CONCORD, N.C. - The format for the Clash at the Coliseum has been revealed and the field will be increasing for the 2023 event.
The format for the 2023 race inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is relatively the same as it was for the inaugural race in 2022. The field for the Sunday, Feb. 5, event (8 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will now be 27 cars, up from 23 in last year's event.
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On Saturday, Feb. 4, the field of eligible drivers will be split into three groups for practice with each group getting three timed sessions. Practice will begin at 6 p.m. ET on FS1 with drivers broken up into three groups that will each receive three timed sessions of track time. Qualifying will also take place on Saturday with the single-round, single-car format taking place at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Each car will get to take three laps - one warm-up lap and two timed laps.
The results from qualifying will set the lineups for the four heat races to be held on Sunday, Feb. 5, starting at 5 p.m. ET on FOX. Saturday's fastest qualifier will take the pole position for Heat 1, the second-fastest qualifier will be on the pole for Heat 2, the third-fastest qualifier will lead Heat 3 to green and the fourth-fastest qualifier will be the pole sitter for Heat 4. The fifth-fastest qualifier will line up second in Heat 1 and so on.
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The four heat races will be 25 laps each and only the green-flag laps will count. The heat races will set the field and lineup for the main event. The top-five finishers in each heat race will automatically move to the main event to set the top 20 starting spots. Drivers that finish outside the top five in their respective heat races will move to the last chance qualifiers (LCQs). The LCQs will be two 50-lap races and the top-three finishers in each LCQ will advance to the Clash main event. The first LCQ will consist of drivers to finish sixth through ninth in Heats 1 and 3, while the second LCQ will be made up of drivers that finish sixth through ninth in Heats 2 and 4.
The 27th spot in the 150-lap main event is for the driver that was the highest in the 2022 season standings and has not yet earned a starting spot in the Clash (via heat races and LCQs).
In the 2022 event, Kyle Larson finished fifth, while William Byron placed sixth. Joey Logano won the race.
The Clash will also feature a pre-race performance from Cypress Hill as well as a race-break performance by Wiz Khalifa. Tune in to watch the exhibition event kick off the 2023 season on Feb. 5, at 8 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.