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The Toyota No. Truex’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing held off the No. 2 Chevrolet.
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The top three celebrated on a podium with medals; reminiscent of the Olympic Games which the venue also famously hosted.
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The match was held up 16 times due to bookings. Dillon had a late race encounter with Bubba Wallace, who led 40 laps, their cars collided.
Martin Truex Jr. scored his first NASCAR Cup Series win in more than one season in a violent Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum Sunday night at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The Toyota No. Truex’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing held off the No. 2 Chevrolet. It was former Series Champion Truex’s first career Busch Light Clash win.
Dillon’s new teammate, two-time series champion Kyle Busch, finished third in the No. 4 Chevrolet. 8 Richard Childress Racing: the top three were celebrated on a podium with medals; reminiscent of the Olympic Games which the venue also famously hosted.
“Simply a great race car, the guys have done a really great job with this Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry,” said New Jersey native Truex, “Last year was a pretty tough season for us with no victories, to come here and kick like this, I’m really proud of these guys.
“Tonight, it was just a little bit of persevering, not giving up and just fighting and finally we found ourselves in the right place. Sometimes they work your way and sometimes they don’t. Tonight went our way.
The iconic HOLLYWOOD sign on the hills overlooking Turn 3 and the downtown Los Angeles skyline just beyond Turn 2 provided a unique backdrop for this event.
There was a packed crowd at the 100-year-old Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the race: Lots of new fans mixed with the staunchest veterans dressed in their best NASCAR shirts, driver’s jackets and hats from fans excited to watch the NASCAR Cup Series show exactly the kind of high-drama short track action that made the 75-year-old sport an American treasure.
The track was purpose built within the stadium bringing the sport to a new market, which it seems to have embraced wholeheartedly.
And while this may be a pre-season exhibition, the frustration was often mid-season Sunday night.
The match was held up 16 times due to bookings. Dillon had a late race encounter with Bubba Wallace, their cars collided. Wallace made the worst part of the contact and was forced to battle for the win to instead finish 22nd in the 27-car field, despite him leading by 40 laps and challenging Truex as the race wound to a close.
“Obviously, Bubba cornered me,” Dillon said. what you see in places like this e [North Carolina short track] Bowman Gray Stadium”.
Dillon acknowledged that Wallace might be mad at him and said they would talk.
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five. Tyler Reddick finished sixth on his debut in the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota.
New England driver Ryan Preece, 32, making his first start in the No. He finished seventh.
Denny Hamlin, who won his Heat Race earlier in the day in his No. 11, finished ninth with driver William Byron in the No. 11 Chevrolet.
Sunday afternoon’s four Heat races and two Last Chance Qualifiers provided plenty of excitement as we set the stage for the Main Event under the lights and fire of the Coliseum’s famous peristyle (torch). Both RFK Racing Fords, driven by team co-owner Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher, were among the eight cars that failed to qualify.
Joining the RFK riders on that DNQ roster are Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Harrison Burton, Ty Dillon, Corey LaJoie, Cody Ware, JJ Yeley and BJ McLeod.
NASCAR Cup Series Race – Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
1. (2) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 150.
2. (10) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 150.
3. (6) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 150.
4. (5) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 150.
5. (14) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 150.
6. (11) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 150.
7. (16) Ryan Preece, Ford, 150.
8. (12) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 150.
9. (3) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 150.
10. (4) William Byron, Chevrolet, 150.
11. (9) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 150.
12. (18) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 150.
13. (23) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 150.
14. (13) Noah Gragson#, Chevrolet, 150.
15. (7) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 150.
16. (17) Joey Logano, Ford, 150.
17. (15) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 150.
18. (1) Aric Almirola, Ford, 150.
19. (19) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 150.
20. (26) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 150.
21. (22) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 150.
22. (8) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 150.
23. (25) Todd Gilliland, Ford, Fuel, 140.
24. (21) Michael McDowell, Ford, Fuel, 137.
25. (27) Austin Cindric, Ford, Engine, 106.
26. (24) Ty Gibbs#, Toyota, Suspension, 81.
27. (20) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, Suspension, 16.
Race Winner Average Speed: 21.831 mph.
Race time: 1 hour, 43 minutes, 4 seconds. Margin of victory: 0.786 seconds.
Attention flag: 16 for 0 spins.
Lead Changes: 4 out of 5 pilots.
Group leader: A. Almirola 1-16; D. Hamlin 17-42;B. Wallace 43-82;R. Pre 83-125;M. Truex Jr. 126-150.
Leader Summary (driver, times lead, laps lead): Ryan Preece 1 time for 43 laps; Bubba Wallace 1 time for 40 rounds; Denny Hamlin 1 time for 26 rounds; Martin Truex Jr. 1 time for 25 laps; Aric Almirola 1 time for 16 laps.
