NASCAR Busch Light Clash at L.A. Coliseum Betting Preview

The NASCAR Cup Series begins its 2022 schedule with a non-points race on the storied grounds of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the first time ever, an experiment to attract a new audience one week before the Super Bowl at nearby SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

It’s a nice idea in theory, but replacing the football field and Olympic track for a flat quarter-mile asphalt layout may have gone too far. Especially since NASCAR will be debuting the NextGen car that produces 670 horsepower and has one hub on the wheels like IndyCar instead of traditional stock car lugnuts. It’s also NextGen safety to its finest yet, so thumbs up for driver safety.

The 2022 Busch Light Clash is going to be a mess because there’s only one groove. A quarter-mile flat track with 23 drivers crammed together is going to create lots of wrecks and lots of bad blood between a few drivers which is the type of excitement most of us love, but manufacturing wrecks with a shorter track than is used in any other modern-day race is too calculated. It’s as if NASCAR is rooting for wrecks to draw in the non-fan.

But the whole idea still has me excited for the festivities to begin after a quick winter break from NASCAR. Drop that damn green flag already!

Put on a show NASCAR, and let the boys be boys. Denny Hamlin, you have a score to settle with Alex Bowman. No points lost, slow speeds, punt him. Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott have a past score to settle. Let’s get it on. No points, no problem. Every car is going to look like it was in a wreck anyway so nothing to save.

Qualifying between 36 drivers will take place on Saturday and then Sunday morning there will be four 10-lap stage qualifying heat races that will determine the starting order for 23 drivers. The Heat races should also produce quite a few wrecks before the 150-lap Busch Light Clash even starts.

“I have no idea what it’s going to be like,” Kyle Busch said. “Top speed is probably going to be around 60 mph and the low speed in the corners maybe 20 mph. It’s going to be action-packed. We aren’t going to be able to spread out and get away from each other. We are going to be all over the top of each other’s bumpers and doors. Double-file restarts are going to be really tight, and there’s going to be a lot of fenders bent and probably feelings hurt.”

In other words, yes, it’s going to be a mess. Lots of wrecks making it a long 150 laps.

But Busch is going to be one of the drivers to beat because he has the best record on the short tracks the Cup series races on. In 97 short track starts, Busch has 16 wins – 6 more than any other – 49 top-fives, and 5,549 laps led, all of which lead active leaders. Short-track racing is in his blood. I don’t ever think I saw him lose as a teenager on the ?-mile Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Busch also won the Busch Clash last season on the Daytona road course.

The next best short track driver statistically is Denny Hamlin with 10 wins, 40 top-fives, and 4,989 laps led between 93 starts. He opened as the +650 favorite at Caesars books but defending Cup champion Kyle Larson is now their 5-to-1 favorite after opening Larson at 12-to-1 odds. Larson had his best short track season last year and has two wins overall on them. He’s ready to go.

“I participated in several tests with the new Camaro, but last week’s test at Phoenix Raceway was my first with the car with all the changes and updates for the 2022 season,” Larson said. “The test went well, and I’m looking forward to actually racing it.”

The NextGen will produce 670 horsepower everywhere with spoiler heights changing at different tracks. No more three different types of cars like we saw the last few seasons with a 550 HP, 750 HP, and 550 HP Superspeedway set-up. Hendrick, Team Penske, and Joe Gibbs drivers should have an edge here because of spending more money to get everything perfect.

Team Penske can be thrown in that group as well in spending to be fast. Both Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney will be very good this week as long as they stay out of the muck, which there will be a lot of, but rookie Austin Cindric takes over the No. 2 Ford after Brad Keselowski left to be driver and part-owner of Roush-Fenway Racing. T’s now RFK Racing with the K being for him.

“The Clash is a new challenge for us, not only is it the first race of the season, but it’s a new race at a new track, and a completely different style of racing we’ve seen,” said Brad Keselowski who makes his first Cup start without Team Penske. To say there’s a lot of uncertainty and a lot of hype would be an understatement. When you go to a track you’ve never been to before, the most difficult thing to do is prepare for it and know what to expect. With it being my first race with RFK and our first race together, any success we can have there is going to be huge for our company.”

