Seventy percent of tickets to NASCAR’s Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum were sold to fans who have never attended a NASCAR race before. If this is your first foray into watching NASCAR, here is what you should know leading up to Sunday afternoon’s race.
Success in qualifying was not limited to the top teams
Only Kyle Busch and Justin Haley finished in the top five of both practice and qualifying. The two vary wildly in experience and car quality — Busch is a former champion with 18 years of experience, while Haley has only driven one season’s worth of races and drives for a team that didn’t have a full-time car last year.
Reigning champion Kyle Larson wasn’t surprised at the practice session success of some underfunded teams.
“I think it’s just a combination of probably mostly the track just being as small as it is, and it just allows other people to be closer in speed,” Larson said.
That continued in the heat races — all four polesitters, including Haley, won without losing the lead.
Track conditions are changing
Qualifying took place at night, and the track was much colder than it will be when the first heat race starts at noon Sunday. Fast laps were heavily dependent on getting heat into the tires, meaning some drivers could have to move away from the driving styles that brought them success last night.
NASCAR shows off new car
This is the debut race for the Next Gen car. It’s been designed to turn corners better and has more power than the last regulations, not that we’ll see high speeds today.
Slowest track on the calendar
Average lap speeds in practice were around 66 miles per hour. Last year, in a less powerful car that didn’t turn as well as the new model, the average lap speed at Martinsville — the next slowest track — was slightly over 67 miles per hour. Drivers don’t leave second gear and have to brake far more often than they are accustomed to doing.
Shortest track in recent memory
The track in the Coliseum is a quarter-mile, half the length of Bristol Motor Speedway and the aforementioned Martinsville Speedway, making this the shortest track on the NASCAR schedule.
Implications for NASCAR
This race track is built into a football stadium; it’s probably not what you envision when you think of a NASCAR track, and the cars aren’t going any faster than you’d drive on the freeway. But each of the drivers stressed in Saturday’s media availability that the implications of this race are vast; it could be instrumental in extending NASCAR’s reach on the West Coast.
Daniel Suárez, who was the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR national series race in 2016, spoke about the opportunity to connect with Hispanic fans.
“I just feel very, very lucky and fortunate to be part of this lineup in the Cup Series and being able to be the driver that can connect with the Hispanic community,” Suárez said. “I hope that we can all enjoy the weekend. I know there is going to be a lot of Hispanics out there in the grandstands, and hopefully we have a great time.
“This is the first time that we’re racing here, but I truly hope that it’s not the last one because this is an amazing place and a place that everyone makes it feel like home.”