Sunday the 6th February sees Los Angeles Coliseum host its first NASCAR clash. The track has been purpose built to create the quarter mile circuit which will see the next gen nascars in competitive, if not point scoring, action for the first time. It also provides one of NASCAR’s biggest markets a race of their own.
The Los Angeles Coliseum racetrack is a temporary track constructed for the 2022 NASCAR Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. It is a 0.25-mile-long track with 2.5 degrees of banking. It is the first time the NASCAR Clash will be outside Daytona in over 40 years and serves as the opening of the 2022 NASCAR cup series
We are writing a series of track facts articles and will add to the below table as we complete them. Feel free to check out your favourite tracks by clicking the link.
Here we have what we know about this short of shortest tracks
Who Won the First Clash at the Coliseum in Los Angeles?
Joey Logano took the Checkered Flag from Kyle Busch in second and Austin Dillon in third, at the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum after Kyle had been leading for over 60 lap. Logano went on to win despite some heavy pressure in the final 10 laps from Kyle Busch.
Unofficial Results of the Clash at the Coliseum, Feb 6th, 2022.
| Position | Driver | Times to be confirmed | Car and Team |
| 1st | Joey Logano | 22 Ford – Team Penske | |
| 2nd | Kyle Busch | 18 Toyota – Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| 3rd | Austin Dillon | 3 Chevrolet – Richard Childress Racing | |
| 4th | Eric Jones | 43 Chevrolet – Petty GMS Motorsports | |
| 5th | Kyle Larson | 5 Chevrolet – Hendrick Motorsports | |
| 6th | William Bryon | 24 Chevrolet – Hendrick Motorsports | |
| 7th | Cole Custer | 47 Ford – Stewart-Haas Racing | |
| 8th | Christopher Bell | 20 Toyota – Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| 9th | AJ Allmendinger | 16 Chevrolet – Kaulig Racing | |
| 10th | Kevin Harvick | 4 Ford – Stewart-Haas Racing | |
| 11th | Chase Elliott | 9 Chevrolet – Hendrick Motorsports | |
| 12th | Harrison Burton | 21 Ford – Wood Brothers Racing | |
| 13th | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 47 Chevrolet – JTG Daugherty Racing | |
| 14th | Daniel Suarez | 99 Chevrolet – TrackHouse Racing Team | |
| 15th | Martin Truex JR | 19 Toyota – Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| 16th | Michael McDowell | 34 Ford – Front Row Motorsports | |
| 17th | Ryan Blaney | 12 Ford – Team Penske | |
| 18th | Bubba Wallace | 23 Toyota – 23X1 Racing | |
| 19th | Justin Hayley | DNF – Accident | 31 Chevrolet – Kaulig Racing |
| 20th | Ryan Preece | DNF – Oil Pressure | 15 Ford Stewart-Haas racing |
| 21st | Tyler Reddick | DNF – Drive train | 8 Chevrolet – Richard Childress Racing |
| 22nd | Chase Briscoe | DNF – Drivetrain | 14 Ford – Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 23rd | Denny Hamlin | DNF – Steering | 11 Toyota – Joe Gibbs Racing |
2023 Clash at the Coliseum Race
Returning for the second year, the 2023 Clash at the Coliseum race was a messy one with 25 or so cautions ( we kinda lost count!!) slowing down the race, however Martin Truex Jr. held it together, and was there or thereabouts for most of the race to secure his first win of the 2023 season in the very first race. this is after no recording a win throughout the whole of 2022! Congratulations to Martin!
| Position finished | Driver | Team |
| 1st | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing (19) |
| 2nd | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing (3) |
| 3rd | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing (8) |
| 4th | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports (48) |
| 5th | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports (5) |
| 6th | Tyler Reddick | 23xi (45) |
| 7th | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing (41) |
| 8th | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing team (1) |
| 9th | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing (11) |
| 10th | William Byron | hendricks Motorsports (24) |
How Long is the Los Angeles Coliseum track
The Lost Angeles Coliseum track is a quarter of a mile long, that’s 402.336 metres or 15840 inches. It is about the same as a running track although the cars should be a little quicker than the current world record athletics record held by Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa, with a time of 43.03 seconds. This means it is the shortest track used by NASCAR since 1971.
What is the Banking of the Los Angeles Coliseum Track
The banking on the track
is 2.5% around its length, which makes it the least of any NASCAR circuit used this season with the exception of road tracks of course.
Construction Facts: Los Angeles Coliseum Track
The track was started on the 22nd of December and finished towards the end of January. It has used 1560 tons of Asphalt,, and over 500 truckloads (for want of a better description) of dirt as its base. We have more stats and numbers below.
- 1400 ft of safety barriers
- 1560 Tons of asphalt
- 1400 ft of catch fencing
- 6900 Square Feet of Asphalt
- 130,000 Square feet of field protection
- 6 weeks from groundbreaking to completion
What is the Average Speed in the Los Angeles Coliseum
There has been a surprise with speed in the qualifying rounds of the Busch Light Clash in 2022. Original estimates put averages speeds at circa 45 miles an hour. However that seems to be pretty far off the mark.
Chase Elliot has managed to blow that prediction out of the water with a practice lap of 13.455 seconds. around the quarter mile Los Angeles coliseum track. The best time for qualifying is Kyle Busch with 13.775 who is in the pole for the first heat.
So while simulations and the E racing racings held earlier had simulated 60 miles an hour on the Straightaways and 20 miles an hour plus ( but not much plus) on the corners. Kyle Busch said top speeds are “probably going to be around 60mph and the low speed in the corners maybe 20mph.”
