When Kevin Harvick rolled up to the L.A. Memorial Coliseum for the inaugural running of the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, he expected it to be a joke.
It was a completely new venue for NASCAR, featuring a temporarily constructed, quarter-mile track that could’ve presented a surplus of problems. Beyond that, it seemed to be nothing more than a publicity stunt.
But to Harvick’s surprise, it was one of his favorite NASCAR Cup Series races of the season.
“You look at the atmosphere and everything that happened, it was a great event and I think coming back this year everybody is looking forward to it,” Harvick said. “It was probably one of the races that I had the most fun at last year.”
Despite finishing 10th in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing entry, Harvick still holds the Clash at the Coliseum in high regard and believes there is a winning formula involved that NASCAR should pay attention to.
“I think all of our races need to be great events. When you go and you watch a Super Bowl, the event is great no matter what happens in the game because it’s the Super Bowl and everything it leads up to and builds up to,” Harvick explained.
On a personal level, Harvick has been building up his own storyline leading into the season.
In mid-January, Harvick announced this will be his last year as a full-time Cup Series driver. He’s hoping to transition his life’s focus from the race track to his family.
However, as he is also a new co-owner of the CARS Tour — the Southeast’s premier asphalt late model series — Harvick plans to maintain a strong presence within the motorsports community.
While none of that changes how seriously he’ll approach each and every Cup Series race this season, he admitted there is an air of nostalgia that he will take with him on his final tour.
“I’m definitely going to try to enjoy the moments that I have at the race track, but in the end, I feel really good about the timing of stepping out of the car,” Harvick said. “I’m looking forward to going to all these places for the last time.”
Though the Clash is not a points-paying race, collecting a win would undoubtably be an ideal way for Harvick to start his last year in the Cup Series.
He already leads the field of active drivers with the most all-time Clash victories — Harvick and Denny Hamlin are tied with three triumphs each. Harvick’s last trip to victory lane at the event came nearly a decade ago in 2013.
Harvick turned the 14th fastest lap in qualifying and will look to his heat race on Sunday to stir up more momentum and set himself up in a good starting position for the 150-lap main event.
By the wave of the green flag, he hopes to be knocking on the door of a fourth and final Busch Light Clash victory.