Justin Haley laid down the fastest lap during qualifying for the 2023 Clash at the Coliseum, throwing his No. 31 NASCAR Chevy Camaro ZL1 around the temporary quarter-mile oval track in just 13.413 seconds at 67.099 mph.
As such, Haley will start first in his respective heat race during Sunday’s event, giving him an edge over the competition. His first-place qualifying effort marks his first career pole, as well as being the first pole earned by his team, Kaulig Racing.
“I feel like we were a pretty good car in practice there, just wasn’t getting the full potential out of the race car and obviously in qualifying our lap was just dominant,” Haley said. “I feel pretty confident about where we are. It’s obviously a good place to start the season. Not sure why we’re so good here. I wish I had this talent at all the races but pretty thankful and it’s really cool to give Kaulig Racing their first pole, my first pole as a driver in my second year as a driver here.”
Kyle Busch, meanwhile, recorded the second-fastest qualifying lap in his first official outing in the No. 8 NASCAR Chevy. William Byron’s No. 24 Camaro will start fourth as Bow Tie machines dominated the top five.
The only driver unable to make a lap was Ty Gibbs, whose No. 54 Toyota TRD Camry caught fire. He will start at the rear of his heat as a result. Additionally, Ryan Blaney’s lap time was disallowed after he drove backward during a hot lap due to spinning out in his No. 12 Ford Mustang.
The 2023 Clash at the Coliseum will begin with four heat races scheduled to take place 5 p.m. ET, while the Clash itself is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 5th. As a reminder, this is an exhibition race, and teams will not accrue points toward the NASCAR Playoffs.
| Pos | Car Number | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 | Justin Haley | Celsius Chevrolet | 13.413 | 67.099 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 2 | 8 | Kyle Busch | BetMGM Chevrolet | 13.553 | 66.406 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 3 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Interstate Batteries Toyota | 13.569 | 66.328 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 4 | 24 | William Byron | RaptorTough.com Chevrolet | 13.596 | 66.196 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 5 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 13.6 | 66.176 | Ford Mustang |
| 6 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Get Bioethanol Chevrolet | 13.605 | 66.152 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota | 13.621 | 66.074 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 8 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Action Industries Chevrolet | 13.623 | 66.065 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 9 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 13.624 | 66.06 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 10 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 13.638 | 65.992 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 11 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Jockey Chevrolet | 13.663 | 65.871 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 12 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 13.683 | 65.775 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 13 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 13.714 | 65.626 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Busch Light Ford | 13.734 | 65.531 | Ford Mustang |
| 15 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mahindra Tractors Ford | 13.735 | 65.526 | Ford Mustang |
| 16 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | DoorDash Toyota | 13.742 | 65.493 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 17 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 13.749 | 65.459 | Ford Mustang |
| 18 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Food4Less/Velveeta Chevrolet | 13.767 | 65.374 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | MoneyLion Toyota | 13.793 | 65.25 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 20 | 43 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Chevrolet | 13.817 | 65.137 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 42 | Noah Gragson # | Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet | 13.823 | 65.109 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 22 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 13.851 | 64.977 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 23 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | King's Hawaiian Ford | 13.863 | 64.921 | Ford Mustang |
| 24 | 41 | Ryan Preece | United Rentals Ford | 13.87 | 64.888 | Ford Mustang |
| 25 | 34 | Michael McDowell | FR8Auctions.com Ford | 13.89 | 64.795 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Freightliner Ford | 13.91 | 64.702 | Ford Mustang |
| 27 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | gener8tor Skills Ford | 13.915 | 64.678 | Ford Mustang |
| 28 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Animal Control FOX Chevrolet | 13.919 | 64.66 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 29 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | 13.935 | 64.586 | Ford Mustang |
| 30 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 14.087 | 63.889 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 31 | 15 | JJ Yeley | CW & Sons Infrastructure Ford | 14.254 | 63.14 | Ford Mustang |
| 32 | 51 | Cody Ware | Biohaven Ford | 14.316 | 62.867 | Ford Mustang |
| 33 | 77 | Ty Dillon | NASCAR Fan Rewards Chevrolet | 14.489 | 62.116 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 34 | 78 | BJ McLeod | Celsius Chevrolet | 15.308 | 58.793 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 35 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Menards/Great Lakes Flooring Ford | 40.301 | 22.332 | Ford Mustang |
| 36 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 0 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
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Comments
Without a doubt the DUMEST race that NASCAR could ever put on and in California?????????????????????
Lol, ok boomer. Just let people enjoy things.
The 2022 Clash at the Coliseum was a great success with over 60,000 in attendance and was viewed by more than 4.2 million DUMBEST race fans? Apparently you know nothing about West Coast racing back in the day and i’m not talking about Fontana’s Auto Club Speedway! Who’s the “DUMEST” one now! hahaha
Harley Man,
It is nothing but a Demolition Derby. No place to pass except with the use of the BUMPER. I go way back with racing in the Midwest and a track like this was for FRDAY NITE at the short short tracks.
And exactly where are those real fans this year? Nowhere to be seen because they witnessed a clown show last year. Closer to 600 this year than 60k. Apparently YOU don’t know about west coast racing and I doubt YOU were around for Riverside,which was REAL racing, not this clown show.
Jim, Dead Nuts on. NASCAR is not thing about their fan base. I believe I saw an article where they were going back to race only during the HOT day. Real hard on the Cars, Drivers and the Fans. The night races I believe draw bigger crowds.
I’m surprised that the Idiots making policy in California hasn’t made them use eletric cars among a hundred other ridiculous policies.
That is a surprise to me also and you are correct.
The reported 60k fans from last year aren’t here. This time around,closer to 600. Real fans didn’t bother to return for that joke of a race.
Just a joke of a race.