NASCAR returns to the LA Coliseum with the future of Clash event uncertain
NASCAR’s debut on a temporary track inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum two years ago was a bold experiment that featured a pre-race show by Pitbull, a halftime performance by Ice Cube, a rowdy USC student section and some pretty decent racing.
The made-for-TV event was a clear success in 2022, the first time a season-opening exhibition had not been held at Daytona International Speedway since its 1979 inception. NASCAR tried for another hit last year with a second Clash at the Coliseum and it wasn’t the same.
The racing was unwatchable, enthusiasm for the event had slipped after only one year and the Clash came off as simply an excuse for NASCAR to maintain a presence in Southern California.
The third Clash is set for this weekend with NASCAR’s immediate future in the coveted Los Angeles market in jeopardy. If the novelty has truly worn off, the Clash could very well be on the move in 2025.
Originally scheduled for Sunday, NASCAR moved The Clash at the Coliseum to Saturday night out of concerns for inclement weather headed toward California.
Only heat races were scheduled to be run Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but with a forecast calling for heavy rains and flooding to begin Sunday, NASCAR abruptly changed the schedule.
Ben Kennedy, the great-grandson of NASCAR’s founder and architect of the Clash at the Coliseum, said the driver discount codes and street-level marketing are not reason for alarm but simply new sales tactics in an aggressive market. NASCAR’s senior vice president of racing development and strategy said he believes the appetite for racing at the Coliseum is there.
“The interest is still strong. The first year, it was new and novel and we’d never done anything like that before, and frankly I don’t think anyone has ever built a temporary racetrack inside a stadium that is a century old,” Kennedy said. “The second year, obviously a lot of return customers and some new customers as well. In this third year, we are seeing similar trends to what we saw last year.”