Ware Racing Tommy Baldwin Jr
19 4 Kevin Harvick Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 Busch Light Stewart-haas Racing Rodney Childers
20 23 Bubba Wallace Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Door Dash 23xi Racing Bootie Barker
21 16 AJ Allmendinger Chevrolet 0.000 0.000 0.000 chevyliners.com Kaulig Racing Matt Swiderski
22 21 Harrison Burton Ford 0.000 0.000 0.000 Motorcraft / Quick Lane Wood Brothers Racing Brian Wilson
23 19 Martin Truex Jr Toyota 0.000 0.000 0.000 Bass Pro Shops Joe Gibbs Racing James Small