There wasn’t the anticipated late-race madness to Sunday’s Clash at the Coliseum, but it was plenty for Joey Logano’s liking.
The veteran driver picked up the first win in NASCAR’s Gen 7 era by holding off Kyle Busch in the waning moments, avoiding any chaotic restart drama that was thought to be expected.
Instead, it was just Logano and the space he created on the previous 15 laps to keep his back bumper away from Busch’s front.
The NextGen era is officially underway and even though the win doesn’t mean a lot for Logano on the statbook, it should be considered a plus for him to start things off with a little bit of momentum.
There wasn’t points on the line on Sunday, but the Coliseum was filled with unpredictable moments.
A number of big names missed the transfer spot to the A-Main on the day, including Brad Keselowski in his new team’s No. 6 car for the first time and also Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman.
It looked like Ty Dillon would qualify for the race after winning the second B-Main on the evening, but after being called for his second penalty of the race for jumping the restart, his spot was redacted and given to Harrison Burton.
Between the qualifiers and the main event of the weekend, Pitbull performed for the fans. It was previously reported that 70 percent of the crowd at the race had never been to a NASCAR event.
Cars being pushed into the track as @pitbull finishes his set. #ClashAtTheColiseum pic.twitter.com/Cogo3QTVkJ
— Jay W. Pennell (@jaywpennell) February 6, 2022
The first half of the race saw leader Tyler Reddick breaking a transaxle and being forced to drop out of the race. He went up to the crowd to meet with fans after dropping out.
Tyler Reddick l's car broke during the race so he went to the stands during the down time. Pretty cool stuff. https://t.co/YQLutmi2VB
— Always Race Day (@AlwaysRaceDay) February 7, 2022
Meanwhile, Logano and Busch got the crowd warmed up with a battle that went up to the halftime bell.
👀 👀 👀 https://t.co/xL7uHoQTRq pic.twitter.com/LRcTwT3pif
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 7, 2022
After a halftime show-style concert from Ice Cube, the drama re-ensued.
Kyle Larson got bumped in the quarterpanel after William Byron ran into Justin Haley, but it got Larson to retaliate against Haley thinking he hit him in the first place.
Haley wasn’t a fan of the move.
Solid video here of that Larson-Haley deal from Tino.
Larson probably under the assumption that Haley moved him on his own, but nonetheless
🎥 @Tino_Pattigno pic.twitter.com/7ISQzblHLp
— Always Race Day (@AlwaysRaceDay) February 7, 2022
But despite all that lead up to the end of the night, the race finish was tidy and controlled, allowing Logano to cruise to the first win for the sport in the new era.
He’ll carry a little bit of that into speedweeks.
NASCAR Clash at The Coliseum Results
L.A. Coliseum
1. Joey Logano
2. Kyle Busch
3. Austin Dillon
4. Erik Jones
5. Kyle Larson
6. William Byron
7. Cole Custer
8. Christopher Bell
9. AJ Allmendinger
10. Kevin Harvick
11. Chase Elliott
12. Harrison Burton
13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
14. Daniel Suarez
15. Martin Truex Jr.
16. Michael McDowell
17. Ryan Blaney
18. Bubba Wallace
19. Justin Haley
20. Ryan Preece
21. Tyler Reddick
22. Chase Briscoe
23. Denny Hamlin
