Hamlin claims his fourth Busch Light CLash
Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The final restart was the difference for Denny Hamlin.
A day earlier than planned, the result of a devastating weather forecast for the Los Angeles area, Hamlin got the jump he needed on an overtime restart and won Saturday night’s third edition of the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum.
Smoking his tires in every corner after grabbing the lead on a restart on Lap 141 of a scheduled 150, Hamlin was a few yards away from the finish line when his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Ty Gibbs, spun off the bumper of Kyle Larson’s Chevrolet to bring out the seventh caution and force a two-lap shootout.
On the final restart, Hamlin stayed clear of runner-up Kyle Busch and crossed the stripe with a 0.610-second advantage, earning his fourth victory in the season-opening exhibition race-most among active drivers-with the first three coming at Daytona International Speedway.
Given the prediction of heavy rain and possible flooding from Sunday through Tuesday, NASCAR made the unprecedented and provident call to move the start of the race from 8 p.m. ET on Sunday to the same time on Saturday.
The decision allowed the NASCAR Cup Series competitors to complete the event without extreme disruption to the schedule.
“I got a really good run off Turn 2 and just got position and was able to hang on from there,” Hamlin said of his run to the lead after the Lap 141 restart. “It’s so chaotic on the restarts, with everyone bumping and banging, but it’s great to win here in L.A.
“It’s just a great momentum boost. It doesn’t do much more than that, but I clean off all the trophies every January 1 in the entryway to the house, and now we get to add one pretty quick, so I’m really happy about that.”
Busch restarted behind Hamlin in the overtime, but Hamlin pulled away to a lead of nearly two car-lengths, and Busch couldn’t get to his bumper after that.
“I felt like the first half (of the race), I had a better car, better than the 11 (Hamlin), but some of the adjustments we made weren’t as good, some of the adjustments they made were better,” said Busch, who has finished second, third and second in the three events at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
“All in all, just glad to have a good night. Glad to come out of here in one piece with all the bumping and banging and everything else that happens.”
With a remarkable run from the rear of the field, 2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney finished third after using a provisional just to make the field. Blaney started 23rd and made steady progress throughout the race.
Joey Logano came home fourth, with Kyle Larson claiming the fifth position. Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and William Byron completed the top 10.
Hamlin led 58 laps, second only to Gibbs, who was out front for 84 circuits and led by nearly three seconds before catching the back of the field in a green-flag run from Lap 78 to Lap 140. The yellow that ended the run-the result of Michael McDowell’s spin in Turn 3-bunched the field and gave Hamlin a shot at the victory.
Clearly, Hamlin took full advantage.
All eyes turn to Daytona now as the 2024 regular season kicks off with the 66th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 18 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed without issue in the Cup Series garage, confirming Hamlin’s victory.
Race Results for the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum - Sunday, February 4, 2024
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum - Los Angeles, CA - 0.25 - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 151 Laps - 37.75 Miles
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 2/3/2024 @ 09:51 PM Eastern
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 1 11 Denny Hamlin Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota 151 0 Running 2 58
2 5 8 Kyle Busch Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet 151 0 Running
3 23 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Great Lakes Flooring Ford 151 0 Running
4 2 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 151 0 Running 2 8
5 8 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 151 0 Running
6 4 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 151 0 Running
7 22 14 Chase Briscoe Mahindra Tractors Ford 151 0 Running
8 13 6 Brad Keselowski Castrol Edge Ford 151 0 Running 1 1
9 19 19 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 151 0 Running
10 6 24 William Byron Liberty University Chevrolet 151 0 Running
11 12 41 Ryan Preece United Rentals Ford 151 0 Running
12 9 23 Bubba Wallace Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota 150 0 Running
13 21 42 John Hunter Nemechek Dollar Tree Toyota 150 0 Running
14 11 45 Tyler Reddick Jordan Brand Toyota 150 0 Running
15 7 1 Ross Chastain Busch Light Chevrolet 150 0 Running
16 20 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Food4Less/Ralphs/Cheerios Chevrolet 150 0 Running
17 18 7 Corey LaJoie Celsius Chevrolet 150 0 Running
18 3 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 150 0 Running 2 84
19 15 34 Michael McDowell Margaritaville at Sea Ford 149 0 Running
20 17 10 Noah Gragson Rush Truck Centers Ford 147 0 Running
21 10 51 Justin Haley Walmart Health & Wellness Ford 135 0 Engine
22 14 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 77 0 Steering
23 16 38 Todd Gilliland gener8tor Ford 68 0 Brakes
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 8 Mins, 46 Secs. Average Speed: 32.937 MPH Margin of Victory: .610 Seconds
Failed to Qualify: (13) 16 Josh Williams, 77 Carson Hocevar, 4 Josh Berry, 99 Daniel Suarez, 3 Austin Dillon, 43 Erik Jones, 17 Chris Buescher, 2 Austin Cindric, 31 Daniel Hemric, 20 Christopher Bell, 15 Kaz Grala, 21 Harrison Burton, 71 Zane Smith.
Caution Flags: 7 for 7 laps; Laps: 70-70 (#38 Incident Turn 1 [6]); 74-74 (#42 Incident Turn 4 [7]); 75-75 (Halfway Break [47]); 77-77 (#48, 45, 23 Incident Turn 4 [42]); 77-77 (#34, 47, 1 Incident Turn 2 [42]); 140-140 (#34, 1 Incident Turn 3 [None]); 149-149 (#5, 54, Incident Turn 4 [41]).
Lead Changes: 7 among 4 drivers; J. Logano 1-2; D. Hamlin 3-49; T. Gibbs 50-70; B. Keselowski 71; J. Logano 72-77; T. Gibbs 78-140; D. Hamlin 141-151.
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