Sunday's Busch Light Clash at the LA Memorial Coliseum marked the beginning of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series championship, with drivers taking to the track for the first time this year. The exhibition-style race saw drivers return to the iconic venue in the city of Los Angeles, where they sported a quarter-mile-long temporary track, alongside several celebrity appearances such as Wiz Khalifa and Cypress Hill.
After making its debut on the season calendar last year, the Clash at the Coliseum was dubbed a runaway hit amongst newer fans of stock car racing owing to its unique track and grandstand layout, along with close proximity to the city of California. This season's race did provide some of the same thrills from last year, however, it also brought in some negatives that might need to be resolved going forward.
With talks floating around that NASCAR might be looking into turning the Clash into a points-paying race, many drivers and fans spoke about why doing so might not be in the sport's best interests. This Sunday's race saw several caution flags, 16 to be exact, within 150 total laps of the event. This caused drivers to complain about the lack of green flag runs, along with a general lack of respect on the track.
2022 NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano explained why making the exhibition race into a points-paying race would not be the greatest idea, and said:
"No, we can't do that. We can't even make a caution lap without the pace car bumping the last-place car. We can't do that. That'd be dumb."
The #22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang driver further elaborated on whether NASCAR should return to the Coliseum next year, and said:
"I think it's a good event. I think it's good for what it is. It's a non-points race. I think we need to go back to maybe four cars only transferring from the heats, maybe have a little less cars out there."
Denny Hamlin speaks his mind on whether the NASCAR Clash at the Coliseum should be a points-paying race
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was also one of the many drivers to speak his mind about whether Busch Light Clash should award points. On being asked whether it should, Hamlin replied in typical fashion, saying:
"I think they should put it in the playoffs. That'd be perfect."
Watch NASCAR kick off the regular points-paying season at Daytona International Speedway later this month for the 65th run of the Daytona 500.