Updates at the bottom of the playbook and a few drivers were removed.

The 2022 NASCAR Cup season gets kicked off on Sunday in the form of the Busch Light Clash. Now, it’s not uncommon for the Clash to start the season, as it has been the first on-track action of the year dating back to the ‘70s. However, this year it’s different. It’s on the West coast for one. For another, it’s on a short track rather than some configuration of Daytona International Speedway. Lastly, there are heat races to determine the field for the race, adding another layer of complication to the world of DFS.

The track for this year’s preseason exhibition is not only in a new locale, but was also purpose-built over the offseason. The L.A. Coliseum will be host for the race this year and a brand-new, quarter-mile, flat, asphalt track will be the surface for the event. If you’ve not seen racing in stock cars on a track this small, you should check out clips from The Madhouse, aka Bowman Gray Stadium, on YouTube. Things will be very tight on this track and the turns will be especially tough to pull passes off in as everyone will be vying for the real estate in the inside of the corners. Think about it like a wider version of your High School’s track.

While this track size is different than we’ve seen drivers typically drive on in NASCAR, we do have some history with drivers racing on shorter, flatter, tracks previously and we’ve seen some results from testing with this new car at Phoenix a few weeks ago, which is a flatter track. Sunday’s race is also shorter, lap-wise, than we usually see for short tracks and exhibition races with the main race being 150 laps, divided into two 75-lap segments. That being said, there’s still enough laps to make a difference in the dominator points on DK.

Based on track size and what we saw in practice, it appears that passing for the lead will be tough but passing further back in the field might not be as hard as we’d imagined. That means that we should focus on one driver being the laps led leader while going for the rest to finish well. This will also be a chaotic race with a lot of pushing and shoving and we know how that typically ends up on short tracks. Keep in mind the caution laps don’t count toward lap count so there’s no cheap or free laps led in this race. Below you’ll see the practice notes from Saturday that I wrote while watching and listening to the coverage and radios. We’ll have to wait till Sunday to find out the actual starting spots for the Clash and in discord I’ll post a graphic showing how the starting spots will work. Edits will be made on Sunday depending on outcomes of the Heat races and LCQs.

Practice Notes (practice Saturday afternoon)

  • The sessions are being run in eight-minute segments with a third of the 36-car field on track for each one.
  • The first practice started with drivers feeling out the track and where exactly grip can be found.
  • The track is more of an Aussie Rules Football shape which widens the opening to the corners.
  • There are a lot of drivers making comps to Martinsville early on and happy with the length of the straightaways.
  • Christopher Bell led first segment of practice with a 14-second lap with Kyle Busch just a tick behind him.
  • Early in the second segment, Kevin Harvick and Corey Lajoie got into each other and Lajoie bumped Harvick’s rear bumper after the corner.
  • Cole Custer and Austin Dillon seem to be diamonding the corners on the rumble strips while Daniel Suarez is going in wider and staying above the rumble strips.
  • With 2.5 minutes left in the session, Daniel Suarez is the fastest car of the session with Ross Chasten in second.
  • Chase Briscoe locked up the front left enter a corner with 2 minutes left in practice.
  • Harvick and LaJoie have been bumping each other most of the session.
  • Most drivers are getting in more than 25 laps in the eight minutes which is the length of the heat races.
  • Some brakes are on fire but not that concerning, just shows how hard they’re driving.
  • Ryan Blaney was locking up the wheels a bit in corners.
  • Ryan Preece is the fastest car in the third session halfway through the time.
  • With 2 minutes left in the third session, there are eight total drivers across all three sessions, who are under 14 seconds a lap.
  • Chase Elliott, Preece, and Kyle Larson are the three fastest in the third segment and all top-six overall.
  • Rear grip and loose in are the biggest concerns for the teams after the first sessions.
  • Denny Hamlin has been wheel locking quite frequently.
  • A.J. Allmendinger and Ty Dillon jumped to P5 and P6 on the lap times with 2 minutes left in the session.
  • Kyle Busch and Bell were consistently the two fastest in that group’s second session.
  • Some teams can’t hear their crew chiefs with all the noise on the track.
  • In the middle of the second session for the third group, the times have been down to 13.5 seconds.
  • Cole Custer broke a throttle cable toward the end of his final practice but it’s a quick fix and not an issue going forward.
  • Elliott posted the fasted single-lap, 15-lap, 20-lap, 25-lap, 30-lap averages
  • Busch fastest 10-lap average and Harvick fastest 5-lap average.

Stacks

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