How NASCAR’s 2022 Clash at the Coliseum race format will work
NASCAR wrapped its 2021 season on Sunday and is already looking ahead to 2022 with a highly anticipated exhibition race at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the first time.
The Clash, officially titled the “Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum,” will be held two weeks before the season-opening Daytona 500. NASCAR announced Tuesday that the Clash will be a two-day event starting Feb. 5 that will feature qualifying and heat races before the main show on Feb. 6.
Below are the format and details for NASCAR’s Clash at the Coliseum.
NASCAR 2022 Clash at the Coliseum details
- The Clash will be Sunday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. ET on FS1 (MRN/NASCAR Sirius XM for radio)
- The main event will be 150 laps on the purpose-built, quarter-mile oval at the L.A. Coliseum
- The Coliseum is an iconic sports and entertainment venue in Downtown Los Angeles
- The stadium is home to the University of Southern California football team and has played host to multiple Summer Olympic Games
- Work will begin in late December to transform the Coliseum into a paved short track modeled after Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C.
- Next Gen cars will be used for the weekend, making their 2022 debut in competition
NASCAR 2022 Clash qualifying details
- Practice, qualifying and heat races will be open to 40 Cup teams
- Only 23 teams will make the final show as determined through heat races and last chance qualifiers (LCQs) on Sunday, Feb. 6
- Practice and qualifying will be held on Saturday, Feb. 5 before the main event
- The four fastest cars from single-car qualifying will be on the pole for each of the four heat races the following day
- The team that posts the fastest qualifying speed will be in the first heat race, the second-fastest speed in the second, etc.
- The rest of the field will be filled out that way for the heat races (i.e., the first heat will consist of cars with qualifying speeds ranked one, five, nine, 13, etc. on the speed chart, the second heat race will consist of cars with speeds ranked two, six, 10, 14, ... and so on.)
NASCAR 2022 Clash heat races, LCQ details
- Four heat races will be held Sunday, Feb. 6 starting at 5 p.m. ET on FOX
- Each of the heats will be 25 laps consisting of 10 cars
- The top four finishers from each heat will advance to the Clash that night, so 16 total cars will advance by the end of the heat races (winner of heat one will be on the pole for the Clash, heat two winner will start in the front row, winners of heats three and four will fill out the second row, etc.)
- There will then be two, 50-lap last chance qualifying (LCQ) races to determine the remaining seven cars in the Clash
- The driver who finished the highest in the 2021 points standings who does not transfer on finishing position in the heats or in LCQ is guaranteed a spot in the Clash, so Kyle Larson (highest in 2021 points standings) is guaranteed a spot in the race
- If Larson transfers through during the heat races, which is likely, that spot will continue to be bumped down to the next highest 2021 points finisher who doesn’t make it through the heats and LCQ
- The top three finishers from each of the two LCQ races (six cars total) will advance to the Clash, filling out positions 17-22
- The driver who gets the aforementioned reserved spot will start P23 in the Clash
For the rest of the cars who don’t make it through the heats and last chance qualifiers, it’s see you at Daytona. The following Cup event will be the Duels at Daytona on Thursday, Feb. 17 prior to the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 20 at Daytona International Speedway.
This story was originally published November 9, 2021 at 11:59 AM.
