NASCAR's preseason Clash returns to LA Coliseum in 2023

Updated Jun. 12, 2022 3:44 p.m. ET

Associated Press

SONOMA, Calif. (AP) — NASCAR's preseason Clash race is rolling back to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2023.

NASCAR said Sunday it will return the exhibition race to the Southern California sports landmark next season. The Clash’s highly successful debut there four months ago was part of the launch of NASCAR's Next Gen car and NASCAR received some of its most positive reviews in years for the race.

The Clash took place on a temporary 0.25-mile track inside the venerable Coliseum. Joey Logano won the exhibition, which included a halftime show by Ice Cube as part of a six-hour entertainment extravaganza that pleased both the teams and their fans in this frequently staid sport.

The upcoming race likely will take place shortly after the 100th birthday of the Coliseum, which opened in January 1923. The asphalt on the short temporary oval on the Coliseum field held together well in the first edition, and crews were able to quickly fix any damage to the walls from the tight racing in close quarters.

The first 43 editions of the Clash had been held at Daytona International Speedway from its inception in 1979, but NASCAR relocated it to the West Coast in a bid for excitement and attention in an eye-catching venue. NASCAR hadn’t raced in a traditional sports stadium since 1956 at Chicago’s Soldier Field, but it put on a show with Ice Cube rapping on the Peristyle, Pitbull also performing and Jeff Gordon lighting the famed cauldron.

The Coliseum, which has hosted two Olympics and the first Super Bowl, is still the home of the USC Trojans football team. The arena also hosted the NFL's Los Angeles Rams until they moved into SoFi Stadium in 2020.

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