Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, and Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, lead the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on February 03, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
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NASCAR News: Paybacks are a bitch in Busch Light Clash

Posted by AR1 staff

The LA Coliseum track that NASCAR has held the Busch Light Clash on recently is so Mickey Mouse it leads to spins and paybacks are a bitch are often the answer.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Two paybacks come to mind after Saturday night’s Busch Light Clash right at the end of the race, but there were many more before that.

Clash Payback #1: Larson spins Bubba on the final lap

In the closing moments of the Busch Clash, Bubba Wallace was spun out by Kyle Larson and it looked pretty intentional.

Indeed it was.

Larson had sent Ty Gibbs around on the final lap of regulation, but only because Wallace got into the back of him to trigger the accordion effect.

According to Larson, Wallace, who uses aggression to make up for his lack of talent, had been pile-driving into Larson several laps in a row and it reached a boiling point.

“He was really fast there on one of the long runs there at the end and I let him go because he was way faster,” Larson said. “The restarts get crazy. I think it was the second to last restart, and I was able to get in front of him and then the leaders started racing and that was right when Ty Gibbs got back in line and Bubba just decided to run through me and sent me through Ty and spun him.

“I hate that because we were running fifth, sixth and seventh. I thought we would settle in, get to the finish. From there, I was like, ‘okay, whatever, that’s this style of racing.’

“I haven’t seen any of the replays from the last restart but he got me again and then got me again the next corner. I think at that point that was three times to my none so I wanted to get him back before the checkered. I wasn’t trying to spin him out or anything; I was just trying to shove him through the corner like he was doing to me, and he ended up going around.

“Product of this racing and finally reaching my limit, I guess, but yeah, just how it goes.”

“Obviously Bubba and I have had a history in the past, so I’m sure (and) I don’t really know (but) hopefully forgive and forget,” Larson said. “Like I said, he ran through me three times. I was just the one who happened to get him at the end. I hope he understands that part of it.

“Given our history, who knows but I’m over it. I probably would have been over it, too, if roles were reversed and I ran through him three times and he finally spun me out the last corner. But we have different personalities, too. We all do out there. Everybody handles it differently.

“But yeah, it’s just a product of this racing really. I try to tell myself to let things slide a little bit more just knowing that hits are coming from behind and stuff, but usually when you’re out there you can get a good sense of when it’s happening from the car directly behind you or four back.

“It’s just kind of the way it goes with this race. It’s just the Clash.”

Clash Payback #2: Chastain puts Reddick in the wall

After the checkered flag had waved to finish the Busch Light Clash, Ross Chastain put Tyler Reddick into the wall.

“When that last wreck happened, he just drove through us,” Chastain told Bob Pockrass after the race.

“I mean, everybody ran into everybody. I got into McDowell and hooked him. He came over, we talked, he knew that I bounced off the wall.”

“I wrecked him. But, he came over, he smiled and we shook hands.”

“But, at the end, I just feel like Tyler took advantage of the wreck ahead and pushed his way through.”

“Me and Tyler are buddies. I can’t wait to get back on the bike with him or something and see how strong he’s gotten in the off-season.”

“They all wrecked in turn three,” Tyler Reddick stated.

“I mean, I ran into the back of him a little bit getting into the corner. So, I wonder if that’s what he’s mad about.”

“I guess I’ll have to go talk to him about it.”