NASCAR at LA Coliseum live updates: Martin Truex Jr. ends strong for first Clash victory

LIVE UPDATES HAVE CONCLUDED. FOR RESULTS AND ANALYSIS, CLICK HERE.

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season begins for a second-straight season in a sacred stadium: It’s about time for the Clash at the Coliseum.

Catch the race around LA Coliseum’s purpose-built, 0.25-mile track on Fox, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The green flag will drop just past 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT).

NASCAR reporter Alex Zietlow will be sending along lap-by-lap updates from the Cup Series exhibition race in the section below. Refresh this link for the latest news. Results will be posted after the race.

All times are Eastern.

Unofficial results from Los Angeles Coliseum

Live updates: Clash at the Coliseum exhibition race

Stage 2

Lap 150: Martin Truex Jr. leads the final 25 laps for a win. Second and third are Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch. Bubba Wallace led 30-plus laps but finished last after the run-in with Dillon.

Lap 143: The squabble between Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace piqued when the No. 3 car bumped Wallace into the wall, essentially ending his shot at the win. These last seven laps will take awhile.

Lap 141: Michael McDowell spins out and prompts a caution after the day’s longest run under green. In that run: Martin Truex Jr. overtook Ryan Preece, who fell considerably after losing that No. 1 spot, and built a huge late. A crucial late-race restart incoming.

Lap 108: Chase Briscoe spins out. Another caution. So tough to get any rhythm going for these drivers. Also elongating this race: No laps are gained under caution in the Coliseum.

Lap 106: Justin Haley got spun out after a domino of collisions sent him off the tire track. Of the 27 starters, only nine have not been involved in a caution flag thus far.

Lap 86: Joey Logano and Kyle Busch collide. Busch now running 25th.

Lap 85: Another caution. AJ Allmendinger spins out. One note of consequence: Ryan Preece passes Bubba Wallace in the little bit of green racing that was squeezed out in-between the yellows. What a statement this would be for the Stewart-Haas Racing driver if he can hang on.

Lap 82: Caution No. 9 is out. Todd Gilliland now. Kevin Harvick with the shove. This one is gonna be long.

Lap 81: Ty Gibbs’ day is done. Broken spindle. He got caught in the carnage after Michael McDowell got loose, prompting yet another Stage 2 caution.

Lap 79: Kevin Harvick has now spun out. Todd Gilliland on the contact. That’s three caution flags in the last five official laps.

Lap 76: We’re back under green! Three-wide on Turn 3 in the lead; Bubba Wallace somehow maintains lead. Ty Gibbs spins out, and another caution is out.

Stage 1

Lap 75: That marks the stage break. Top 5: Bubba Wallace, Martin Truex Jr., Austin Dillon, William Byron, Tyler Reddick.

Lap 74: Right before the stage break, Ross Chastain and Denny Hamlin renew their rivalry. The 1 car runs into Hamlin’s left door to spin the 11 out. This marks the race’s fourth caution on the night.

Lap 49: Over the course of three laps, Denny Hamlin falls to 12th. Hamlin was originally moved out of the way by Bubba Wallace; the 23 car runs for team 23XI Racing, which Hamlin is a co-owner of. Wallace is now in the lead.

Lap 43: A third caution is out. AJ Allmendinger, running in P22, spins out on Turn 2. Top 5 remains unchanged: Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch.

Lap 24: Under caution again: Ryan Blaney spins out and then a few cars run into his nose, sustaining a bit of damage. Among those caught in his carnage is Chase Elliott. A few laps earlier, a three-wide turn nudged Aric Almirola loose, and Denny Hamlin took the lead as a result.

Lap 17: Caution out! Erik Jones gets loose on a turn after Michael McDowell runs into him and appears to have sustained some damage in the process. Jones has headed to the infield; his day is likely done. Aric Almirola (who started in P1) has already lapped cars. Denny Hamlin cleared Martin Truex Jr. a few laps ago. Going green again shortly.

Lap 1: Aric Almirola and Martin Truex Jr. start well, dead even after Turn 2. Almirola clears the 19 car before Lap 1 ends. Cars bunching three-wide on Turn 4.

Green flag at 8:24 p.m.: Let’s go!

8:17 p.m.: Engines have been fired, and we’re pretty much set. A few quick reminders: 150 laps; 37.5 miles in total; stage break on Lap 75; no fuel needed during the race; total purse is $2,085,000.

8:10 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson announced on the FOX Sports broadcast that — in addition to racing in the Daytona 500 for Legacy Motor Club — the seven-time Cup champion will also run in the historic race through the streets of Chicago in July.

7:48 p.m.: Kevin Harvick will join the FOX Sports broadcast booth for the Cup Series in 2024, the all-time great driver confirmed on live television. In January, Harvick announced that he’ll retire from racing after the 2023 season concludes.

“For me, the timing in life, it has been absolutely perfect,” Harvick said on the FOX broadcast. He added, “Now to have this opportunity to tell people about racing — there is nothing else I love more, and I can’t wait.”

7:34 p.m.: Traces of California are seeping into this event: The Clash just saw California-native hip hop group Cypress Hill perform “Insane in the Brain,” and University of Southern California quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams took a few photos on the red carpet. (The QB has had quite a bit of success in this venue. The Los Angeles Coliseum is where USC plays its home football games.)

7:15 p.m.: The lineup is set! Aric Almirola will start on the pole after not qualifying for last year’s Clash. He’ll be followed by the other heat winners from earlier on Sunday: Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and William Byron.

NASCAR Clash starting lineup

The Clash, as it did last year, featured four heat races. The Top 5 finishers of each of those heats made the main event. (That populated the first 20 drivers in the main-event starting lineup.)

After those heats, there were two “Last Chance Qualifier” races to fill out the rest of the 27-car field. The Top 3 finishers of each of those events made the main event. (That populates the 21-26 slots in the main-event starting lineup.)

Then, at last, the final main-event spot was filled by the driver who finished the highest in the 2022 standings that hadn’t yet qualified. This year, it was Austin Cindric, last season’s Rookie of the Year.

All told, see your starting lineup below. Those who did not qualify for the main event: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Harrison Burton, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, Ty Dillon, Corey LaJoie, Cody Ware, JJ Yeley and BJ McLeod.

This story was originally published February 5, 2023 at 7:18 PM.

Alex Zietlow

The Charlotte Observer

Alex Zietlow writes about the Carolina Panthers and the ways in which sports intersect with life for The Charlotte Observer, where he has been a reporter since August 2022. Zietlow’s work has been honored by the Pro Football Writers Association, the N.C. and S.C. Press Associations, as well as the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) group. He’s earned six APSE Top 10 distinctions for his coverage on a variety of topics, from billion-dollar stadium renovations to the small moments of triumph that helped a Panthers kicker defy the steepest odds in sports. Zietlow previously wrote for The Herald in Rock Hill (S.C.) from 2019-22. Support my work with a digital subscription