Martin Truex Jr 25th different winner of The Clash
Martin Truex Jr.’s victory in the 2023 Busch Clash at the Los Angeles Coliseum was the first for him in NASCAR’s season-opening exhibition race.
Truex is the 25th different driver to win The Clash in its 45th installment, continuing a six-year streak of six different winners.
“Last year wasn’t all that fun,” Truex said. “This weekend was a blast.”
Truex led the final 25 laps en route to victory at The L.A. Coliseum.
The 2017 champion said the win is a huge confidence booster heading into the season-opening Daytona 500.
“Any of these races are hard to win,” he said. “All of them are hard to win. Doesn’t matter if there’s points or not. We’re proud of this one. It’s a big deal.”
The winner of The Clash has gone on to win the championship in the same season eight times, with Joey Logano doing it most recently in 2022.
HISTORY
The first Clash was raced at Daytona International Speedway in 1979. The 20-lap race was won by Buddy Baker.
The race was held at Daytona International Speedway’s 2.5-mile layout from 1979 to 2020. The race was run on the Daytona Road Course in 2021.
The last two seasons have featured the exhibition race at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Twelve drivers have won The Clash multiple times. Dale Earnhardt is the all-time leader in Clash wins with six.
Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Dale Jarrett and Tony Stewart each have three victories.
Neil Bonnett, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano and Ken Schrader have won the event twice.
SOURCES
Racing-Reference.info
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Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.