Tomorrow NASCAR is officially back, even if it’s only for a short exhibition race. ANy excuse to go to Daytona works for me, even though this race will be held at the newly NASCAR minted Daytona Road Course. There are mixed opinions on the road course, but I think the drivers all appreciate a break from the stressful environment of the superspeedway.
There are seven different way for a driver to qualify for the Busch Clash:
- 2020 Busch Pole Award winners
- Past Busch Clash winners who competed full-time in 2020
- DAYTONA 500 champions who competed full-time in 2020
- Former DAYTONA 500 Busch Pole winners who competed full-time in 2020
- 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers
- 2020 NASCAR Cup Series race winners
- 2020 NASCAR Cup Series stage winners
This season we have 21 drivers who qualified and will race tomorrow:
- Kurt Busch: #1 Advent Health Chevrolet
- Brad Keselowski: #2 Moneylion Ford
- Austin Dillon: #3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet
- Kevin Harvick: #4 Busch Light Ford
- Ryan Newman: #6 Guaranteed Rate Ford
- Tyler Reddick: #8 I Am Second Chevrolet
- Chase Elliott: #9 Llumar Chevrolet
- Aric Almirola: #10 Smithfield Ford
- Denny Hamlin: #11 FedEx Toyota
- Ryan Blaney: #12 Menards Ford
- Chris Buescher: #17 Fastenal Ford
- Kyle Busch: #18 M&M’s Core Toyota
- Martin Truex Jr.: #19 Dewalt Toyota
- Matt DiBenedetto: #21 Motocraft Ford
- Joey Logano: #22 Shell/Penzoil Ford
- Ty Dillon: #23 Root Insurance Toyota
- William Byron: #24 Axalta Chevrolet
- Cole Custer: #41 Haastooling.com Ford
- Erik Jones: #43 RP Funding Chevrolet
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: #47 Kroger Chevrolet
- Alex Bowman: #48 Ally Chevrolet
Odd enough, Ty Dillon will be the first driver for the new Michael Jordan owned 23XI Racing. Ty Dillon qualified for the Busch Clash thanks to his stage win at the Charlotte Roval. Since Dillon is still without a full-time ride for 2021 and Bubba Wallace didn’t qualify, 23XI Racing decided to take the opportunity to get as much experience as they can. Dillon also isn’t a complete wash, he’s a decent road racer and it’ll be a good gauge for the speed this new team carries.
It’s hard not to bet on Chase Elliott with the way he’s been driving on road courses and the fact that he won last year’s race here. The truth is, these exhibition races are a toss up. There’s really only a handful of guys I can honestly say probably won’t have too much of an impact on the race.
The 2021 Busch Clash will start at 7:00 PM on Fox Sports 1.
