The 2022 Busch Light Clash at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was certainly not a typical NASCAR event.
The most obvious oddity is the fact that it was set in a football stadium and not a real race track. Furthermore, Jeff Gordon lit the cauldron designed for the 1932 Summer Olympics. Ice Cube performed the six-minute halftime show. The crowd booed Kyle Busch during driver introductions—okay, so that last one is actually a pretty typical NASCAR event.
But aside from all the spectacle and hype surrounding exhibition racing, that was it: racing. There were several hours of intense competition and at the end of it the checkered flag was waved and the winner crossed the finish line.
Joey Logano He was eventually able to pass Busch racing for the win, and while his celebration at Victory Lane wasn’t out of the ordinary, the Team Penske driver appreciated the fact that the Clash’s win was more important than winning it again in 2017.
“Of all the clashes, this is probably the biggest Clash win you can imagine,” Logano said in a post-race interview. “First time coming to this historic place, like I said, being able to do it together as a team. Also some adversity we had, what (Logano’s crew chief Paul Wolff) said earlier. We were 26th on the board. I was trying really hard. I shall go as fast as I can.”
Logano continued, “To see everyone come together, not just the 22 team, but Team Penske in general, to be able to count on each other, what we learned in practice, in the end put a really good package to where he qualified really well, we were able to win the heat race.” We have, keep the position, stay well in the long run, which was a bit surprising to me. I don’t know about you, Paul. For me I thought it would be better in the short term. Find our strengths, be able to play with them, and win them. Really cool. The last couple wins were on some weird racetracks, so I don’t know. Bring them on. Bring on the weirder stuff.”
WATCH: The complete race recap of the 2022 Busch Light Clash at the Colosseum
Kyle Larson and AJ Allmendinger – who finished fifth and ninth respectively – echoed Logano’s sentiments in his appreciation of the historic race.
“It was an amazing experience all around,” said Larson.
“First race with the new car. This event was really neat. It looked like a great atmosphere. I’m not able to sit in the stands and watch the other races. I got to watch the heat race and the last chance qualifiers. It was like a blast and I hope we can do more of this.” .
Allmendinger added, “Absolutely happy making the main race. It was great to be in the LA Memorial Coliseum, to be a part of this event and to be both of Kaulig Racing’s main cars. I’m fairly happy with the way the race went.”
“Let’s start from the back like that and drive our way to the edge of the top ten, inside the top ten and finish ninth. I was hoping to do a little better. But overall on a weekend it’s something to build on. It’s just a great event to be in.” .
Tyler Reddick certainly didn’t have the race he had hoped for: A broken transmission ended his day in Los Angeles. But despite a disappointing 21st-place finish, Riddick was still able to look on the bright side.
“The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum exceeded expectations,” said Reddick. “The fans, the atmosphere and the intensity of the race itself. Just the intensity of the stadium and the drivers – it was an incredible experience.”
“Sure, the obvious big problem is breaking our transmission to do something I probably didn’t need to do. I did a good job putting heat in the tires all weekend, but maybe I was too aggressive with that. We know for sure. We’ll have to go back and have a look at it in the shop this week. We had one of the fastest cars on the track. We were just riding around and turning the gap to Kyle Busch and trying to lap as many cars as we could so we didn’t have to worry about them later. But we never got that far It’s a hard lesson, but one we can learn from.”