Iconic College Rivalry Joins NASCAR for Busch Light Clash Weekend

NASCAR Studios USC students pose with a custom-built race car.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the LA Memorial Coliseum on February 4-5 for the Busch Light Clash. The weekend will feature multiple races and an iconic college rivalry.

The LA Memorial Coliseum has been the site of many hard-fought matches between the USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins. Now the two colleges will contend in a different competition. The USC Racing and UCLA’s Bruin Racing Formula SAE teams will race against each other around the quarter-mile short track using student-built race cars.

USC Racing has some experience at the NASCAR-built track. The students took part in a unique test in 2022 ahead of the first-ever Busch Light Clash at the LA Memorial Coliseum. Now, these students will try to win the time-trial competition against a fierce rival.

“These cars are designed by some of the brightest young minds in engineering and racing, and these students are proof positive that the future of our sport is in great hands” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s senior vice president for racing development and strategy. “We can’t wait for them to showcase their hard work and ingenuity on our LA Coliseum track.”

A Unique Competition Made This Special Event Possible

GettyCup Series drivers race at the LA Memorial Coliseum.

The rivalry between the two colleges will provide some entertainment the day prior to the main event in Southern California. It will also serve a greater purpose as these students prepare for the future.

According to information shared by NASCAR Communications, “Formula SAE is an intercollegiate engineering competition where students across the globe design, build, test, and race prototype open-wheel racecars.”

These students apply the technical skills that they have developed in their classes and in maker spaces on campus. They are then judged by industry professionals, who examine the overall design of the race cars, the cost-effectiveness, and the performance in “dynamic events.”

The time trials will showcase the skills in a unique environment, and they will potentially play a role as the students try to secure internships and future employment in their chosen industries.

NASCAR Made a Change to Benefit College Students

NASCAR StudiosA USC student tests out a race car at the LA Memorial Coliseum.

The opportunity to compete inside the iconic football stadium is not the only way in which NASCAR is reaching out to college students. There will also be a section where students can take in all the action of the weekend for the special price of $40.

The Coca-Cola Torch Party Porch will be a standing-room-only general admission section for college students. Located on the Coliseum’s peristyle steps, this area will provide these students with up-close access to the pre-race concert featuring Cypress Hill, driver introductions, and other entertainment offerings.

Attendees of the Coca-Cola Torch Party Porch will also have access to a packed afternoon and evening of racing. They will see four heat races, two last-chance qualifiers, and the 150-lap main event that now features 27 entries instead of 23.

In order to take advantage of this offer from NASCAR, college students can visit www.nascarclash.com/student.

The peristyle steps are where the race teams were located during the 2022 Busch Light Clash. They will now move to sections 110, 111, and 112 surrounding the tunnel while the students bring the party to the Coca-Cola Torch Party Porch.