NASCAR: Hamlin wins rescheduled Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum
LOS ANGELES — The stats will read that Denny Hamlin won the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum from the pole but the race to victory lane was a journey.
Just hours before the race, NASCAR officials decided to run it Saturday night, instead of Sunday night, with only practice times setting the Clash field.
Denny Hamlin scorched the field in qualifying and set himself apart from the field early on. He led 47 laps but fell back to sixth when the halfway break began.
He slowly worked his way back to the front, eventually taking the lead from Ty Gibbs with nine laps to go.
Ty Gibbs, Hamlin’s teammate, led 84 of 151 laps. He took the lead from Hamlin on lap 50.
Gibbs cruised to a big lead before the first caution put him in a spirited battle with Joey Logano.
Logano led the first two laps before falling back. The first restart put him back in the mix on lap 70.
The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion took Gibbs – the 2023 rookie – to school.
Logano took the lead and handled the field through four cautions. Among them was a lap 78 incident involving Ross Chastain, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Michael McDowell.
During that caution, tempers flared between McDowell and Stenhouse, the latter who reportedly went up to John Hunter Nemechek’s car during the halfway break.
On the restart, Gibbs grabbed the lead. He drove to a three-second lead by the time he caught lap traffic with 35 laps to go. The lead shrunk to under a second but Gibbs consistently chopped through traffic, hanging on to the lead.
The young driver had one more lesson in store. Michael McDowell crashed in turn three after contact with Ross Chastain with 10 laps to go.
Gibbs passed the restart, getting the jump on Logano. Another teacher – Denny Hamlin – reigned as he slipped by while Gibbs slid up the track into Logano.
Hamlin was vulnerable locking up his left front tire multiple times. Lucky for Hamlin, Gibbs made a mistake in turns one and two, letting Kyle Busch slip under him.
Gibbs sunk until hitting the bottom when Kyle Larson bumped into him, spinning him and ending his chances at a win.
In overtime, Denny Hamlin hung on to win the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.
“A lot of it was just what happened in front of me. I got a really good run off of turn 2 and got position and hung on from there. It’s so chaotic with all the bumping and banging on restarts. It’s so great to win in L.A.,” Hamlin said.
“I beat all of your favorite drivers. Again.”
TOP-10 FINISHERS
Denny Hamlin (led 58 laps), Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano (led nine laps), Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., William Byron
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com