Denny Hamlin wins at the LA Coliseum and wins his 4th Clash

The suspense was there during the night from Saturday to Sunday, for the “unofficial” kick-off of the NASCAR in 2024! For the third edition of the Clash played at the Los Angeles Coliseum – brought forward one day due to the bad weather conditions forecast in the region this Sunday – the exhibition round offered a nice spectacle and it was Denny Hamlin who was the faster at the end of the race to win his 4th Clash (after victories in 2006, 2014 and 2016 at Daytona).

Denny Hamlin wins the 2024 Clash at the Coliseum! pic.twitter.com/IfVzOhEZLn

- FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 4, 2024

Although he had won the pole position earlier in the day at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Denny Hamlin fell in the pack during the first part of the race. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver managed to regain the lead with 10 laps to go, when the sixth yellow flag of the event was raised. While the Floridian was heading towards victory, a spin by his teammate Ty Gibbs at the very end of the race forced him to defend his position again in front of a pressing Kyle Busch for a final two-lap sprint.

“I made a very good restart at turn 2, took the position and was able to hang on from there, said Denny Hamlin of his overtake to regain the lead after restarting the 141st of the scheduled 150 laps. It's so chaotic during restarts, with everyone crashing into each other, but it's great to win here in Los Angeles. This launches us into an excellent dynamic. I'm removing all the trophies on January 1st from the entryway of my house, and now I can add one pretty quickly, so I'm really happy about that! »

Kyle Busch, second for this opening round which does not count for the NASCAR championship, was slightly disappointed to have missed the boat in Los Angeles. “I felt like the first half of the race I had a better car, better than [Denny Hamlin's] No. 11, but some of the adjustments we made weren't as good, some of the adjustments they made were better, said Kyle Busch, who scored his third podium in three races at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Overall, I'm glad I had a good evening. I'm glad I got out of here in one piece, with all the shocks and everything that happens. »

All eyes now turn to Daytona, where the 2024 regular season will begin with the 66th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 18.

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