Monday, December 26, 2022

Busch Light Clash Field Expands to 27

Busch Light Clash Field Expands to 27

Full Format Revealed

#NASCAR - Busch Light Clash Field Expands to 27

 

The Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum is getting even bigger in 2023.

 

The main event of the exhibition race held inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum expands for the Feb. 5 race as the field will increase to 27 cars, bumped up from 23 in last year’s inaugural running.

 

Eligibility for the one-of-a-kind stadium race includes all 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Charter team owners and associated Cup drivers. 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Open team owners and associated Cup drivers are eligible to enter and compete for the four additional starting positions in this year’s field.

 

The format of this year’s Clash at the Coliseum is largely unchanged. On Saturday, Feb. 4, the field will be split into three groups for practice, with each group receiving three sessions to dial in their cars.

 

Following practice, single-round and single-car qualifying will begin to set the starting lineups of Sunday’s heat races — four 25-lap contests in which only green-flag laps will count. In qualifying, each driver gets three laps — one warm-up lap and two timed circuits. Teams will go out for qualifying based on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series owner points standings from lowest to highest. If there are more than 40 entries to this event, the fastest four open teams will transfer into the heat races.

 

Saturday’s fastest qualifier will earn the pole position in Heat 1, with the second-fastest qualifier earning pole for Heat 2; third-fastest on pole for Heat 3; and fourth-fastest on pole for Heat 4, etc.

 

The heat races will determine both the field for the main event, alongside the starting lineup. The top five finishers in each heat race will automatically advance to the main event, setting the top 20 starting positions.

 

Drivers who finish their heat races outside the top five will fight to advance into the main event through the Last Chance Qualifiers, two 50-lap dashes to officially set the Clash field. The first LCQ will feature those who finished sixth-10th in Heats 1 and 3; the second LCQ hosts those who finished sixth-10th in Heats 2 and 4. The top three drivers in each LCQ will advance and compete in the Clash.

 

#NASCAR - Busch Light Clash Field Expands to 27

 

The 27th and final spot in the field is reserved for the driver who finished the highest in the 2022 season points standings and who did not already earn a starting position in the Clash. That means Joey Logano, last year’s Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum winner and the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series champion, is locked into the field.

 





Tune into the Clash at the Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, at 8 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

 

 

source: NASCAR Media

Sunday, December 25, 2022

2022 #NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductees

2022 #NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductees

Hershel McGriff (Driver), Matt Kenseth (Driver),  Kirk Shelmerdine (Crew Chief)

Each year, three inductees from a pool of fifteen significant contributors to the sport of NASCAR are selected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

 

With an extensive list of accomplishments throughout their careers, , Hershel McGriff , Matt Kenseth and Kirk Shelmerdine have secured their place in NASCAR history.

 





Hershel McGriff

McGriff exhibited a competitive passion that lasted longer than any driver in NASCAR history.

Hershel McGriff looks on as his crew goes to work on his
Oldsmobile in the first Carrera Panamericana in 1950.

 

His first race was the 1950 Southern 500, in the NASCAR Cup Series' sophomore season, at the age of 22.

 

His final NASCAR race was at Tucson Speedway in the NASCAR Pro Series West – in 2018 at the age of 90.

 

McGriff started 85 races in parts of 28 NASCAR Cup Series seasons, capturing four wins – all in 1954, when he finished sixth in championship points.

 

But McGriff was one of the best drivers in what is now known as the ARCA Menards Series West. Competing in parts of 35 seasons, McGriff won 37 races, good for third on the all-time West Series wins list.

 

His signature year came in 1986 when he won the series title, part of a string of 10 consecutive seasons with finishes in the top 10 of championship points.

 

In 1998, McGriff was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.

 

Matt Kenseth

Kenseth’s unassuming, every-man demeanor disguised an inarguable truth: He was one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers ever.

The emotions flowed freely for the usually staid Matt Kenseth
after his victory in the 2012 Daytona 500.

 

A quick glance at Matt Kenseth's resume would prove his brilliance behind the wheel.

 

Over 18 full-time seasons Kenseth quietly filled his trophy cases, conquering every major milestone on the Cup Series schedule including two Daytona 500s, the Southern 500, Coca-Cola 600 and the All-Star Race. His 39 Cup wins tie for 21st on the all-time list and include wins at 19 of the 23 tracks at which he competed more than once.

 

His crowning achievement was his 2003 Cup Series championship, a thoroughly impressive season in which he led the points standings for the final 32 weeks of the season. And though he ‘only’ captured that one title, Kenseth was consistently in championship contention – he made the Playoffs in 13 of 14 seasons and finished runner-up twice.

 

Success came early to the 2000 Cup Series Rookie of the Year. He finished sixth in his first Cup Series start and finished runner-up in the standings in his first Xfinity Series season. Kenseth has 29 career Xfinity wins, eighth-best all time.

 

Kirk Shelmerdine

Shelmerdine won four premier series championships with Dale Earnhardt in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Kirk Shelmerdine – Champion #NASCAR Crew Chief With Dale Sr.

 

Not many reach the pinnacle of their professions as quickly as Kirk Shelmerdine.

 

At age 25 in 1983, Shelmerdine guided Ricky Rudd to victory at Riverside, the first of two wins during that season. And a scant three years later, he directed Dale Earnhardt to the 1986 Cup Series championship.

 

More than a flash in the pan, Shelmerdine won four total Cup Series championships with Earnhardt (1986, ’87, ’90, ’91). Over his 16-year crew chief career with Earnhardt, Rudd, James Hylton and Richard Childress, he won 46 races and posted top-10 finishes in more than half his starts.

 

In 1987, Shelmerdine won 11 races with Earnhardt, including four in a row and six of seven.

 

Shelmerdine retired from life as a crew chief in 1992 to pursue a career as a driver. In the cockpit, he made 41 starts across all three NASCAR national series.