The Busch Light Clash is a pre-season NASCAR Cup Series exhibition race that takes place in February, just before the Daytona 500.
Since the race’s start in 1979, it has been conducted every year at Daytona International Speedway until 2022, when it was transferred to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
You will get to know about Busch Clash 2022: Format, Tv Schedule, Qualifying, Lineups, How Works? in this post, stay tuned.
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Busch Clash 2022 Format
The format for the 2022 Clash was revealed on November 9, 2021, which is as follows:
- For the first time in the event’s history, it is open to all teams and drivers.
- A total of 350 laps were completed throughout the course of seven races.
- Qualifying will be held for 36 charter teams and up to four open teams. If more than 40 teams compete, it’s unclear if qualifying will determine who moves on to the heat races.
- Cars are assigned to one of four 25-lap heat races based on their lap times.
- In each 25-lap heat, the top four drivers will advance to the feature.
- All drivers who did not advance from their 25-lap heats are placed in one of two 50-lap heat races.
- In each 50-lap heat, the top three drivers will advance to the feature.
- The driver with the highest point total in the 2021 Cup Series standings who has not yet advanced to the feature will start in the last place.
- As a result, 23 drivers will compete in the feature, which will last 150 laps.
Busch Clash 2022 Qualifying Lineups
| Heat (Pos) | Car No. | Driver | Team | Qualifying time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1(1) | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | 13.745 |
| 1(2) | 99 | Daniel Suarez | TrackHouse Racing Team | 13.952 |
| 1(3) | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | 13.962 |
| 1(4) | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | 14.007 |
| 1(5) | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | 14.053 |
| 1(6) | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | 14.151 |
| 1(7) | 78 | BJ McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | 14.235 |
| 1(8) | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | 14.304 |
| 1(9) | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Team | 14.451 |
| 2(1) | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | 13.761 |
| 2(2) | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | 13.953 |
| 2(3) | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | 13.965 |
| 2(4) | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | 14.014 |
| 2(5) | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | 14.076 |
| 2(6) | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | 14.157 |
| 2(7) | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | 14.247 |
| 2(8) | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing | 14.305 |
| 2(9) | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | 14.466 |
| 3(1) | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | 13.891 |
| 3(2) | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | 13.954 |
| 3(3) | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | 13.973 |
| 3(4) | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | 14.023 |
| 3(5) | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | 14.12 |
| 3(6) | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | 14.158 |
| 3(7) | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing | 14.251 |
| 3(8) | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | 14.326 |
| 3(9) | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | 14.471 |
| 4(1) | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | 13.949 |
| 4(2) | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | 13.957 |
| 4(3) | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | 13.978 |
| 4(4) | 77 | Landon Cassill | Spire Motorsports | 14.05 |
| 4(5) | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | 14.148 |
| 4(6) | 43 | Erik Jones | Petty GMS Racing | 14.194 |
| 4(7) | 15 | Ryan Preece | Rick Ware Racing | 14.277 |
| 4(8) | 45 | Kurt Busch | 23XI Racing | 14.437 |
| 4(9) | 42 | Ty Dillon | Petty GMS Racing | 14.532 |
The race, along with the season-opening Lucas Oil 200 of the ARCA Menards Series, served as the inaugural event for Daytona Speedweeks.
Busch Clash 2022 Tv Schedule
The event will be broadcast live on FOX Sports, including practice and qualifying. On Feb. 5, the lone practice session will be shown on FS2 at 12:30 p.m. ET, while qualifying will be broadcast on FS1 at 8:30 p.m. ET the same evening.
The action on FOX begins at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday with a series of heat races before the main event at 6 p.m. ET. The entire weekend will be streamed live from Los Angeles.
Below is a complete list of national television and radio coverage:
| Date | Time (ET, -3 hours for local) | Event | TV/Radio/Stream |
| Saturday, Feb. 5 | 12:30 p.m. | Busch Light Clash practice | FS2/MRN/FOX Sports App |
| Saturday, Feb. 5 | 8:30 p.m. | Busch Light Clash single-car qualifying | FS1/MRN/FOX Sports App |
| Sunday, Feb. 6 | 3 p.m. | Busch Light Clash qualifying heats (four heat races) | FOX/MRN/FOX Sports App |
| Sunday, Feb. 6 | 4:10 p.m. (approx.) | Busch Light Clash last-chance qualifiers (two LCQs) | FOX/MRN/FOX Sports App |
| Sunday, Feb. 6 | 6 p.m. | Busch Light Clash main event | FOX/MRN/FOX Sports App |
The event is one of two non-point events on the Cup Series schedule, with the NASCAR All-Star Race serving as the other.
How Does The Busch Clash Work?
The Busch Clash at Daytona is NASCAR’s annual exhibition race that starts off Speedweeks and marks the start of the Daytona 500 countdown. This year’s Clash, the 43rd in the series, will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. ET on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course for the first time.
The RaceDay Daytona pre-race show will kick off broadcast on FS1 at 6 p.m. ET. The Busch Clash will then be shown live on FS1 at 7 p.m. ET. At 6 p.m. ET, MRN will begin airing coverage. There will be a broadcast on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
The drivers are one step closer to the race now that the lineup has been determined. The race will be 35 laps long this year, with one planned yellow at lap 15. As previously stated, the Clash will be held for the first race on the road course, a 14-turn, 3.61-mile layout that debuted in NASCAR’s top three national series in August.
The Busch Clash is only open to those who have been invited, and here’s how drivers qualified:
- 2020 Busch Pole Award winners
- Past Busch Clash winners who competed full-time in 2020
- DAYTONA 500 champions who competed full-time in 2020
- Former DAYTONA 500 Busch Pole winners who competed full-time in 2020
- 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers
- 2020 NASCAR Cup Series race winners
- 2020 NASCAR Cup Series stage winners
The entry list for the 2021 Busch Clash has 21 drivers, including:
- Aric Almirola
- Ryan Blaney
- Alex Bowman
- Chris Buescher
- Kurt Busch
- Kyle Busch
- William Byron
- Cole Custer
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Austin Dillon
- Ty Dillon
- Chase Elliott
- Denny Hamlin
- Kevin Harvick
- Erik Jones
- Brad Keselowski
- Joey Logano
- Ryan Newman
- Tyler Reddick
- Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
- Martin Truex, Jr.
This is all about Busch Clash 2022: Format, Tv Schedule, Qualifying, Lineups and How The Busch Clash Work. If you have anything to ask, do let us know in the comments below.
