NASCAR experimented with the Busch Light Clash this season by having the race inside the Los Angeles Coliseum. The race was meant to be more like a unique event inside a major city, and while it wasn’t perfect, there were a lot more positives than negatives. While the race was likely to return to the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, it wasn’t officially announced by anyone. Until now.
In a prerace interview with Fox Sports’ Chris Myers ahead of Sunday’s Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Sonoma, NASCAR SVP of Racing Development and Strategy Ben Kennedy revealed that NASCAR will be back in LA for the Busch Light Clash.
It's official: THE CLASH RETURNS TO THE LA COLISEUM IN 2023.
NASCAR's @BenKennedy33 joins @The_ChrisMyers to talk about the sport's future. pic.twitter.com/jYz2t5UFE7
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 12, 2022
The Clash was Kennedy’s project, as he has been trying to make tweaks to the NASCAR schedule in recent years. Kennedy has a delicate balance of keeping things fresh and keeping up anticipation each season, but not making wholesale changes that water everything down.
In the interview, Kennedy dropped some additional nuggets about what could be coming to NASCAR in the near future. For instance, Kennedy discussed his hopes of having “another new venue” on the schedule for 2023, but said it would take another month or two before more could be revealed on that front.
In regards to the All-Star Race, Kennedy revealed that moving the race to different locations is something that’s “on our radar.” This year’s race was marred by terrible racing and a controversial decision to throw a caution right before Ryan Blaney crossed the finish line to win. Texas will remain the home of the All-Star Race in 2023.
An international race is something that could be in NASCAR’s future, according to Kennedy. “All cards are on the table” in regards to location and the type of race, and an international race could be realistic “in the next three to five years.”
Other things such as race length and new manufacturers coming into the fold were also discussed. Whether you agree or disagree with all these changes, no one can say NASCAR isn’t trying to shake things up year-to-year.
