2023 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum
NASCAR Cup Series Betting Preview
By Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com
While the first official race of the season will not take place until February 19th with the 65th running of the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s 2023 campaign will kick off this Sunday with the 2023 Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Last year, NASCAR generated a lot of noise when they filled the confines of the historic Los Angeles Coliseum with asphalt and moved their opening Busch Clash away from the shores of Daytona Beach. However, the racing at the Coliseum appears to have produced strong enough results to warrant a repeat visit to the west coast. As a result, NASCAR’s Cup Series will return once again to the ¼ mile bullring to kick off the annual Busch Clash!
Personally, I am not the biggest fan of racing at the Coliseum. However, I applaud NASCAR for taking chances at different venues because the prestige around the Busch Clash has dwindled in recent years. While I cannot wait to see racing for the first time in months, the Coliseum does not provide the best racing product that most race fans desire. The small ¼ mile bullring is not best suited for NASCAR’s top division especially when you consider the reduced horsepower of the Next Gen Car. In last year’s event, we saw just 3 different leaders over the 150 scheduled laps and I would not be surprised if we saw another game of follow the leader at this mini-Martinsville Speedway.
For those that do not follow my weekly picks, I should be clear that I do not bet any of the exhibition races. Our first official subscription picks will not kick off until the weekend of the Daytona 500. From a handicapping perspective, the exhibition races in NASCAR are designed more so for entertainment rather than crowning a true winner. As a result, I have traditionally always avoided betting on any of the non-points paying events. With that being said, I know there will still be plenty of intrigue and interests from others surrounding Sunday’s return to the Coliseum. Therefore, I wanted to put my thoughts on paper, break down the betting odds, and perhaps provide some suggestions for betting options for Sunday’s 2023 Busch Light Clash!
2023 Busch Light Clash Betting Odds
| Driver | Odds |
|---|
| Joey Logano | +750 |
| Chase Elliott | +750 |
| Kyle Larson | +800 |
| Christopher Bell | +800 |
| Kyle Busch | +900 |
| Ryan Blaney | +1000 |
| Denny Hamlin | +1000 |
| William Byron | +1200 |
| Ross Chastain | +1200 |
| Tyler Reddick | +1500 |
| Kevin Harvick | +2000 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | +2500 |
| Brad Keselowski | +2500 |
| Chase Briscoe | +3000 |
| Bubba Wallace | +3000 |
| Alex Bowman | +3000 |
| Ryan Preece | +4000 |
| Erik Jones | +4000 |
| Daniel Suarez | +4000 |
| Chris Buescher | +4000 |
| Aric Almirola | +5000 |
| Ty Gibbs | +7500 |
| Noah Gragson | +7500 |
| Austin Dillon | +7500 |
| Austin Cindric | +7500 |
| A.J. Allmendinger | +7500 |
| Justin Haley | +10000 |
| Harrison Burton | +15000 |
| Michael McDowell | +20000 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | +20000 |
| Ty Dillon | +25000 |
| Todd Gilliland | +50000 |
| J.J. Yeley | +100000 |
| Corey Lajoie | +100000 |
| Cody Ware | +100000 |
| B.J. McLeod | +100000 |
Busch Light Format
*Eligibility given to the top 36 racing charters from 2022
- Qualifying times will set the grid for 4 heat races consisting of 25 laps each. The top 4 from each race will advance to the feature event.
- Non-qualifying drivers from the heat races will be placed into two separate feature qualifiers consisting of 50 laps each. The top 3 from each qualifier will advance to the feature event.
- The top non-qualifying Cup Series driver in points, outside the top 3 in both qualifiers, will be granted admission to the feature event.
- Feature event will be 150 laps. The starting grid will be determined by the finishing positions of heat and qualifier races
Handicapping Thoughts
As stated before, these exhibition races are typically high-risk events and rarely favor sharp bettors. However, for those wanting some guidance, I do believe we can look back at last year’s event and the two races at Martinsville as comparable events. Joey Logano kicked the 2022 campaign off with a victory at the Busch Clash and also ended the season with a win at Phoenix to clinch his 2nd title. Logano was excellent on the short tracks through last year’s title run. Aside from the win at the Coliseum, Logano posted finishes of 2nd and 6th in both Martinsville races. Needless to say, he has the potential and pedigree to go after another victory this Sunday.
When I look deeper into the handicapping rabbit holes, I noticed that the Richard Childress Racing’s cars of Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon were both really strong at the shorter tracks in 2022 especially at venues with heavy braking (including road courses). Neither Reddick nor Dillon have the best short track pedigree though I would claim that Reddick is emerging as one of the sports’ better overall talents. Still, I believe the Chevrolets and Richard Childress Racing’s cars were better with their braking packages last season. If that theory holds true again, Kyle Busch could be set for a really favorable debut with the #8 team at Richard Childress Racing. Busch led a race-high 64 laps in last year’s Clash and could benefit from a perhaps better package for short track racing as opposed to Joe Gibbs Racing which was much better on the intermediate layouts last year. Therefore, I have Busch pretty high on my list this week despite the fact this will be his first race outside of Joe Gibbs Racing in 15 years.
If you are going to throw a few bucks at this event, I would be ignorant to completely disregard guys like Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott who are really strong weekly threats in the Cup Series. I would also probably give attention to guys like William Byron and Ryan Blaney as potential guys to consider among the overall list of favorites. Personally, I don’t believe there is enough betting value to bet on many guys in this event. Instead, I would look for homerun style value in the likes Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, and Chase Briscoe as potential breakout threats. I really like Briscoe’s driving talent and huge value despite the struggles of Stewart-Haas Racing over the last two seasons. Briscoe is a short-track phenom, much like Christopher Bell, that deserves consideration any time we see extreme value at the shorter venues.
2023 Busch Clash Betting Predictions
Kyle Busch +900 (1 unit)
Chase Briscoe +3000 (.5 unit)
Austin Dillon +7500 (.5 unit)
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