It began as an experiment. What would it be like to create a quarter-mile track inside a stadium and let 23 brand new, untested stock cars have at it? The answer was a little mayhem, a lot of excitement and the first ever Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.
Cars were spun, helmets thrown and at the end, two drivers with very little love lost between them put on a magnificent show. In those final laps, Joey Logano knew that if Kyle Busch were to find his rear bumper, he would be sent into a spin cycle that would make the Maytag repairman weep, but he couldn't press too hard. There is an edge to what the Goodyear tires will take. Logano found it and never stepped over.
The cost of creating the track for one weekend of racing is reported to be around $1 million – and then the track will be torn so the playing field can be returned to its original state. To justify that investment, the 2022 race had to be exciting. The second iteration of this race proves it was.
For NASCAR, in its 75th year of existence in 2023, this is a throwback to the days when tracks popped up and then disappeared for any variety of reasons. In July 1956 Fireball Roberts beat Jim Paschal on a temporary track inside Soldier Field in Chicago; later this year, that city will be the site of another new experience as NASCAR runs their first-ever street course race this July – some 67 years later.
It began as an experiment. What would it be like to create a quarter-mile track inside a stadium and let 23 brand new, untested stock cars have at it? The answer was a little mayhem, a lot of excitement and the first ever Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.
Cars were spun, helmets thrown and at the end, two drivers with very little love lost between them put on a magnificent show. In those final laps, Joey Logano knew that if Kyle Busch were to find his rear bumper, he would be sent into a spin cycle that would make the Maytag repairman weep, but he couldn't press too hard. There is an edge to what the Goodyear tires will take. Logano found it and never stepped over.
The cost of creating the track for one weekend of racing is reported to be around $1 million – and then the track will be torn so the playing field can be returned to its original state. To justify that investment, the 2022 race had to be exciting. The second iteration of this race proves it was.
For NASCAR, in its 75th year of existence in 2023, this is a throwback to the days when tracks popped up and then disappeared for any variety of reasons. In July 1956 Fireball Roberts beat Jim Paschal on a temporary track inside Soldier Field in Chicago; later this year, that city will be the site of another new experience as NASCAR runs their first-ever street course race this July – some 67 years later.
DraftKings: Outright Win +900
Consensus Odds*: +830 | Best Odds: PointsBet +900
Change is often good for everyone involved. It remains to be seen if the 20-year-old grandson of Joe Gibbs can fill Busch’s shoes in his old ride so he doesn’t make the cut this week, but rest assured there is a chip on Rowdy’s shoulder that isn’t going to go away anytime soon. Factor in last year’s loss to Logano at the Coliseum and it is not going to be safe to be anywhere near Busch’s front bumper this Sunday. Busch has two Clash wins, in 2012 on the Daytona International Speedway oval and 2021 on their road course.
DraftKings: Outright Win +750
Consensus Odds*: +840 | Best Odds: PointsBet +1000
For all his homespun conviviality, Logano is an entirely different person when he straps on his helmet. Most drivers are, but for Logano it’s more akin to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde than most. That attitude serves him well on short tracks, and as odd as it may seem, he is ranked this high not only because he’s the defending winner at the Coliseum, but also because of his 2021 Bristol Motor Speedway dirt track victory. Logano is riding a 10-race streak of top-10s in the Clash.
DraftKings: Outright Win +750
Consensus Odds*: +830 | Best Odds: PointsBet +900
Elliott is the consensus favorite this week by a narrow margin over Kyle Larson. Elliott has a knack for the Clash, but he has not been perfect. He’s been in the all-star race six times and never finished outside the top 15 – but if he couldn't win this event when it was held on Daytona’s road course, (he finished second there to Busch in 2021), there isn’t a lot of enthusiasm for him to do so on the bullring. Elliott was 11th in last year’s edition of the Clash.
DraftKings: Outright Win +6000
Consensus Odds*: +5000 | Best Odds: DraftKings +6000
Dillon is this week’s best dark horse pick. He has somehow flown under the traders’ radar despite having a great showing in last year’s Clash. He finished third in his heat behind Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe, (two drivers who would go on to be heavy hitters at the beginning of 2022), and who will make the list of favorites this week as well. He finished third in the Clash feature and might easily have won if Busch and Logano tangled. Equally important, he is going to experience a boost in his performance simply by having Busch as a teammate.
DraftKings: Outright Win +1400
Consensus Odds*: +1360 | Best Odds: PointsBet, Caesars +1500
If you’ve noticed a theme through these five drivers, you are correct. A rising tide lifts every boat in the harbor and the driver exchange that brought Reddick to 23XI Racing and moved Busch to Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is going to energize every driver involved. Because of the rough and tumble nature of the Clash and the Bristol dirt track, Reddick is highly regarded this year. On the Tennessee short course, he was going to win before he was knocked out by Chase Briscoe. He ran well in the 2022 Clash before he broke a transaxle in the as-yet unproven NextGen car.
DraftKings: Outright Win +800
Consensus Odds*: +820 | Best Odds: PointsBet +900
Short tracks all share a commonality. Drivers are trapped in traffic for the entire race and must use trickery or aggression to get around a competitor. It takes a balance of both those skills because aggression alone won’t consistently get the job done. Larson’s experience on dirt tracks in sprint cars is legendary, but after almost sweeping the top five in the Wild West Shootout in a dirt late model in Vado, New Mexico and winning a thriller at Golden Isles in Georgia last week, his skills are sharply honed.
DraftKings: Outright Win +3000
Consensus Odds*: +2600 | Best Odds: DraftKings, BetRivers +3000
At 30/1, Wallace is the second-best dark horse to Dillon. It’s not only because the line for the driver of the No. 3 is higher, but also because we still have not seen the full capability of Wallace. This early in his career, he’s prone to making mistakes – especially in high stress situations. There are a lot of wins in his future. This might not be the week for it, but we’ll be surprised if he is not at least challenging for a top-10.
DraftKings: Outright Win +800
Consensus Odds*: +900 | Best Odds: Caesars, BetRivers +1000
Bell did not make the initial cut in our rankings, mostly because he has not been at his best on short tracks throughout his career. Someone forgot to tell him last year, however; he finished seventh or better in five of six races on tracks less than a mile in length. Many of the same things could be said of him as Larson, with a notable exception. Due to the chance for injury, his owner is not overly fond of Bell driving on dirt, so he does not have the same number of laps under his belt on these bullrings in recent months.
DraftKings: Outright Win +3000
Consensus Odds*: +2600 | Best Odds: DraftKings +3000
A pair of near misses puts Briscoe on this week’s list. He had one of the best cars in last year’s Clash before he also broke a transaxle in the Main. His runner-up result in his Clash heat was reinforced by his Main event effort in the dirt track race. After winning early in the season at Phoenix Raceway, he was determined to get another five playoff bonus points at Bristol until he got a little overenthusiastic and spun both himself Reddick from the lead.
DraftKings: Outright Win +440
Consensus Odds*: +415 | Best Odds: FanDuel +450
It’s difficult to call Chastain a dark horse, but with consensus odds of about 14/1, he is worth some couch cushion money. Chastain always seems to have something up his sleeve. Last year, he worked his way to second by driving through a runoff lane on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and that set the stage for his Hail Melon move at Martinsville. The first was always illegal and NASCAR made the second move against the law this week, but rest assured Chastain is sauteing some shenanigan in his noggin as he wings westward to the Coliseum.