Read More Here.....top-5 Finish Prediction

Aric Almirola is 40/1 to win 2022 Busch Light Clash

 

Aric Almirola Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum No. 10 Farmer John Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum ● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 6 ● Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum ● Layout: Quarter-mile oval ● Format: 150-lap Feature with a 23-car field set by Heats and Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) ● TV/Radio: FOX / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio ● Note: Heats and LCQ are broadcast live from 3-5 p.m. EST. Feature airs live at 6 p.m. EST.

Notes of Interest

●  One More Time: On Jan. 10, Aric Almirola released a video on his YouTube channel announcing his retirement from fulltime NASCAR Cup Series racing after the 2022 season to spend more time with his family. This year marks Almirola’s 11th fulltime Cup Series season. The official press release can be viewed here.   ●  NextGen: Before Almirola enters his next chapter, the 37-year-old native of Tampa, Florida will get a taste of the next chapter of NASCAR during the 2022 season with the NextGen car debuting this weekend at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The NextGen is the seventh iteration of the stock car NASCAR introduced in 1949. Each version has been an improvement from its previous form with a goal that is morein line with what manufacturers sell and consumers want. Design and spec changes include a sequential shifter, 670-horsepower engines, a single center-lock wheel nut akin to Indy cars and sports cars, and car numbers just behind the front wheels. Diving deeper, there are carbon fiber-reinforced plastic body panels, a carbon-fiber floor that covers the entire underneath portion of the car, and a rear-end diffuser – all of which are in place to reduce dirty air. Also, rack-and-pinion steering replaces the archaic recirculating ball, and an independent rear suspension is a drastic upgrade from the full floating axle.    ●  The Busch Light Clash is the traditional non-points, season-opening race. This year’s edition marks the first time since 1981 that a Cup Series season has been kicked off at a track other than Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. While NASCAR is introducing the NextGen car to its legions of fans, the industry also wasted no time introducing a glimpse of what could be the future of stock car racing by constructing a quarter-mile track in the confines of the historic Los Angeles Coliseum – well known for hosting two summer Olympics, numerous Super Bowls, and college football’s University of Southern California Trojans. While this is a new concept in the modern era of stock car racing, similar configurations have been run. The series raced on quarter-mile Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, from 1958 to 1971. This year’s Clash field is open to 40 racers, with each driver vying for one of 23 spots in Sunday’s feature race.    ●  Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum format: After Saturday’s practice and the initial single-car qualifying session, drivers will be placed into heat races based on their best-posted qualifying 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’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. ●  Busch Light Clash History: In Almirola’s five previous Clash appearances, he has finished in the top-10 three times with a best finish of sixth.    ●  Appearances: On Saturday, Almirola will join “The Cars Garage” hosts to test his driving skills on a custom, radio-controlled obstacle course at the PIXAR Cars activation just outside the Coliseum from 12:30 to 1 p.m. PST. Later, he’ll join his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates for a Q&A at the Fan Fest stage from 4 to 4:15 p.m.    ●  Almirola’s career: In 388 NASCAR Cup Series starts, Almirola has earned three wins, 26 top-five finishes, 84 top-10s, three poles, and has led 893 laps.    ●  2021 Recap: Almirola’s 2021 season was full of ups and downs. He started the season by winning his Duel qualifying race at Daytona before a string of bad luck and unfortunate finishes plagued the No. 10 Smithfield team. On June 13, Almirola’s luck turned when he raced his way into the NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, and the following weekend he earned the pole award for the Cup Series’ inaugural race at Nashville Superspeedway before earning his first top-five finish of the season. Four weeks later, on July 18, Almirola and the No. 10 team visited victory lane at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon after leading 46 laps at the 1.058-mile flat oval to earn his third NASCAR Cup Series win and catapulting the No. 10 team into the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Almirola did not advance past the Round of 16 and finished 15th in the playoff point standings.   ●  Smithfield Foods rejoins Almirola and the No. 10 Ford team as the anchor sponsor for his final fulltime NASCAR season. Smithfield has been a sponsor of Almirola’s for the entirety of his fulltime NASCAR Cup Series career – making it one of the longest-lasting partnerships in NASCAR.    ●  The No. 10 Farmer John scheme will be Almirola’s first NASCAR NextGen paint scheme to hit the track for the 2022 season. Pioneering a revolution in the supply of locally flavored meats, Farmer John has been a Southern California staple since 1931. This will be the fourth time Farmer John has been a primary sponsor on the No. 10 Ford and the first time this particular red, white and blue livery has adorned Almirola’s car. Fans can keep up with the California brand’s NASCAR experience, which includes a prerace Fan Zone for all fans and special appearances by Farmer John himself, by following on Instagram (@FarmerJohnLA), Twitter (@FarmerJohnLA), and Facebook (@FarmerJohn) and using the hashtags #SoFarmerJohn and #FJLABlitz   ●  Pristine Auction, an online auction site, specializing in autographed memorabilia, sports cards, coins, art, and collectibles, has joined Stewart-Haas Racing as an associate sponsor of the No. 10 and No. 4 cars for the 2022 season. Since the inception of the family-owned company in 2010, Pristine Auctions has grown from a spare bedroom to two facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, totaling over 60,000 square feet and a staff of over 150 team members. Pristine Auction works with top authentication companies to ensure that all items offered are 100 percent authentic, making them a top destination for collectors and sellers globally.   ●  Beyond the 10 YouTube Series:In 2022, Almirola will continue to share his life beyond the No. 10 Smithfield Ford with season four of his award-winning YouTube series. Fans and media can subscribe on YouTube to see Almirola’s personality on and off the track. Episodes have already featured life as a dad, a husband and an athlete, and it gives fans a unique perspective on what goes on in the life of a professional NASCAR driver. Fans can also follow Almirola’s social media channels: @Aric_Almirola on Twitter and Instagram, and @AricAlmirola on Facebook.

Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Farmer John Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What do you think about the NextGen debut this year?   “Everything is different. The approach is different. The way the car handles, steers, and drives is different. The way the crew guys work on the cars. The way they set them up. Everything we do is a hard reset. When I look at this season, it really gets me excited for all of the changes and the land of the unknown. There is so much opportunity out there for everybody and to be the ones to try and figure it out first is exciting. The entire year is going to be about resetting each weekend, starting at the Clash. Even the data from the first few tests is irrelevant because the rules that applied then are already different, so we’re heavily relying on the guys and girls at the shop to constantly adapt to change and I’ll have to do my part.”   Are you excited about racing inside of the Coliseum?   “Having the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum is such a unique opportunity for our sport. All of the history this venue has is one thing, but it’s another to make history debuting the NextGen car at the same time. No one really knows what to anticipate during the race, but it’s definitely going to put on a show for the fans in attendance and those fans at home watching. The one really cool thing is that I’ll be able to tell my kids and grandkids that I raced inside the Coliseum. My son got really excited when I showed him pictures. He said ‘Dad that’s where the Cars movie was filmed,’ so that was funny.”   You announced you will retire from fulltime racing at the end of the 2022 season. Tell us about that.   “I truly enjoy driving racecars and I’m excited to race my heart out in 2022 for Smithfield and Stewart-Haas Racing. But to be the best in this business, you’ve got to be selfish and, for the last 37 years, my life has always revolved around me and what I needed to do. I want to be present. I want to be the best husband and father, and that to me means more than being a racecar driver. So, it’s one more year where I’m all in on racing, where we’ll do whatever it takes to compete at the highest level. But when the season is over, I’ll be ready to wave goodbye. I’ve loved every minute of it, but it’s time for the next chapter of my life.

Chase Briscoe is 60/1 to win 2022 Busch Light Clash at L.A. Coliseum

 

CHASE BRISCOE Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum ● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 6 ● Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum ● Layout: Quarter-mile oval ● Format: 150-lap Feature with a 23-car field set by Heats and Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) ● TV/Radio: FOX / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio ● Note: Heats and LCQ are broadcast live from 3-5 p.m. EST. Feature airs live at 6 p.m. EST.

