With 10 laps to go, the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum turned to chaos on Saturday night as the NASCAR Cup Series field lined up for yet another restart.
Race leader Ty Gibbs pushed Joey Logano up the tight, quarter-mile track in turns one and two, allowing just enough room for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin to slide underneath Gibbs and steal the lead in his No. 11 Toyota.
Logano moved back to sixth, while Gibbs fought to find a way past Hamlin.
More jockeying for position led to Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch jumping to the runner-up position, while the No. 54 of Gibbs brought out the caution after being tapped by Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet on the final circuit of the 150-lap race.
That put the exhibition race at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum officially in overtime, with Hamlin, reigning Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney, Busch, Logano and 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace filling out the top five on the restart with two laps to go.
At the wave of the green flag, Hamlin shot to the front and quickly gapped the field. Meanwhile, Busch passed Blaney on the frontstretch to take second.
However, that was as far as the No. 8 Chevrolet would go.
Hamlin held on to the victory, earning his fourth career Busch Light Clash win and his first since the non-points race was moved to the L.A. Memorial Coliseum in 2022.
“I got a really good run off of turn two, just got position and was able to hang on from there. It’s so chaotic with the restarts with everyone just bumping and banging,” the Joe Gibbs Racing driver explained during his post-race interview on FOX.
Runner-up Busch shared in Hamlin’s sentiments.
“Glad to have a good night and come out in one piece with all the bumpin’ and bangin’,” Busch said. “It definitely does sting. The first half of the race, I felt we were better than the 11.”
Blaney, who entered the race using a provisional, ended up third in his No. 12 Team Penske Ford.
“I got a terrible restart on the last one, but I probably wouldn’t have won anyway. We came from a long way back, so it was fun. I think every time I’ve been here I’ve been spun backwards two or three times, so it’s nice not to have that at the last one. It’s good,” Blaney said.
Logano and Larson completed the top five.
Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and William Byron rounded out the top 10.
Gibbs finished 18th after leading a race high of 84 laps.
Qualifying Notes
Hamlin was the polesitter with a fast lap of 13.139 seconds (68.498 mph).
One of last year’s Championship 4 drivers, Christopher Bell, was one of 13 drivers to not make the race.
“Just no rear grip in our Mobil 1 Camry for some reason. Just couldn’t get off the corners,” Bell explained. “Practice was good. I felt like we were in a really good spot, and just didn’t have in qualifying.”
The remaining drivers to DNQ were Josh Williams, Harrison Burton, Carson Hocevar, Daniel Suarez, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Austin Cindric, Chris Buescher, Kaz Grala, Zane Smith, Daniel Hemric and rookie Josh Berry.