NASCAR
Joey Logano Outlasts Kyle Busch for Los Angeles Coliseum Clash Victory
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – “This is an amazing event,” Joey Logano said after winning the Busch Light Clash. “Congratulations, NASCAR. Such a huge step in our industry to be able to do this, put on an amazing race for everybody. I’m out of breath. I was so excited about this. This is a big win. My wife is having a baby tomorrow, our third one, so a pretty big weekend for us.”
In the inaugural NASCAR race from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Joey Logano walks away as the big winner. After restarting on Kyle Busch’s outside, the 22 got by the 18 for the eventual victory. This exhibition event marks Logano’s second Clash win, and the first race with a Next Gen car.
After chaos, drama, and a disqualification in the last LCQ race, the feature event started relatively calm. The only cautions for on-track incidents were mostly the results of single-car spins. The first half of the Clash also saw Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe both retire from the top five with mechanical issues.
The final caution however was for a significantly larger incident. Justin Haley got shoved into the inside wall by both Kyle Larson and William Byron. The Kaulig Racing No. 31 Chevrolet was destroyed by this heavy contact, after running in the top five all day.
Justin Haley into the wall. Caution. pic.twitter.com/qMGkGBo5PT
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 7, 2022
This last caution gave Logano the advantage he needed to dispense of Busch for good. After the 18 led a race-high 64 laps, he would have to settle for second to the 22.
Logano’s Winning Reaction
“Paul (Wolfe – crew chief) and Shaggy and the engineers do a great job,” Logano said. The guys working on the car did an amazing job finding speed when we were slow. We were 28th or so on the board yesterday and made some good changes – worked with our teammates – Ryan Blaney a lot. I owe a lot to him, too, to see some of the gains that they made and ultimately get the win.
“I want to say hey to my buddy, Hudson and Jameson and my wife, Brittany. This is cool. I’m headed home right after this. I told her, if you’re having the baby I’m just running right off the track from here. I don’t think it’s happening right now, but this is special to get the first Next Gen win, the first win out here in the Coliseum. It’s a special one, so we’re gonna have some fun and celebrate it.”
The top 10 results from the Busch Light Clash were Logano, Busch, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Cole Custer, Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger, and Kevin Harvick.
Up next for the NASCAR Cup Series is the 64th running of the Daytona 500. Florida Speedweek will kick off the 2022 championship in two weeks’ time. Practice begins Tuesday, February 15 and it culminates with The Great American Race on Sunday, February 20 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Joey Logano will hope to keep momentum rolling into a second Daytona 500 win.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Sean Gardner/Getty Images for NASCAR
