NASCAR announces 2022 Heisman Trophy winner as starter for Busch Light Clash this season

NASCAR's highly anticipated start to the 2023 Cup Series season just got more exciting as news broke about USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams being named the honorary starter for the exhibition-style race. The Busch Light Clash is all set to kick off the 2023 stock car racing season next month at the LA Memorial Coliseum, with the Heisman Trophy winner as the man set to wave the green flag as the field prepares to race on the quarter-mile-long track.

Williams, who became the eighth player in USC history to claim the Heisman Trophy, led the nation with 42 touchdown passes and threw for 4,537 yards for a team that won 11 games. He will be joining the star-studded exhibition-style race alongside legendary hip-hop group Cypress Hill and rapper Wiz Khalifa.

The Busch Light Clash serves to whet NASCAR fans' appetite before the sport heads to Daytona International Speedway for the elusive Daytona 500, officially marking the start of the regular points-paying season. With the event having proven to be a success in 2022, the Clash at the Coliseum, as it is also referred to, managed to bring in many first-time viewers to the sport, owing to its easy accessibility within Los Angeles along with various other attractions apart from the race itself.

The 2023 Busch Light Clash goes live from the LA Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, February 5th, 2023, at 8:00 PM ET. The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series champion and winner of the race from last year, Joey Logano, will be looking to hold off competition at the start of the 2023 season as well.

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What will be the starting lineup for the 2023 NASCAR Busch Light Clash?

With only 27 cars going to be racing on the quarter-mile-long track at the LA Memorial Coliseum this year, the 2023 Busch Light Clash has a specific format and eligibility criteria that drivers need to follow to qualify to participate in the race. Going up from last year's 23 drivers to 27, here is the breakdown of the 2023 starting lineup:

1. Heat 1 winner
2. Heat 2 winner
3. Heat 3 winner
4. Heat 4 winner
5. Heat 1 second-place
6. Heat 2 second-place
7. Heat 3 second-place
8. Heat 4 second-place
9. Heat 1 third-place
10. Heat 2 third-place
11. Heat 3 third-place
12. Heat 4 third-place
13. Heat 1 fourth-place
14. Heat 2 fourth-place
15. Heat 3 fourth-place
16. Heat 4 fourth-place
17. Heat 1 fifth-place
18. Heat 2 fifth-place
19. Heat 3 fifth-place
20. Heat 4 fifth-place
21. LCQ 1 winner
22. LCQ 2 winner
23. LCQ 1 second-place
24. LCQ 2 second-place
25. LCQ 1 third-place
26. LCQ 2 third-place
27. 2022 points provisional

Watch the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season kick off on Sunday, February 5th, 2023, with the Busch Light Clash from the LA Memorial Coliseum at 8:00 PM ET.