NASCAR In Los Angeles? The Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum Was a Hit

Honestly, who would have thought that a race series strongly associated with heartland America could make such a huge impact in a cosmopolitan city like Los Angeles? NASCAR gave it a go, to surprisingly fun results. The series added some challenge to its plate by turning the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum into a paved race track. NASCAR pulled it off in just over a month and in time for its annual season opening exhibition race, the Busch Light Clash.

Racing in L.A.

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This isn't the first time that auto racing has occurred in or around the L.A. Coliseum, and we're not even talking about the Mickey Thompson Stadium Truck races. In 1903, where the Coliseum now stands was once a horse track—and an exhibition race ran around it is credited as the first ever automotive race in California. Then, in 1945, midget racing under the United Auto Racing sanctioning body ran inside the stadium; everyone was itching for some wasteful racing action following the rubber and fuel conservation efforts of World War II. Not much time after that, the Coliseum was converted into a banked board track. There was no further racing there until 1972, when the first motocross race was held on site.

Building the Track On Top Of a Football Field

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Making a race track out of a field that still regularly hosts football games for University of Southern California (USC), as well as other types of entertainment events wasn't going to be easy. However, before the dirt was even laid down, virtual versions of the track were run with the help of iRacing, a world renowned simulator dedicated to auto racing. Several versions were constructed before finalizing on the configuration we see now. The length is 0.25 mile with 2.5 degrees of banking around the not-quite-paperclip-shaped track. Yes, before you ask, that is tiny as far as NASCAR tracks go.

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The racetrack actually sits above the football field to allow for the irrigation and telecommunications equipment to remain in place and undamaged from laying down and removing the surface, the latter of which will occur towards the end of February 2022. Then towards the end of the year—sometime in November—NASCAR and the L.A. Coliseum teams will come together and rebuild the track for a 2023 redo, potentially with a few tweaks to improve the already amazing racing that happened the year before.

A Spectacle That NASCAR Needed

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While most NASCAR races aren't as follow-the-leader as many race series are, short tracks nearly always deliver amazing racing with battles happening all around the track. However, it wasn't just the classic short track action that fans keeping fans up out of their seats and entertained. Before the main race kicked off, fans were treated to a concert by Pitbull, who is himself a NASCAR team owner by way of Trackhouse Racing.

While it was still early in the day, the fans who were already there and watching in the Coliseum were responsive. Between caution laps, fans were treated to additional music by DJ Skee and kept everyone hyped up and ready for the race to get back going again.

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When the race hit the halfway mark of 75 laps, the cars were brought to a stop in the pit area. That's when Ice Cube—a self-proclaimed huge NASCAR enthusiast who is often seen at events as just a fan—put on a concert of his own and the packed crowd truly felt energetic and sang along. That energy was powerful and continued on through the end of the race.

A Resounding Success

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The race, on both paper and at the conclusion, was a hit for fans. NASCAR reported that 70 percent of all ticket sales were sold to new-to-NASCAR spectators. Tony Stewart—who is a former driver, three-time NASCAR champion, and owner of Eldora Speedway in Ohio—exclaimed that other races need to take notes from this running of the Clash and apply that promotional mentality to their own events across the country. It also proved that the series is able to build a temporary track and make it successful, opening the doors to other potential races in temporary locations, including maybe street circuits and even other stadiums.

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The proof is in the race's finish. The energy that started the race for the fans carried through to the final lap and beyond the finish as the number 22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang of Joey Logano and Team Penske—who has a large presence here in California with its dealerships—took the checkered flag and did several donuts on the track with the fans cheering him on the entire time.

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If we, as fans and as journalists, are afraid of motorsports dying, then it needs to evolve. NASCAR just showed what that kind of evolution could and maybe should look like. Fans new and old should be entertained beyond the actual race itself and the weekend can be more than just about the racing—it can be a spectacle. Don't get us wrong, there are plenty of traditional NASCAR events that are put on in big ways, but reaching out to new audiences sometimes requires, well, going out and visiting those new audiences, rather than trying to get them to come to you.