Thousands of vendors, drivers, and NASCAR officials set up around the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the annual Busch Lite Clash. This is the third time the event has been held at the Coliseum, making it an annual event for Los Angelenos to look forward to. However, the months of preparation and anticipation leading up to the race, were washed away by more than a foot of rain water, by one of the biggest storms to ever hit the area. Instead of canceling or rescheduling, NASCAR made the bold move to move the race up a day.
On Saturday, Feb. 3rd, NASCAR held the Busch Lite Clash at the Coliseum. A 150-lap race that decides the starting order for Feb. 18’s Daytona 500.
NASCAR has been known to postpone races for weather, but moving races to an earlier start time is unheard of.
The Clash decides the starting order of the Daytona 500. This leaves NASCAR with two choices: cancel the Clash the night before the race and rework the Daytona 500 qualifying process, or move the day of the Clash. There was no option to reschedule the event for another weekend, with NASCAR traditionally being against running events on Super Bowl weekend. Therefore, an announcement was made midday Saturday that the race would take place that very night.
Nathan Casey, who drove two hours from Solvang, Calif. to attend the race said, “I left on Saturday, so it worked out for me,” said Nathan Casey, who drove two hours from Solvang, Calif. to attend the race. “Had I left the day of, I would’ve been pretty mad and disappointed.” Not everyone was as lucky as Casey.
Historically, the Clash has featured a multitude of events over two days including practice rounds, two rounds of qualifying races, and the actual race itself.. This year however, NASCAR had planned to go even bigger. They invited NASCAR Mexico Series to do an event called “La Batalla,” an exhibition featuring practice, qualifying, and a race. However, this was also canceled in the schedule change. The remaining events, including practice and qualifying rounds for the Clash, would have about half a day to be completed.
A planned musical performance at the race’s interval by Machine Gun Kelly was also canceled. An announcement was made that Machine Gun Kelly, who was set to perform halfway through the final race, was unable to make it on time.
Before the schedule change, NASCAR had announced all events on Saturday would be free, which further complicated the situation. Many without tickets for the main event were already inside. Moreover, NASCAR did not begin to check tickets even after the announcement had been made. People began to call friends and family, telling them to come down to the Coliseum for a free NASCAR race.
Despite free admission, attendance was poor. Seats were ample, whole rows were empty, fanatics and casual viewers alike had their pick of seating. All of this at an event that previously pulled roughly 50,000 spectators. The Coliseum’s north end was visibly under five percent capacity for most of the night.
in Los Angeles, Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024
With the initial chaos over with, and ticketed and ticketless attendees in almost whatever seat they’d like, the race was set to begin.
Although failing to qualify initially, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff champion, Ryan Blaney, got in due to his title last year. Despite being forced to start last, he managed to finish third after chipping away at the competition for all 150 laps.
Last year’s fourth place Cup Series Playoff finisher, Christopher Bell, failed to qualify for the race entirely, as did seventh place, Chris Buescher.
Another surprise came from 2020 Cup Series champion, Chase Elliott, who despite made it through qualification, did not finish the race and claimed 22nd place.
The veteran, Denny Hamlin, met the expectations. The titleless driver started 2024 by qualifying first for the Clash, leading for over a third of it, winning the race, and qualifying first for the Daytona 500. Hamlin, already having the 13th most races won in NASCAR Cup Series history, will now look to grab a title in 2024 as his retirement grows closer.
Although rushed, and with a minimal audience, the event is something special. NASCAR doesn’t have much of an audience in Los Angeles. By putting a race in the heart of Downtown, in one of the most famous venues in the country, NASCAR had hopes of building its west coast fanbase. Furthermore, it is the only quarter-mile track on the Sprint Cup circuit and the only track converted from a football field. With NASCAR in talks to send the Clash somewhere else in 2025, this could be an unfortunate final chapter in the short-lived Busch Lite Clash at The Coliseum, but what a ride it was.