Notes of Interest

● After a 13-week offseason, the NASCAR Cup Series is gearing up for the first race of 2022. It’s a season that will begin in a new location, on a new track, with a new car. The non-points Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum kicks off the season Saturday and Sunday at a track other than Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway for the first time since 1981. On a purpose-built, quarter-mile, asphalt oval inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Cup Series will debut the new NextGen car, the seventh variation of the NASCAR stock car first introduced in 1949. And, Chase Briscoe and the No. 14 Ford Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) will be showing up with a new look.   ● The famed No. 14 Ford Mustang will roll into the Coliseum sporting the red-and-black colors embraced by fans when the car was piloted by team co-owner and three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart. Briscoe’s new livery includes subtle detailing around the hood vents and shadowed behind the iconic number that represents a new partnership with Mahindra Tractors, a brand of Houston-based Mahindra Ag North America. Part of Mahindra Group’s Automotive and Farm Sector, Mahindra Ag North America is the No. 1 selling farm tractor company in the world, based on volumes across all company brands. Mahindra farm equipment is engineered to be easy to operate by first-time tractor or side-by-side owners, and heavy duty to tackle the tough jobs of rural living, farming and ranching. Steel-framed Mahindra Tractors and side-by-sides are ideal for customers who demand performance, reliability and comfort at a great value. Mahindra dealers are independent, family-owned businesses located throughout the U.S. and Canada.   ● While Briscoe will be behind the wheel of the No. 14 for the first race of the year, Stewart will be keeping a close eye on his team from the FOX Sports broadcast booth and will have a front row seat for the debut of the Mahindra Tractors national television campaign featuring the SHR duo. The first in a series of spots features the mentor and mentee relationship between the Indiana natives and sets out to settle the debate of who is tougher. The national spot airing during the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum signifies a continuation of Mahindra’s longstanding relationship with the FOX family of networks, which in 2022 expands to include in-race branding and additional in-car coverage of Briscoe and the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Mustang. Race fans will see plenty of the Mahindra red in tv spots during race broadcasts, picture-in-picture race coverage and during weekly FS1 broadcasts like RaceHub.   ● Briscoe, the 2021 Cup Series Rookie of the Year, cut his teeth on the bullrings of the Midwest, learning to navigate the tight corners of quarter-mile tracks and avoiding destruction nearly every lap to make it to the finish. Though the track built inside the Coliseum won’t be covered in the dirt that Briscoe is so accustomed to, the format of the event provides some much-desired familiarity for the seasoned dirt-track racer. ● On Saturday, NASCAR Cup Series competitors will take to the track for practice prior to single-car qualifying runs to determine the starting order for four heat races. The field will be open to 40 entrants. On Sunday, on-track action will begin with four, 25-lap heat races consisting of 10 cars each. Below is a breakdown of how the heat races will be filled out: ● The top-four fastest qualifiers from Saturday’s single-car qualifying session will be on the pole for each heat race, while cars that qualified fifth through eighth will make up the other half of the front row in each heat. ● The remainder of each field will be filled out using this methodology: Heat one will be made up of cars with qualifying positions of one, five, nine, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, 33, 37. ● The top-four finishers (16 total cars) from each heat race automatically advance through to the Busch Light Clash, with the winner of heat one winning the pole and the heat two winner earning the outside pole. ● The winners of heats three and four will fill out the second row, with the remaining order of those 16 cars being determined in the same manner. ● The remaining six finishing positions from each heat (24 total cars) that did not advance will continue through to one of two 50-lap Last Chance Qualifying (LCQ) races. Below is a breakdown on how the LCQ will be filled out: ● The starting order for these two events will be determined based on finishing positions in the heat races. ● Those who did not advance from heats one and three will make up the first LCQ race. The second race will be made of up those from heats two and four. ● The fifth-place finishers from heats one and two will be on the pole in their respective LCQ races. The fifth-place finishers from heats three and four will be on the outside pole. ● This pattern will continue to fill out 12 cars in each event. ● The top-three finishers (six total cars) from both LCQ races will advance to the Busch Light Clash, filling out positions 17-22 of the 23 available positions. ● The final spot in the Busch Light Clash will be 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 races. ● All other drivers will be eliminated from competition for the remainder of the event weekend.    ● Put simply, every driver will have to race their way into the feature. While this is Briscoe’s first time participating in the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, the 27-year-old has already raced his way through heat races in 2022 with Mahindra Tractors by his side. Three weeks ago, Briscoe competed in the 2022 Chili Bowl Nationals in a Mahindra Tractors-sponsored Midget. During his qualifying night, he finished second in his heat race and won his qualifier to start fifth in the Monday-night A-main. An 11th-place finish secured him a seventh-place starting spot for the C-Main on Championship Saturday. Good fortune did not follow Briscoe into the C-Main, however, as first-lap contact damaged the No. 5 Chase Briscoe Racing entry and he finished sixth, just one spot short of the transfer and ending his hopes of competing for a Golden Driller. This weekend, he’ll look to rebound with the help of his years of dirt racing experience against NASCAR’s elite Cup Series competitors.

