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Justin Haley wheel the No. 31 during the Clash at the Coliseum. (Steve Himelstein photo)

Haley Leads Busch Light Clash Field In Qualifying

Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley led qualifying for the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum with a 13.412-second lap time and best speed of 67.099 mph.

He will start in the pole position in the first heat race on Sunday.

Newly-signed Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch jumped up to second on the board 30 minutes into the session. He recorded a 13.553-second lap time at 66.406 mph. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell trailed the two in third, filing a 13.569-second lap time at 66.328 mph in his No. 20 Toyota. Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron finished fourth in his No. 24 Chevrolet.

Busch, Bell and Byron will all start from pole position in their respective heat races.

Aric Almirola put his No. 10 Ford Mustang in fifth. Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin, A.J. Allmendinger, Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson completed the top 10. Notably, Allmendinger was involved in a practice incident with Chase Briscoe, who qualified 15th.

Practice belonged to Martin Truex Jr. earlier in the day, as he was the fastest overall driver in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing entry.

23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace was second fastest in practice.

Unfortunately for the JGR team, Ty Gibbs was not allowed to qualify. After the No. 54 car caught on fire on the start/finish line, the team made changes during repair that NASCAR officials deemed “unapproved.”