By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service
LOS ANGELES – In front of a large, enthusiastic crowd in one of the most iconic venues in sports, Martin Truex Jr. earned his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in more than a season in a rough-and-tumble all-thrills Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum Sunday night at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Truex’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota held off Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet by a mere .786-second leading the final 25 laps of the 150-lap annual non-points exhibition event marking the start of the NASCAR season. It was the former series champion Truex’s first career Busch Light Clash victory.
Dillon’s new teammate, two-time series champion Kyle Busch finished third in the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet – the three top-finishers feted on a podium with medals; reminiscent of the Olympic Games the venue has also famously hosted.
“Just really good race car, the guys did a really good job with this Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry,” the New Jersey native Truex said, “Last year was a pretty rough season for us with no wins, to come out here and kick it off this way, just really proud of these guys.
“Tonight, was just kind of persevere, not give up and just battle through and we found ourselves in the right spot at the end. Sometimes they work out your way and sometimes they don’t. Tonight, it went our way.”
The iconic HOLLYWOOD sign on the hills overlooking Turn 3 and the downtown Los Angeles skyline just beyond Turn 2 provided a unique setting to this event.
It was a packed house at the 100-year-old Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the race – lots of new fans mixed with the most loyal long-timers dressed in their best NASCAR fan t-shirts, driver jackets and hats excited to watch the NASCAR Cup Series show exactly the kind of high-drama short track action that has made the 75-year-old sport an American treasure.
The track was purpose-built inside the stadium bringing the sport to a new market, which appears to have whole-heartedly embraced.
And while this may be a pre-season exhibition, frustration was often in mid-season form Sunday night.
The race was slowed 16 times for cautions. Dillon had a late race run-in with Bubba Wallace, their cars colliding. Wallace got the worst end of the contact and was knocked from contending for the win to instead finishing 22nd in the 27-car field – despite leading 40 laps and challenging Truex as the…
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