Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum

NASCAR Cup Series racecars are back on track this weekend in sunny California at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and so is daily fantasy. Read on for my DraftKings picks for the Busch Light Clash, running Sunday, Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. ET.

For the second year in a row, Cup drivers are tackling the quarter-mile short track built in the middle of the University of Southern California’s historic football stadium. Twenty-seven drivers will race in the main event, four more than last year.

But before they do, they’ll compete in four heat races and two last chance qualifiers to try to make the feature race. Justin Haley won the pole for the first heat race, which kicks off at 5 p.m. ET. Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell and William Byron will also start first in heats two, three and four, respectively. Check out the qualifying results that helped set the lineups here.

Last year, all drivers who began on the pole won their heat race. However, the second LCQ saw a big jumble in the running order, as well as the winner (Ty Dillon) getting eliminated after jumping the last restart.

Before I share my DraftKings picks, let’s review the scoring rules.

The winner on the racetrack tallies 45 points, while second place gets 42, third 41 and so on. Tenth place scores 34, while 11th gets 32, and decreasing by one from there through 20th. This pattern repeats for 21st through 30th and 31st through 40th.

Additionally, drivers can earn or lose a point, depending on where they finish. For example, if Bell started third and won, he would gain two points in addition to his finishing position points, totaling 47 fantasy points.

Drivers also can earn .45 for each fastest lap and .25 for each lap they lead.

NASCAR DraftKings Scoring

Now, here are my picks!

Note: Stats below include Cup only at Martinsville Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Richmond Raceway

DraftKings Picks: Top Tier ($8,600-$10,200)

Joey Logano ($10,200)
Career at short tracks: 81 starts, 5 wins, 27 top fives, 42 top 10s
Average finish at short tracks: 12.4

I mean, I have to start with the 2022 Cup champ and defending race winner, right? Joey Logano led 187 laps en route to his second title at Phoenix Raceway last November. He also earned a sixth at Martinsville and Richmond, leading 222 circuits in the latter event.

But Logano started out this weekend with some issues. His Team Penske crew repaired a clutch problem, sending him back out in practice, only for him to…