Denny Hamlin suggests NASCAR do away with The Clash: ‘It’s run its course’

Denny Hamlin isn’t exactly open to the idea of The Clash, NASCAR‘s season-opening exhibition event, continuing in the future.

Hamlin, the reigning winner of the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, said on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast that the event has “run its course,” and has become a money loser for race teams.

“Can I suggest we don’t run The Clash at all? I mean, to me it’s run its course,” Hamlin said. “For the team’s sake, it’s a money loser for us. It doesn’t pay anything hardly to go run it. Only better thing for us is we don’t have to travel across the country and it’s better for the scheduling of our team. But it doesn’t pay nearly what a normal week does. It’s run its course; I don’t know why we’re forcing it. We race enough. We don’t need anymore.”

Held at Daytona International Speedway each year from its inception in 1979 until 2021, The Clash has been held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the past three years, rebranded as the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. However, NASCAR’s three-year deal to hold The Clash in Los Angeles is up.

This year’s Clash at the Coliseum was hamstrung by mother nature, as Sunday’s weather forecast forced the race to commence on Saturday instead. The race averaged 1.551 million average viewers on FS1, down over two million average viewers, per Motorsports Wire.

Where will the 2025 Clash be held?

As for where the 2025 edition of The Clash takes place, Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic wrote last week that Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has emerged as a viable candidate.

“NASCAR’s ties to the historic quarter-mile track in Winston-Salem, N.C., date back to the 1940s, a relationship that’s only strengthened with the announcement in March that NASCAR acquired the lease to manage racing operations for the facility, effective immediately,” Bianchi wrote.

What about a possible return to Daytona? After all, there’s history in it and race teams can get more time on the track with practice time dwindling in recent years. Hamlin said while a valid option, it would still be costly for race teams for one specific reason.

“Certainly, with us not having much practice, that’s a valid point,” Hamlin said. “It maybe could or should do it. We used to have Clash practice and all that stuff. Maybe just line us up and let us race. It sounds expensive, again, because we are definitely gonna wreck some s***, for sure. But I don’t think NASCAR cares about our costs when it comes down to it. It’s where can they sell some tickets and make some money with TV.”