The NASCAR season kicks off unofficially this weekend

This Sunday, NASCAR kicks off the season at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum (8 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Take a look at the odds-on favorite ahead of Sunday's contest.

Two drivers stand out above the rest heading into this weekend's contest with the best chances for winning at the Coliseum. 

Kyle Larson coming off a 2023 season with 15 top 5's, 18 top 10's & two times started from the pole position. Larson won four races — two in the regular season and two in the playoffs. He returned to the Championship 4 after being eliminated in the Round of 12 last season. 

Larson’s wins included two tracks where he was previously winless — Martinsville and Darlington. He won his first grandfather clock in his 17th attempt and then won his first Southern 500 in his 12th start at Darlington.

Larson’s four wins took him to 23 in his Cup career. This put him in a tie with Ricky Rudd for the 36th-most in series history.

Larson was one of two drivers that topped 1,000 laps led this season. He had 1,127. Teammate William Byron led 1,016 laps. Denny Hamlin was third with 998 laps led.

However, things weren't always going in the right direction for Kyle Larson and his team.  

Larson’s average finishing position (14.6) was his worst since 2019. He had eight DNFs, second-most in Cup. Austin Dillon had the most DNFs this season with 10.

Larson won two races in the first nine weeks of the season. He went winless in the 15 races leading up to the start of the playoffs while finishing 20th or worse eight times.

Larson had DNFs in the first four races at drafting tracks. He completed the second races at Daytona and Talladega but his finishes were 15th and 27th.

Larson struggled during the Round of 12. He finished 31st, 15th and 13th at Texas, Talladega and the Roval. Larson started the elimination race at the Roval in a backup car after hitting the wall in practice.

Martin Turex Jr coming off a 2023 season with an 11th place finish in the final points standings, he had three wins and lead 899 laps. 

Truex went winless in 2022 but kicked off 2023 by winning the Clash exhibition race at the LA Memorial Coliseum. This was an indication that he would be a factor throughout the season.

Truex won his first points race of the Next Gen era on May 1. He won the rain-delayed race at Dover after leading 68 laps. This put him back in the playoffs after he missed out in 2022.

Truex’s regular season continued with his fourth career win at Sonoma and his first career win at Loudon. He went on to win the regular-season championship.

Truex’s three wins took him to 34 in his Cup career. He passed Dale Jarrett and Fireball Roberts before moving into a tie with Kurt Busch for 25th on the all-time wins list.

Truex won the pole three times and led 899 laps. These were his best marks of the Next Gen era.

Truex also had struggles in 2023 that led to a few in race arguments with his crew chief James Small. 

Truex entered the playoffs as the regular-season champion and the second seed behind William Byron. He failed to reach the Championship 4 after struggling in the first nine races.

Truex finished 18th at Darlington after pitting for loose right rear wheel. He finished 36th at Kansas after losing a tire in Turn 3 on Lap 4. He spun from 19th on Lap 362 at Bristol and hit the wall. He finished 19th.

The issues continued as Truex finished 17th or worse in the three races making up the Round of 12. He still advanced to the Round of 8 with the bonus points gained by winning the regular-season championship.

Truex scored his first top-10 finish of playoffs in the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas. The team left frustrated due to a decision to keep Truex out on track after the end of the first stage. Truex took the lead for the start of stage 2 but fell outside the top 10 on older tires. He missed out on points at the end of the stage despite having what crew chief James Small described as a “top-three car capable of winning.”

The following week, Truex finished 29th at Homestead due to an engine failure. Truex started from pole at Martinsville but finished 12th after receiving a speeding penalty on Lap 219 and having a pit stop issue on Lap 265.

The next three drivers with a chance to win this weekend's Clash are Willaim Byron, Kyle Bush and defending series champion Ryan Blaney. 

NASCAR officials unveiled the format for the 2024 Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum a few weeks ago.

The Cup Series’ third annual trip to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum culminates in a 150-lap exhibition feature on Feb. 4 with 23 drivers set to bang fenders in the battle for preseason glory, all atop a 0.25-mile short asphalt oval located in the same arena that has hosted Super Bowls, World Series games and the Olympics.

On-track festivities for the non-points event begin with three practice sessions on Saturday, with up to 40 entrants split into three groups. Each competitor’s fastest lap time from their final practice session will determine the starting lineup for the four heat races, the first significant alteration of this event’s format after prior years featured single-round, single-car qualifying to set heat lineups.

Saturday’s four 25-lap heat races will have up to 10 drivers per heat. The fastest practice time in the final sessions earns pole position in Heat 1, second-fastest on pole for Heat 2, third-fastest on pole for Heat 3 and fourth-fastest in practice on pole for Heat 4, and so on. Only green-flag laps will count in each of the heat races, with no overtime allotment.

The top five finishers in each heat will automatically advance to Sunday night’s main event, while the drivers who finish below fifth in each heat will advance to Sunday afternoon’s 75-lap Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ). Starting position for the LCQ will be determined by finishing order from the heat races. The top two finishers in the LCQ will advance to the Clash and start 21st and 22nd, respectively. Like the heat races, only green-flag laps will count with no overtime.

The 23rd and final position in the grid for the Clash is reserved for the driver who finished highest in the 2023 season points standings and did not transfer via the heat races or LCQ. Ryan Blaney, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, is locked into the main event.

That sets the stage for the 2024 rendition, scheduled for 150 laps under the lights in the heart of Los Angeles (8 p.m. ET, Feb. 4 on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM).