Date: 2-5-2023.

Name of the race: Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum.

Track: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Laps: 150.

Pole winner: Aric Almirola.

Outside Pole: Martin Truex Jr.

Winner of the Race: Martin Truex Jr.

Top 5: Martin Truex Jr, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, and Kyle Larson. 

FYI: Welcome back readers! Yes, it is that time of year again where we begin the chapter of a new season and boy was it an eventful one. You started out with practice the day before where tempers flared with AJ Allmendinger and Chase Briscoe on track, Ty Gibbs car being on fire, and Ryan Blaney's lap time being disallowed. This year's format was different then last years with the introduction of four twenty-five heat races. Qualifying for these heat races started Saturday with Justin Haley, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, and William Byron all starting on the pole for their heat races, and five drivers advanced out of each of them with the remaining drivers going to what is called the Last Chance Qualifiers which is two fifty lap races. Heat Race #1 was won by Aric Almirola, #2 was one by Martin Truex Jr, #3 was Denny Hamlin, and #4 was William Byron, and Michael McDowell and Chase Elliott started on the pole for the last chance qualifiers with both of them also winning their respected races. The Clash itself started at 8:00 p.m. where seventy-five laps were run and then a break come for a halftime performance from Wiz Khalifa, the first time was pretty much tamed, but after the break that changed. Drivers got impatient and started bumping into one another and taking each other out as well which resulted in a total of sixteen cautions and newfound rivalry with Bubba Wallace Jr and Austin Dillon after an on-track incident and the resurrection of the rivalry between Joey Logano and Kyle Busch after an on-track incident too. Ryan Preece dominated the race since a small track like this is in his wheelhouse because of his modified racing background, but in the end Martin Truex Jr walked away with the victory and earned his first win since Richmond fall 2021. Now the series looks to Daytona 500 qualifying and the two duel races that will determine the field for The Great American Race.

Fun Fact about the Driver who won: After winning his first ever Cup race back at Dover Motor Speedway in 2007, he did not win another race until Sonoma in 2013.

Fun Fact about the Track: The track was renovated in 1930, 1964, 1977-1978, 1983, 1993, 1995, 2011, and 2017-2019.

Fun Fact about California: California is home to the "Avocado Capital of the World," where every year Fallbrook holds an avocado festival to celebrate this.

Next race: Two Duel races on February 16 at night (Thursday).