Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 NASCAR Ford Mustang, spun out during qualifying for the season-opening Clash at the Coliseum, prompting the sanctioning body to disallow his time, as driving backward is illegal..
Blaney posted the 11th-fastest time, but his time was ultimately axed due to his spinout. He spun out on a hot lap and drove the wrong direction to get back to the back straightaway, where he spun his car around to attempt the lap again. This move is not allowed by NASCAR, and Blaney’s No. 12 Mustang will start last in his heat race on Sunday instead.
The fastest Ford in qualifying was the No. 10 Mustang of Aric Almirola, who posted the fifth-fastest time. Almirola, who announced last year that he was rescinding his plans for retirement and will continue to drive the No. 10 NASCAR Ford for years to come, posted a best lap of 13.6 seconds around the temporary track inside the Los Angeles Coliseum at 66.176 mph. By comparison, the polesitter, Justin Haley, threw his No. 31 Chevy Camaro ZL1 around the quarter-mile oval in 13.413 seconds at 67.099 mph.
Harrison Burton, driver of the No. 21 Mustang, is the next-best Blue Oval team, and will take the green flag from 13th. Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mustang, will begin his retirement tour with a 14th-best qualifying time. Meanwhile, Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 NASCAR Ford and last year’s Clash winner, was 17th-fastest, having spun out during practice.
The only driver unable to make a lap was Ty Gibbs, whose No. 54 Toyota TRD Camry caught fire. He will start at the rear of his heat as a result.
The 2023 Clash at the Coliseum will begin with four heat races scheduled to take place 5 p.m. ET, while the Clash itself is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 5th. As a reminder, this is an exhibition race, and teams will not accrue points for the NASCAR Playoffs.
| Pos | Car Number | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 | Justin Haley | Celsius Chevrolet | 13.413 | 67.099 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 2 | 8 | Kyle Busch | BetMGM Chevrolet | 13.553 | 66.406 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 3 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Interstate Batteries Toyota | 13.569 | 66.328 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 4 | 24 | William Byron | RaptorTough.com Chevrolet | 13.596 | 66.196 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 5 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 13.6 | 66.176 | Ford Mustang |
| 6 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Get Bioethanol Chevrolet | 13.605 | 66.152 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota | 13.621 | 66.074 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 8 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Action Industries Chevrolet | 13.623 | 66.065 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 9 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 13.624 | 66.06 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 10 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 13.638 | 65.992 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 11 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Jockey Chevrolet | 13.663 | 65.871 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 12 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 13.683 | 65.775 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 13 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 13.714 | 65.626 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Busch Light Ford | 13.734 | 65.531 | Ford Mustang |
| 15 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mahindra Tractors Ford | 13.735 | 65.526 | Ford Mustang |
| 16 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | DoorDash Toyota | 13.742 | 65.493 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 17 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 13.749 | 65.459 | Ford Mustang |
| 18 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Food4Less/Velveeta Chevrolet | 13.767 | 65.374 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | MoneyLion Toyota | 13.793 | 65.25 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 20 | 43 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Chevrolet | 13.817 | 65.137 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 42 | Noah Gragson # | Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet | 13.823 | 65.109 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 22 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 13.851 | 64.977 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 23 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | King's Hawaiian Ford | 13.863 | 64.921 | Ford Mustang |
| 24 | 41 | Ryan Preece | United Rentals Ford | 13.87 | 64.888 | Ford Mustang |
| 25 | 34 | Michael McDowell | FR8Auctions.com Ford | 13.89 | 64.795 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Freightliner Ford | 13.91 | 64.702 | Ford Mustang |
| 27 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | gener8tor Skills Ford | 13.915 | 64.678 | Ford Mustang |
| 28 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Animal Control FOX Chevrolet | 13.919 | 64.66 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 29 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | 13.935 | 64.586 | Ford Mustang |
| 30 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 14.087 | 63.889 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 31 | 15 | JJ Yeley | CW & Sons Infrastructure Ford | 14.254 | 63.14 | Ford Mustang |
| 32 | 51 | Cody Ware | Biohaven Ford | 14.316 | 62.867 | Ford Mustang |
| 33 | 77 | Ty Dillon | NASCAR Fan Rewards Chevrolet | 14.489 | 62.116 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 34 | 78 | BJ McLeod | Celsius Chevrolet | 15.308 | 58.793 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 35 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Menards/Great Lakes Flooring Ford | 40.301 | 22.332 | Ford Mustang |
| 36 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 0 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
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Comments
Love it that you are covering NASCAR. Good writing and timely coverage. Keep it up!
Who won?
Martin Truex Jr