NASCAR's Clash at the Coliseum will be an open invitational – O'Donnell

The NASCAR Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum early next year will be an invitational for Cup Series teams.

“I’d say we’re probably we’re looking 20 to 25 (cars) max,” NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve O’Donnell told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “We’ve done that with some dirt track racing, some heats. The heat racing has really done well for us.

“I think you look at some of the things we learned in other races, and apply that to this format as well. You’ll certainly see some format that mirrors a Bristol or what we do (on) dirt.”

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The process for how the field will be set is still being finalized. NASCAR announced earlier this week they will head to the L.A. Coliseum for an exhibition race on February 6, 2022. It will be the first time the Next Gen car gets on track in a competitive environment.

A temporary quarter-mile (oval) short track will be constructed inside the stadium to pull off the event. While it is a multi-purpose venue, the L.A. Coliseum is most known for being the home of the USC college football team.

Aside from revealing it’ll be an invitational, O’Donnell acknowledged that other details around the event are still up in the air.

“When we discussed this with some of the teams, we could have just gone with, ‘Hey, if you're eligible for the Clash, that’s it,’” he said. “But I think a number of the teams have looked at this and said, hey, this could be a really cool event for not only our organization but our sponsors, and we’d like the ability to potentially come out to the event.

“Certainly, anyone who is already qualified for the Clash would be in the … main event. But we want to make it realistic for other teams to come out, have enough time on the racetrack, on TV, and in front of the fans to make it worth their while as well. So, that’s kind of the ongoing discussion with the industry of, what makes this something that you want to get out there, and you want to go race and want to showcase your sponsor in the L.A. market.”