NASCAR yet to reveal decision following key deadline

The deadline for NASCAR to decide on whether or not to return to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the Clash has come and gone. What is the decision?

NASCAR decided to switch things up this year before the 2022 Cup Series season began, running the annual Busch Light Clash preseason exhibition race outside Daytona International Speedway for the first time ever.

Last year, the race was contested at Daytona Beach, Florida track’s 14-turn, 3.61-mile (5.810-kilometer) road course layout for the first time.

The race had been held at the track’s four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked oval for 42 consecutive years from 1979 to 2020. But the road course race lasted for just one season.

This year, NASCAR traveled west, and the Busch Light Clash was contested at a purpose-built quarter-mile oval inside Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the home of the USC Trojans football team.

As expected, this move generated quite a bit of criticism, and even those who weren’t fully opposed to the move had their doubts. But by the time the dust had settled, many were encouraged by the show that had been put on by all parties involved.

However, will the Busch Light Clash return to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum?

Before the race was contested back in February, NASCAR and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum agreed to a three-year deal for the Busch Light Clash to be contested at the track.

However, that three-year deal contained options for both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, and it is NASCAR which held the option for both years.

The deadline for NASCAR to make a decision regarding whether or not a return to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is in the cards for 2023 came 90 days from this year’s race, including the day of the race.

This means that the decision deadline was last Friday, May 6, exactly one week ago today.

So what is the decision? Will NASCAR return to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the second time? If not, where will the Busch Light Clash be held in 2023?

Right now, only NASCAR and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum know. The full 2023 Cup Series schedule is slated to be announced as early as sometime this summer, which is presumably when fans will know whether or not the California venue will again play host to the annual preseason exhibition event.