For a while, it felt like the race might never end with all of the cautions that transpired at the beginning of the second half of the race.
For Martin Truex Jr., though, it was a positive, as the chaos behind him let the No. 19 car extend his lead on the field, eventually resulting in a win in the exhibition race.
Truex Jr., who returned to Joe Gibbs Racing, didn’t find a win last year with the team, but was able to hone down the short-track, purpose-built circuit in the LA Coliseum.
“We just had a really good race car,” Truex Jr. said on FOX. “The guys did a great job with it. Last year was a pretty rough season for us with no wins and to come out here and kick it off like this – I’m just so proud of these guys.”
Rounding out the podium was the pair of new Richard Childress Racing teammates with longtime No. 3 driver Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch taking home P2 and P3.
Drivers will return to the track for Daytona 500 qualifying on Wednesday, February 15 before the BlueGreen Duels set the lineup for the race on Thursday, February 16.
NASCAR Cup Series Results
Busch Light Clash
LA Memorial Coliseum
Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023
1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Austin Dillon
3. Kyle Busch
4. Alex Bowman
5. Kyle Larson
6. Tyler Reddick
7. Ryan Preece
8. Ross Chastain
9. Denny Hamlin
10. William Byron
11. Justin Haley
12. Kevin Harvick
13. Christopher Bell
14. Noah Gragson
15. Chase Briscoe
16. Joey Logano
17. Ryan Blaney
18. Aric Almirola
19. Daniel Suarez
20. AJ Allmendinger
21. Chase Elliott
22. Bubba Wallace
23. Todd Gilliland
24. Michael McDowell
25. Austin Cindric
26. Ty Gibbs
27. Erik Jones
