Qualifying report

NASCAR Cup Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum

Haley tops qualifying, heat race lineup set for Clash

Justin Haley led the way in the Busch Light Clash qualifying session to secure a pole in one of four heat races prior to Sunday’s main event.

Jim Utter

Edited: Feb 6, 2023, 12:04 AM

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Haley, the 15th of 35 cars to make a qualifying attempt, topped the session with an average lap speed of 67.099 mph.

Of the 35 cars that attempted to qualify, 16 went faster than Kyle Busch, who was the fastest qualifier in 2022 (65.478 mph).

Busch ended up second-fastest Saturday (66.406 mph). Christopher Bell was third (66.328 mph) and William Byron ended up fourth (66.196 mph).

The top four qualifiers will each start on pole for one of four 25-lap heat races. The 150-lap main event begins at 8 p.m. ET Sunday.

Rounding out the top-10 speeds were Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin, A.J. Allmendinger, Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson.

Joey Logano, Team Penske, Shell Pennzoil Ford, Justin Haley, Kaulig Racing, Celsius Chevrolet

Photo by: David Rosenblum / NKP / Motorsport Images

Ty Gibbs, who had a fire erupt in the cockpit of his No. 54 Toyota in practice, was not allowed to qualify for making unapproved adjustments during the course of repairing the car.

Gibbs will have to race his way into the 27-car field on Sunday through the heat races.

Ryan Blaney’s speed was disallowed after he missed Turn 4 on his first lap, backed up and tried to re-run the lap.

Heat 1 Lineup Heat 2 Lineup Heat 3 Lineup Heat 4 Lineup 1. Justin Haley

1. Kyle Busch

1. Christopher Bell 1. William Byron 2. Aric Almirola 2. Austin Dillon 2. Denny Hamlin 2. AJ Allmendinger 3. Alex Bowman 3. Kyle Larson 3. Daniel Suarez 3. Ross Chastain 4. Harrison Burton 4. Kevin Harvick 4. Chase Briscoe 4. Bubba Wallace 5. Joey Logano 5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 5. Tyler Reddick 5. Erik Jones 6. Noah Gragson 6. Martin Truex Jr. 6. Brad Keselowski 6. Ryan Preece 7. Michael McDowell 7. Austin Cindric 7. Todd Gilliland 7. Corey LaJoie 8. Chris Buescher 8. Chase Elliott 8. JJ Yeley 8. Cody Ware 9. Ty Dillon 9. BJ McLeod 9. Ryan Blaney 9. Ty Gibbs

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