Yahoo Autos Justin Haley fastest in qualifying; Busch, Bell, Byron nab heat poles for Busch Light Clash
LOS ANGELES – Justin Haley set the fastest lap in Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum qualifying Saturday night at the quarter-mile purpose-built track inside the famous Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The 23-year-old Indiana native drove the No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet to the top qualifying position with a lap of 67.099 mph and will start out front for one of the four heat races Sunday afternoon to formally set the 27-car field for the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum non-points exhibition opener Sunday night (8 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
RELATED: Qualifying results | Heat race lineups
Two-time series champion Kyle Busch will be making his debut for the Richard Childress Racing team from the front row of the second heat race; his No. 8 RCR Chevrolet was second fastest overall at 66.406 mph.
Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Christopher Bell, who advanced to the 2022 Championship 4 round, will start his No. 20 JGR Toyota on pole in the third heat race and Hendrick Motorsports‘ William Byron will start the No. 24 Chevrolet out front in the fourth heat race.
“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.”
MORE: Full guide to the 2023 Busch Light Clash | Clash 101
The qualifying session consisted of three laps — one warm-up and two timed, the faster of the two-timed laps counting toward their starting position in the four heat races.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr., who was fastest after practice Saturday afternoon, was only 22nd fastest in the night-time qualifier.
Two cars — the No. 54 JGR Toyota driven by Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Ty Gibbs and the No. 12 Team Penske Ford driven by Ryan Blaney — will both start last in their heat races. Blaney‘s qualifying time was 11th fastest at the time but ultimately disallowed because after spinning on a hot lap he drove the wrong direction to the back straightaway and spun his car around to complete the lap at speed. It‘s illegal to drive backwards on track.
