Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano have earned the front row for the Busch Light Clash at the L.A. Coliseum.
Hamlin’s fastest lap was 13.139s (68.498mph) to win the pole. Logano’s fastest lap was 13.250s (67.925mph)
“I’ve been pretty happy with the Sport Clips Toyota so far,” Hamlin said. “It’s just we’ve only had short runs here and there, but you never know with The Clash. Certainly, with the lesser field amount, I think the strong cars can really show, and I think Chris [Gabehart, crew chief] and the team did a great job preparing a great car for me and [I’m] just driving it all we can.”
NASCAR set the field by taking a driver’s fastest lap from the final session on track. Drivers were allowed to run as many laps as they wanted in the allotted time.
Ty Gibbs qualified third (67.868mph), Alex Bowman fourth (67.843mph), Kyle Busch fifth (67.807mph), William Byron sixth (67.588mph), Ross Chastain seventh (67.573mph), and Kyle Larson eighth (67.547mph).
Bubba Wallace qualified ninth (67.370mph), Justin Haley 10th (67.325mph), Tyler Reddick 11th (67.285mph), Ryan Preece 12th (67.275mph), and Brad Keselowski 13th (67.224mph).
It’s the first time Keselowski has qualified for the Busch Light Clash at the L.A. Coliseum. Both he and teammate Chris Buescher were locked out of The Clash in its first two years in L.A.
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“I just drove it as hard as I could drive it,” Keselowski said of making the field. “I picked up a little bit of speed with our Castrol Ford, made a little adjustment to it, spun the tires all the way down the straightaway on the last lap and got in. I don’t know but I’ll take it.”
Chase Elliott qualified 14th (67.159mph), Todd Gilliland 15th (67.019mph), Michael McDowell 16th (67.019mph), Noah Gragson 17th (66.999mph), Corey LaJoie 18th (66.994mph), Martin Truex Jr. 19th (66.900mph), and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 20th (66.870mph).
John Hunter Nemechek qualified 21st (66.795mph) and Chase Briscoe 22nd (66.746mph). The final spot in the field, 23rd, went to Ryan Blaney on a provisional. Blaney, the reigning champion, was not fastest enough to make the top 22 and needed the provisional.
The drivers who will not race in The Clash:
· Josh Williams (Kaulig Racing)
· Carson Hocevar (Spire Motorsports)
· Josh Berry (Stewart-Haas Racing)
· Daniel Suarez (Trackhouse Racing)
· Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing)
· Erik Jones (Legacy Motor Club)
· Chris Buescher (RFK Racing)
· Austin Cindric (Team Penske)
· Daniel Hemric (Kaulig Racing)
· Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing)
· Kaz Grala (Rick Ware Racing)
· Harrison Burton (Wood Brothers Racing)
· Zane Smith (Spire Motorsports)
Martin Truex Jr. in a Toyota won the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum last year. Logano in a Ford won the inaugural event.