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NASCAR racing is back as Daytona Speedweeks kicks off with a full slate of races across all series capping with the Daytona 500 next week. The NASCAR Cup Series starts its season with the 42nd running of the Busch Clash, which is a race that always needs some explaining.
The Busch Clash Qualifications
The “Clash” is a non-points paying race with a limited field made up of drivers who met one or more of the five qualifying criteria.
1. Busch Pole Award winners from last season.
2. Past “Clash” winners who competed full-time last season.
3. Past Daytona 500 winners who competed full-time last season.
4. Former Daytona 500 pole winners who competed full-time last season.
5. Drivers who qualified for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs last season.
That equals twenty of the sports elite drivers qualifying to race in the Clash. It’s 75 laps or 187.5 miles, but the field will only have 18 cars taking the green flag.
Daniel Suarez and Daniel Hemric both captured Cup Series poles last year but Hemric is racing full-time in the Xfinity Series this season. Suarez lost his ride at Joe Gibbs Racing and landed a seat at Gaunt Brothers Racing.
However, the team announced it would not run The Clash which may be due to the limited number of available cars in its garage. Nothing wrong with saving money on a non-points paying race!
NASCAR 1997 Busch Clash From Daytona | Awesome Race
Drivers in the Clash
The drivers taking part in the 2020 Busch Clash are; Aric Almirola, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, and Martin Truex Jr.
Here are the favorites to win outright, according to intertops, through +1000:
Joey Logano +750
Brad Keselowski +750
Denny Hamlin +1000
Chase Elliott +1000
Kyle Busch +1000
The fun stat on the eighteen drivers is that all but seven of them have won Cup Series races at Daytona. The ones who have not are Elliott, Blaney, Truex, Bowyer, Bowman, and Larson.
Here are some drivers to target when betting the 2020 Daytona Busch Clash:
Denny Hamlin +1000
Denny Hamlin is the defending Daytona 500 winner, he’s won the 500 twice, and the Clash three times in his career. He’s the JGR driver that seems to be the most productive at Daytona as he has won or finished inside to top-five in four of the last Daytona starts.
His biggest stat when it comes to racing in the Clash for the last four years, is that Hamlin has led almost half (95/229) of all laps run.
Kevin Harvick +1100
Kevin Harvick seemed to have the winning car almost every weekend last season and the season before. Sometimes he was collected in other drivers wrecks and sometimes his team laid an egg when it came to adjustments or pit stops.
Either way, it’s hard to argue that Harvick has not been one of the most dominant drivers over the last few seasons and he may be the best car out of the Stewart – Haas stable this year.
Like Hamlin, Harvick has two Daytona 500 and three Busch Clash wins.
Brad Keselowski +750
I’m going with Brad Keselowski to win the 2020 Busch Clash at Daytona.
Keselowski, and his Team Penski teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, all showed the power that Ford put into the new Cup Series Mustang last season.
The three drivers were upfront during almost every race and all three Penski drivers made it to the 2019 postseason. Keselowski was the one that seemed to have the least amount of issues last year, despite a short stay in the playoffs. But he’s always fast on Superspeedways and has Daytona wins under his belt.
Long Shot: Kyle Busch +1000
I know, Kyle Busch is the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion and he’s hard to bet against. But Daytona International Speedway has not been his friends.
He has one Cup Series Daytona win under his belt which came back in 2008.
However, he’s finished outside of the top-ten sixteen times since then and that includes six DNF’s. The good news for Kyle Busch fans is that he’s generally in the mix of cars towards the front at Daytona and posted a second-place run at the 500 two years ago.
Others I like to Win the 2020 Busch Clash:
Chase Elliott +1000
Ryan Blaney +1100
2020 Busch Clash Complete Odds
Joey Logano +750
Brad Keselowski +750
Denny Hamlin +1000
Chase Elliott +1000
Kyle Busch +1000
Ryan Blaney +1100
Kevin Harvick +1100
Kurt Busch +1200
Martin Truex Jr +1400
Aric Almirola +1600
Clint Bowyer +1600
William Byron +1600
Jimmie Johnson +1600
Alex Bowman +1600
Kyle Larson +2000
Erik Jones +2000
Austin Dillon +2500
Ryan Newman +2800
2020 Speedweek On-Track Schedule
Coverage on Fox, FS1, FS2, MRN – Check local listings.
Friday, Feb. 7
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. – ARCA practice
3 – 4 p.m. – Final ARCA practice
Saturday, Feb. 8
11:35 a.m. – 12:25 p.m. – Final Busch Clash practice
12:30 p.m. – ARCA qualifying; multi-car
1:35 – 2:25 p.m. – Daytona 500 qualifying practice
3 – 3:50 p.m. – Final Daytona 500 qualifying practice
4:45 p.m. – ARCA Lucas Oil 200; 80 laps/200 miles
Sunday, Feb. 9
12:30 p.m. – Daytona 500 qualifying
3 p.m. – Busch Clash; 75 laps/187.5 miles
Monday, Feb. 10 – Wednesday, Feb. 12
No track activity
Thursday, Feb. 13
4:05 – 4:55 p.m. – Truck practice
5:30 – 5:55 p.m. – Final Truck practice
7 p.m. – Blue Greens Vacation Duel No. 1; 60 laps/150 miles
8:45 p.m. approx. – Blue Greens Vacation Duel No. 2; 60 laps/150 miles
Friday, Feb. 14
2:05 – 2:55 p.m. – Xfinity practice
3:10 p.m. – Truck qualifying
4:32 – 4:57 p.m. – Final Xfinity practice
5:05 – 5:55 p.m. – Daytona 500 practice
7:30 p.m. – NextEra Energy 250; 100 laps/250 miles
Saturday, Feb. 15
11 a.m. – Xfinity qualifying
12:30 – 1:20 p.m. – Final Daytona 500 practice
2:30 p.m. – NASCAR Racing Experience 300; 120 laps/300 miles
Sunday, Feb. 16
2:30 p.m. – Daytona 500; 200 laps/500 miles
