LOS ANGELES — Uncertainty. That’s the word that describes what drivers and team members feel heading into Sunday’s Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.
The all-star event will be the first race NASCAR has run on a quarter-mile track since 1971 and the first NASCAR race in the Los Angeles Coliseum, which opened in 1923 and has hosted numerous motorsports events, including Supercross and off-road trucks, through the years.
The unique, flat, quarter-mile was specifically built for this event and many NASCAR Cup Series drivers have never raced on a track that small.
Complicating things is the fact that Sunday’s race will be the first for NASCAR’s new Next Gen race car.
“I’m not sure I’ve raced a stock car on a track this small and, obviously, we’ve never raced the Next Gen car so it’s going to be interesting,” said Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. “The cool thing is it’s going to be a lot of fun to do something fun and there is a lot of excitement around it as well. I think everybody is anxious to get out there — get on track — and see what we can do and hopefully it turns into a fun event for the drivers. I’ll enjoy it, and usually when I enjoy it, we run well. I’m excited about it, and it should be good.”
Two-time series champion Kyle Busch is unsure how NASCAR Cup Series cars will acclimate to the track.
“My anticipation level is probably a lot like everyone else’s, just not exactly knowing what we are going to see,” Busch said. “I’ve raced on tracks that small before, but it was in Legends cars. We’ll have to see how this track fits these big, heavy stock cars. We’ll see how it goes.”
According to Busch, one thing’s for sure, the speeds will be slower than those fans are accustomed to seeing on bigger tracks.
“Top speed is probably going to be around 60 mph and the low speed in the corners may be 20 mph,” Busch explained. “It’s going to be action-packed. We aren’t going to be able to spread out and get away from each other. We are going to be all over the top of each other’s bumpers and doors. Double-file restarts are going to be really tight, and there’s going to be a lot of fenders bent and probably feelings hurt.”
In addition to a new track and a new car, 2012 series champion Brad Keselowski will be with a new team, as he makes his RFK Racing debut at the Coliseum.
“The Clash is a new challenge for us, not only is it the first race of the season, but it’s a new race at a new track and a completely different style of racing we’ve seen,” Keselowski said. “To say there’s a lot of uncertainty and a lot of hype would be an understatement. When you go to a track you’ve never been to before, the most difficult thing to do is prepare for it and know what to expect. With it being my first race with RFK and our first race together, any success we can have there is going to be huge for our company.”
The history of the venue has not been lost on the participants.
“Having the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum is such a unique opportunity for our sport. All of the history this venue has is one thing, but it’s another to make history debuting the NextGen car at the same time,” said Aric Almirola. “No one really knows what to anticipate during the race, but it’s definitely going to put on a show for the fans in attendance and those fans at home watching. The one really cool thing is that I’ll be able to tell my kids and grandkids that I raced inside the Coliseum. My son got really excited when I showed him pictures. He , ‘Dad that’s where the Cars movie was filmed,’ so that was funny.”
Truex is not sure what the racing will be like on such a small track.
“I think there will be a decent level of respect and guys trying to do it the right way. We’ll see. It could turn into a crash fest, which I would hate to see,” he noted. “I don’t know. I really don’t have high expectations for either way. I think we are just going to go there and race and see what happens. I just think at a broader look at everything, and what the race is and what attention is getting, I hope that things go – I hope it’s exciting – but I hope it’s not just everybody crashing into one another all day. I really don’t know.
“I don’t have any expectations either way. I’m just going to go there and race and try to have fun with it.”