NASCAR starting lineup: Aric Almirola wins pole position for Busch Light Clash

Qualifying Update: Austin Cindric earns the final spot in the starting lineup due to his finish in last year’s points standings. Aric Almirola will be on the pole for Sunday’s exhibition race, and the rest of the field can be found below.

Last Chance Qualifier #2 Results: Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs and AJ Allmendinger have advanced to the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Cindric, Corey LaJoie, Cody Ware and BJ McLeod have been eliminated unless they have the highest point total from last season among the drivers that have yet to qualify.

Last Chance Qualifier #1 Results: Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell and Todd Gilliland have advanced to the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.

Harrison Burton, Brad Keselowski, Ty Dillon, Chris Buescher and JJ Yeley have been eliminated unless they have the highest point total from last season from drivers after the second last chance qualifier.

Heat 4 results: William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, Ryan Preece and Erik Jones have qualified for the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.

Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Corey LaJoie, and Cody Ware fill out the remaining spots in the last chance qualifiers.

Heat 3 results: Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and Daniel Suarez have qualified for the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.

Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski, Todd Gilliland and JJ Yeley will head to the last chance qualifiers after the initials heats finish.

Heat 2 results: Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick have qualified for the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.

Chase Elliott, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Cindric and BJ McLeod will head to the last chance qualifiers to try and qualify for the race field.

Heat 1 results: Aric Almirola, Alex Bowman, Justin Haley, Noah Gragson and Joey Logano have qualified for the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.

Michael McDowell, Harrison Burton, Ty Dillon and Chris Buescher will head to the last chance qualifiers after the four heats wrap up.

The 2023 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum will run on Sunday, February 5. This exhibition Cup Series race will set the tempo for the start of the regular season with the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 12. Before we get to the race on Sunday, there will be three separate qualifying sessions. One was held on Saturday, February 4, with the other two running before Sunday’s race.

Saturday’s qualifying established the order of Sunday’s four qualifying heats. Justin Haley, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, and William Byron claimed the pole for each of the four heats.

Sunday’s qualifying will be held in two parts. In the first, there will be four heats consisting of 25 laps per race. Only green laps will count, and the top five fastest drivers will advance to the race Sunday night. The remaining drivers will then be sorted into two last-chance qualifiers consisting of 50 laps apiece. The top three finishers in each will also then advance to the exhibition race. The final spot will in the 27-car starting lineup will be awarded to the driver that finished the highest in the 2022 season standings that had yet to qualify for the race.

Ahead of all the qualifying events of the weekend, Joey Logano and Chase Elliott have the best odds to win the Clash at the Coliseum at DraftKings Sportsbook installed at +750. They are followed by Kyle Larson (+800), Christopher Bell (+800) and Kyle Busch (+900) as the drivers with the best odds of taking the checkered flag.

Here is the full entry list for Sunday’s Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum Cup Series race. We’ll update it with the full starting lineup as qualifying wraps.