NASCAR Ford Teams Have Rough Time At 2023 Clash: Video

February 6, 2023 3:15 pm

A total of 17 caution flags slowed the field during the 2023 Clash at the Coliseum in Los Angeles on February 5^th, and unfortunately, plenty of NASCAR Ford teams were caught in the melee throughout the event.

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Ford Mustang, started on the front row alongside eventual race winner Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 Toyota TRD Camry. However, after leading 16 laps, Almirola was shuffled out of the lead and plummeted through the field, unable to recover his position. Then, just 24 laps in, Chase Briscoe’s No. 14 Mustang got shoved into the corner and collected the No. 12 Mustang of Ryan Blaney, who spun and crashed into Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Chevy Camaro ZL1.

On Lap 78, Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mustang, spun out with help from Todd Gilliland, driver of the No. 38 Mustang. However, at the midway point of the race, things started to look up for The Blue Oval as Ryan Preece guided the No. 41 NASCAR Ford to challenge Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 Camry for the lead, but the race was slowed yet again as Joey Logano’s No. 22 Mustang made contact with Kyle Busch’s No. 8 Camaro behind them.

Up front, Preece’s No. 41 Mustang continued to lead, holding off the No. 48 Camaro of Alex Bowman, the No. 23 Camry of Bubba Wallace and the No. 19 Camry of Truex. With 25 laps left, Truex’s No. 19 Camry continued to work on Preece’s No. 41 Mustang, eventually executing the pass as Preece began to slow as he began to experience electrical issues. Unfortunately, after leading 43 laps, Preece could not recover from the mysterious electrical issues afflicting the No. 41 Mustang, and ultimately finished seventh, the best of all the NASCAR Ford teams. Harvick’s No. 4 Mustang brought home 12^th, the next-best Blue Oval competitor. The rest of the Fords finished 15^th or worse.

As a reminder, the Clash at the Coliseum is an exhibition event, and drivers do not accrue points toward the NASCAR Playoffs.

NASCAR Cup Series Race Results, L.A. Coliseum, February 5, 2023
Finish	Start	Car Number	Driver	Team	Laps Run	Laps Led	Car
1	2	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Bass Pro Shops Toyota	150	25	Toyota TRD Camry
2	10	3	Austin Dillon	Get Bioethanol Chevrolet	150	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
3	6	8	Kyle Busch	BetMGM Chevrolet	150	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
4	5	48	Alex Bowman	Ally Chevrolet	150	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
5	14	5	Kyle Larson	HendrickCars.com Chevrolet	150	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
6	11	45	Tyler Reddick	MoneyLion Toyota	150	0	Toyota TRD Camry
7	16	41	Ryan Preece	United Rentals Ford	150	43	Ford Mustang
8	12	1	Ross Chastain	Worldwide Express Chevrolet	150	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
9	3	11	Denny Hamlin	Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota	150	26	Toyota TRD Camry
10	4	24	William Byron	RaptorTough.com Chevrolet	150	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
11	9	31	Justin Haley	Celsius Chevrolet	150	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
12	18	4	Kevin Harvick	Busch Light Ford	150	0	Ford Mustang
13	23	20	Christopher Bell	Interstate Batteries Toyota	150	0	Toyota TRD Camry
14	13	42	Noah Gragson #	Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet	150	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
15	7	14	Chase Briscoe	Mahindra Tractors Ford	150	0	Ford Mustang
16	17	22	Joey Logano	Shell Pennzoil Ford	150	0	Ford Mustang
17	15	12	Ryan Blaney	Menards/Great Lakes Flooring Ford	150	0	Ford Mustang
18	1	10	Aric Almirola	Smithfield Ford	150	16	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
19	19	99	Daniel Suarez	Jockey Chevrolet	150	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
20	26	16	AJ Allmendinger	Action Industries Chevrolet	150	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
21	22	9	Chase Elliott	NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet	150	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
22	8	23	Bubba Wallace	DoorDash Toyota	150	40	Toyota TRD Camry
23	25	38	Todd Gilliland	gener8tor Skills Ford	140	0	Ford Mustang
24	21	34	Michael McDowell	FR8Auctions.com Ford	137	0	Ford Mustang
25	27	2	Austin Cindric	Freightliner Ford	106	0	Ford Mustang
26	24	54	Ty Gibbs #	Monster Energy Toyota	81	0	Toyota TRD Camry
27	20	43	Erik Jones	Allegiant Chevrolet	16	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1