LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 06: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Toyota, paces the field … [+]
NASC
NASCAR held the first Clash in the Coliseum this past February, and by all measures it was a huge success that included the competitive debut of NASCAR’s Next Gen car. The event attracted a large crowd, several high-profile celebrities, and put on an entertaining show that included performances by Pitbull and rapper Ice Cube.
“Our entire industry made a bold move by bringing the Busch Light Clash to the LA Coliseum this past February and it paid off by becoming an instant classic with both new and existing fans,” NASCAR’s senior VP of racing development and strategy Ben Kennedy said in a news release. “We are intent on showcasing our sport and drivers on the biggest stage and there is none bigger than the LA Coliseum. We’re thrilled to return to the heart of Los Angeles to officially start the season and set the stage for the Daytona 500.”
With great weather for the event there was a perfect backdrop for the race and viewers tuned in to watch. The broadcast on Fox averaged a 2.3 rating and 4.28 million viewers marking the highest rating and viewership for the event since 2016. Incidentally those numbers were higher than all but four Cup series races in all of 2021 and were higher than the season ending championship race in Phoenix.
“With more than four million viewers, and really breaking through in a pop culture mecca like Los Angeles, the inaugural Clash at the Coliseum did everything it was intended to do and then some,” said Bill Wanger, FOX Sports EVP, head of programming and scheduling. “It energized the sport, delivered new eyeballs, and kicked off the season in grand fashion. We can’t wait to do it all again in 2023.”
NASCAR began the preparations for the event in December of 2021. Joe Furin the general manager at the Coliseum said after this year’s event that the Coliseum itself would be ready to host the event once more and everyone learned a great deal from the first time.
“We outlined some parameters and then NASCAR did their thing,” Furin said. “Our concerns were protecting irrigation and drain lines and the infrastructure. The grass is dead; that’s not a concern at all, but it’s protecting all that other stuff so then when it’s all removed, we can put the grass back in and, and everything’s intact.
“NASCAR proved to be a great team of professionals and experts and any trepidation we have when you get that first phone call, and you say, ‘you wanna do what?’ <laugh> any trepidation we had was eliminated as we got further into it, met their team and the plan actually came together, and we really understood what they were gonna do to our iconic facility.”
Based a lot on the success in the L.A. Coliseum, there had been talk among NASCAR executives about moving the Clash to different venues including such places as military bases. Coliseum management however, had indicated that they would need to know by this past May 6 in order to make room on their schedule. That might have played into NASCAR keeping the Coliseum while opening the possibility of a different venue in the future.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregengle/2022/06/12/nascar-confirms-a-return-to-the-la-coliseum-in-2023/