Getty The Busch Light Clash field is official.
The stage is set for the Busch Light Clash at the LA Memorial Coliseum. 23 NASCAR Cup Series drivers have secured their spots after four heat races and two Last Chance Qualifiers.
Kyle Busch and Tyler Reddick easily moved to the main event after starting on the pole in their respective races and building up an insurmountable lead. Busch will now lead the field to green as the pole-winner once again. Justin Haley and Joey Logano followed suit with victories in the final two heat races.
Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe, Austin Dillon, Cole Custer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell, Kyle Larson, and Erik Jones all moved on by finishing top-four in their races. Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace, and Harrison Burton all moved on after the Last Chance Qualifiers.
Martin Truex Jr., who was unable to secure his spot in the heat race, was still able to compete in the main event. He received the provisional spot that rounded out the 23-car field due to finishing second in points in 2021. Truex and crew chief James Small opted to sit out of the Last Chance Qualifier and simply start 23rd overall in the Busch Light Clash.
Heat 1’s Battle For the Final 2 Spots Did Not Disappoint
*clears throat*
GREEN. GREEN. GREEN!!
RETWEET IF YOU ARE WATCHING RACING FROM THE LA COLISEUM ON FOX!
The first heat race was not a question from the very first moment on. Busch and Suarez easily locked up the first two spots in the main event. However, three other drivers put on a show while fighting for the final two transfer spots.
Hamlin, Stenhouse, and Blaney all entertained the crowd while fighting for third and fourth place in the heat race. They made contact with each other several times while trying to gain the slightest advantage. Blaney, in particular, did not shy away from contact.
The driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang used his stock car to muscle his way up the field. He first shoved the No. 11 JGR Toyota out of the way, dropping Hamlin to the first LCQ, and then he chased down the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet.
Blaney hit Stenhouse from behind several times and nearly knocked his fellow driver out of the way while the fans roared in approval. However, Stenhouse held on until the final lap and finished third overall. Blaney still moved on in the fourth position.
What About the Crash Fest?
Heading toward the NASCAR weekend in Los Angeles, there were several discussions about the race. Many wondered if the event would become a crash fest due to the smaller size of the bullring and the aggressiveness of the drivers, or if the professional drivers would avoid collisions.
Early on, there were not any concerns about the crashes. The first three heat races failed to produce a caution flag despite some bumping and banging on the track. The fourth had a caution flag after seven laps, but it was not due to caution. Ty Dillon experienced a mechanical issue exiting Turn 4, and he had to pull back into the pit area for repairs.
We just saw something get punted in the @lacoliseum and it wasn’t a football.
Kurt Busch brought out a second caution flag three green-flag laps later after punting Landon Cassill into the side of Austin Cindric. The intriguing aspect of this crash is that Cindric did not have to go get repairs. He just turned around and continued with the race as a testament to the new bodies.
The first Last Chance Qualifier was a different story. Contact early between Todd Gilliland and Aric Almirola sent the No. 10 hard into the wall, ending his day. His car left the track on the back of a tow truck while the red flag brought the race to a temporary halt.
The remainder of the Last Chance Qualifier races did not feature overly heavy collisions with the wall, but the drivers seemed to put an emphasis on making contact. Ty Dillon, Alex Bowman, Harrison Burton, and many others just kept bumping and banging around the track while desperately trying to secure one of the final three spots. The result was an increase in caution flags.
The second Last Chance Qualifier had a multitude of incidents, one of which ended the race for both Buch and Bowman. There were six total cautions in a 50-lap race, which only created further questions about the final race and whether there would be more incidents.
READ NEXT: Kurt Busch Extends Partnership With Michael Jordan in Latest Move