Denny Hamlin, the zero times NASCAR Cup Series champion, kicked off the 2024 season with a victory at the NASCAR Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. Despite his No. 11 car not performing at its best, Hamlin took the pole position and made a bold move against Joey Logano on the first lap. He then outpaced and outperformed Kyle Busch to secure the win. In his post-race interview, Hamlin couldn’t resist taking a jab at the crowd, saying, “You know I beat your favorite driver again, right?” While Hamlin expressed uncertainty about the significance of this race, he admitted that he clears out his trophy collection every January as a motivation to keep winning. He added, “Now we get to add one (a new trophy) pretty quick.”
The Clash, an exhibition race with little on the line, was initially scheduled for Sunday but was moved to Saturday night due to an impending rainstorm. The decision was made just four hours before the race, resulting in a limited number of fans in attendance. However, it was a necessary call considering the expected downpours and potential flooding in the Los Angeles area. If the race had not been rescheduled, it may have been postponed until Wednesday, leaving only a week until qualifying at Daytona.
In other news, there were some incidents and exchanges of words after the race. Kyle Larson admitted to retaliating against Bubba Wallace on the final lap. Ross Chastain turned Tyler Reddick after the race, leading to a conversation between the two drivers. Ty Gibbs also had an on-track and post-race incident with Joey Logano, with Gibbs stating, “He’s just mad that I ran him up.” The Daytona 500 is set to take place in two weeks.
Brian S Hall covers motorsports.