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

You’ve already raced a few times this year, so how has the season started and what do you expect during your first Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum? “I think it’s gone OK, so far. It was nice to have a chance to start the season off with Mahindra Tractors at the Chili Bowl. I wish it had gone better but we have a whole season of Cup racing to get the results we want. It’s been exciting to have them on board and supporting everything we do as a team and some of the racing I do on my own, but I’m really looking forward to getting to L.A. and having them at the first race of the NASCAR season. I’m not sure what to expect, honestly. With a quarter-mile track, I think we can expect a lot of beating and banging and maybe even some tempers by the end. That’s typically what we get at these short tracks. I’d like to say it’s the first race, so everyone will take it easy but, after heat races and everything, I wouldn’t be surprised if a few guys had their feelings hurt. We’re all racers and we want to win, so it’ll for sure be a good show for everyone watching.”   You mentioned Mahindra Tractors being on your Chili Bowl car and the support they’ve shown the team as you prepare for the start of the season. Does this partnership feel like a natural fit? “It really does. They’ve done a lot in just the few months we’ve been together to show that they are all in and that’s huge for a sponsor that is new to the sport in this way. The announcement in Indianapolis was really cool and it meant a lot to be able to start the next chapter at a place that means so much to me. They’ve even had a couple of team lunches for the guys in the shop and I think it’s good for those guys to see it’s not just about me. It’s about the confidence they have in all of us. We’re a team and we’re all here for each other. It takes a lot of work and dedication to do what we do and to have a sponsor that is heavily invested in every part of it is a big deal. It means a lot and is a great reflection of who they are as a company. There’s a family feel to how this is all coming together and I just want to make them proud of this partnership.”   What was the biggest thing you learned during your rookie year in the Cup Series?  “The biggest thing I learned my rookie year was that it takes a lot of things in the Cup Series to have a good result. At the end of the day, every little detail matters, whether it’s getting off and on pit road under green, having a good pit stop, and every pit stop with no penalties, and good restarts. It literally takes every single thing to even be in the hunt at the end of the day. There are days where you can do everything perfect and you’re still not in the hunt, so just trying to capitalize on those days where you have a good car and good speed and not make mistakes. Last year, I made a lot of mistakes, whether it was penalties or just not maximizing pit road and things like that. So, I’m going to try improve on that this year and learn from those things and be able to capitalize when we do have a good car.”   How are you better as a driver in January 2022 compared to January 2021, after one season in the Cup Series, and what specific areas of your skill set are you most wanting to work on over the course of this season?  “Everybody at the Cup Series level has been a winner their entire career. They’ve won at many different levels. Even the guys running 25th have won their entire career so, for me, the Cup side really opened up my eyes. In the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series, you’re only racing against seven, eight, nine, 10 really competitive drivers and you can make mistakes and get away with it and still win. You can even make multiple mistakes and still win where, on the Cup side, you can literally do everything perfect and still run 15th. So, just trying to figure out how to minimize those mistakes was probably the hardest thing for me. I was just looking the other day and there was a stat that I think I had more penalties on pit road than anybody in the whole field, so just trying to do less of that. Those guys are so good. They’ve all been racing 15-20 years. They’ve been running 500 miles every weekend for 15-20 years. They’re just good. They have so much racecraft. They know where to put their car to make it hard for you to pass. They’ve seen every situation, so getting that experience of racing around guys that are much, much better, much more experienced than me was huge, I felt like, the first year. Hopefully, I can use that to my advantage this coming year. But then I would say the biggest area where I would like to improve is on the short tracks. I feel like I’m probably the only guy in the entire field in the Cup Series that has never short-track raced my entire life. I never ran a Late Model. I never ran anything. The first time I ever ran a short track was in the Truck Series at Martinsville. I really struggle when we go to places that have that short-track feel – a Martinsville, Richmond, New Hampshire. Those have always been statistically my worst racetracks and, just how you have to drive the car at those places, I really struggle.”