Chase Elliott’s time equals an actual average speed 66.9 miles an hour at the Los Angeles Coliseum. With the race likely to provide even faster speeds on clean laps as teams come to terms with racing on a quarter mile track for the first time in a generation.
UPDATED Los Angeles Coliseum Speed Information
Top speeds have now been adjusted to potentially upwards to 75 miles an hour on the straights, and upto 40 miles an hour in the corners. Whether this is to an underestimation of the track at the Los Angeles Coliseum or an underestimation of the new Next gen cars i guess we have to wait till both the Main Event and the Daytona 500 where they get there first flat out green flag run.
How will the NASCAR Clash run at the Los Angeles Coliseum?
- The event is open to all drivers and teams and will have 350 laps over all the planned events that are being run there.
- There will be 4 Qualifying races
- The drivers who finish in the top 4 will qualify for the feature race on the Sunday.
- Those that don’t qualify will race in a pair of consolation 50 lap races with top 3 going on to the main event.
- If a driver with high cup series points doesn’t qualify through the heats they will head to the main event in last order.
- 23 drivers will race in the feature event.
- Drivers who qualify will complete 150 laps of the coliseum.
When Did They Announce the location of the 2022 NASCAR Clash?
NASCAR released the location of the 2022 Busch Clash on September the 14, 2021. This left only 5 months for the planning and construction of the temporary track. Ground was broken in Mid December which left only 2 months to finish.
How Much Did it Cost to Build the Track at the Los Angeles Coliseum?
It has cost around 1 million dollars to turn the football field in the middle of the Los Angeles Coliseum into the racetrack used in the Busch Clash. This is comparable to the 995000 dollars it cost to build the whole coliseum back in 1923. (although in today’s dollars that would be over 15 million)
How Long is the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum?
The feature race will be 150 laps of this newly constructed temporary track which equals only 37.5 miles due to its short quarter mile length. However the qualifying and last chances races means there will more racing to be had on the day.
Why are the Holding the Busch Light Clash in the LA Coliseum.
NASCAR fans are all over the country, however most of the races are in the South or South East of the country. To attract more fans holding races in other parts of the country is thought to be needed. Especially in the reduced travel environments we currently find ourselves living in!
There are more NASCAR Fans in Los Angeles area that anywhere else, and giving a nod to them is a good idea. As Senior VP of strategy and innovation at NASCAR Ben kennedy said , said It gives them the
“opportunity to do something new, something fresh and something innovative”
Ben Kennedy
Also to hold the race inside such a constricted space is a great way to test if this can be recreated later in other cities around the country, and perhaps the world. One Swedish fan we spoke to even said that their soccer stadium has more room inside than the coliseum.
So perhaps one day we can see NASCAR racing, if not in the actual original coliseum, but at least in Rome!
Have NASCAR Races been Held inside Stadiums Before?
Although unique in most of our lifetimes The clash at the coliseum is not the first time a NASCAR race has been help inside a football stadium. In July, 1956 at Soldier Field in Chicago Fireball Roberts took the Checkered flag on the quarter mile.
Coincidently the USC trojans, who base out of the Los Angeles Coliseum played Notre dame played here in 1927 with one of the biggest college football crowds in history of over 123,000 in attendance.
Where Has the Clash Been Raced in Previous Years?
Prior to the Clash at the coliseum, the clash has been held at Daytona for 42 straight years, until 2021 where it was moved to the road course at Daytona from the Oval.
What Are The Other Quarter Mile Tracks in NASCAR
Although the Clash at the Coliseum in the only quarter of a mile race this season it is not the first time NASCAR has raced on the quarter mile. It has been 50 years since the last one though. We have a table of the quarter mile tracks that have held NASCAR races. The shortest is actually Islip which was only 0.2 miles long. Richard Petty has taken wins there.
Table 1: The Past Short Quarter Mile NASCAR Tracks
| Track Name | Location | Last used |
| Los Angeles Coliseum | Los Angeles | 2022 |
| Islip Speedway (actually 0.2 miles!) | New York | 1971 |
| Bowman Gray Stadium | North Carolina | 1971 |
| Dixie Speedway | Alabama | 1960 |
| McCormick Field | North Carolina | 1958 |
| Norwood Arena | Massachusetts | 1961 |
| Starkey Speedway | Virginia | 1964 |
Who won the IRacing Clash at the Coliseum
Until the race is over, and the dismantling begins the Iracing simulation race is the best indicator of how the race may pan out. Casey Kirwan took the chequered flag in the Iracing Clash at the Coliseum race. He will be attending the Clash on the 6th as well.
Final Lap
The track will be gone by the time most of you have read this, but according to rumor it is likely to return in some form in future seasons. Whether this means a return to the short track becoming a feature in the future.
If the aim is to bring something new to the sport and revitalize attendances after the events of the last couple of years. then the 70% of tickets sold being to people new to NASCAR it might be a visionary move.
The race is today, as we write this, so how successful this will be is still to be judged. However, we are looking forward to a short track, and placing it right next to the Flagship Daytona 500 in all its speed filled glory seems like a good move, it gives both extremes of the racing in the space of two weeks. Slow and tight and fast and wide!
If you don’t know if you like the sport after these two races, well then just wait till the dirt race at Bristol. NASCAR has stock in its name, maybe the move is to use that as a literary term for the tracks as well. Dirt, oval, road, and rumored street races….. stock cars on all environments. Maybe some of those snow filled tracks in canada are in a pipe line somewhere!!
Either way NASCAR is back you can watch the main event from 6pm on Fox
References
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2022-01-31/nascar-track-la-coliseum-busch-light-clash-race
https://us.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/la-coliseum-nascar-next-gen-damage/7806588/
https://www.autoweek.com/racing/nascar/a38991129/nascar-speeds-coliseum-not-breathtaking/
