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Kyle Busch was the fastest man in Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum qualifying Saturday (Steve Himelstein Photo)

Busch Sets Pace During Clash Coliseum Qualifying

LOS ANGELES – Kyle Busch was the fastest qualifier for the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum Saturday night inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Busch navigated the tight quarter-mile temporary oval in 13.745 seconds. The fast lap guarantees he’ll start from the pole during one of four 25-lap heat races that will help set the field for the 150-lap finale Sunday evening.

“It’s pretty cool,” Busch said “It’s just a different opportunity to come do something like this. NASCAR took a lot of flack on what this was going to look like and what this was going to be, but we’re having a good time. It’s fun, it’s different. We’ve got a bunch of fans out here that have come out and just witnessed qualifying. Looking forward to seeing what this place looks like tomorrow.”

RESULTS: Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum Qualifying

Joining Busch as a heat race polesitter on Sunday afternoon were Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick (13.761), Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley (13.891) and Team Penske’s Joey Logano (13.949).

The top-four finishers from each heat race will automatically advance to Sunday’s Busch Light Clash, with all other drivers relegated to two 50-lap last chance races. Each last chance race will send three drivers to the main event, with one final spot available to the highest driver in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series owner standings.

“We’re not in yet,” Busch said. “We’ve still got to go through that heat race. But overall, just real proud of the guys. Great job working through the feedback and doing some of the changes and trying to understand what this car is all about.”

Drivers will hit the track inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at 3 p.m. E.T. for the four heat races, with the two last chance races to follow at approximately 4:10 p.m. The 150-lap finale is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.