LOS ANGELES - Thanks to the fourth-fastest qualifying time on Saturday night, William Byron earned a pole position for one of the heat races in the Clash at the Coliseum. The 25-year-old driver will start at the front of the fourth and final heat race on Sunday at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Byron’s time of 13.596 seconds in the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 got him that spot. Justin Haley, Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell will be on the pole for the first three heat races, respectively. All four pole sitters in last year’s heat races won their particular heat races.
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Alex Bowman will start third in the first heat race after placing ninth in qualifying (13.624 seconds) in the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Kyle Larson will start third in the second heat race after he was 10th in qualifying (13.638 seconds) in the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Chase Elliott will line up eighth for the second heat race following his 30th position in qualifying (14.087 seconds) in the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
The four 25-lap heat races set 20 of the 27 spots in the main field as the top-five finishers in each heat will advance to the main event. Two 50-lap last chance qualifiers will see the top-three finishers in those races to advance on as well with the final spot going to the driver highest in 2022 driver points that has yet to lock into the field.
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Last year’s inaugural race at the LA Coliseum saw Larson finish an organizational-best fifth, while Byron scored a top-10 finish. The Hendrick Motorsports duo were two of the four drivers to run every lap in the top 10.
"I think this is a great location for a race," Larson said before on-track activity. "It’s good to introduce our sport to [fans], and hopefully get some fans out of it. I thought last year’s event was amazing. I thought NASCAR and everybody did a great job pulling it off. The show aspect of it, too, was really good. Glad to have it back again for a second year."
In his first practice session with new crew chief Blake Harris, Bowman placed fourth on the speed chart. His time of 13.390 mph around the .25-mile LA Coliseum made him the fastest Chevrolet in practice. In the best consecutive 10-lap averages, Byron was the top Hendrick Motorsports driver, placing 11th.
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Drivers were split into three groups for three eight-minute practice sessions each. Following practice, single-car qualifying took place with each entry taking time with one warm-up lap and two timed laps.
Hendrick Motorsports has earned seven Clash victories, which are third-most among all teams. Those wins have come among four drivers: Ken Schrader (1989 and 1990), Jeff Gordon (1994 and 1997), Jimmie Johnson (2005 and 2019) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2008).
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Coverage of Sunday’s events begins at 5 p.m. ET with the first of four heat races on FOX, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90). Two last chance qualifiers will take place after the four heat races. The 150-lap main event of the Clash will begin at 8 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).