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The L.A. Coliseum is synonymous with USC Football, but on Sunday it will host NASCAR's opening race of the season. The 2023 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum will take place at 8 p.m. ET, with USC Heisman-winning quarterback Caleb Williams as the honorary starter. This is a non-points event, but 2023 NASCAR at Los Angeles still carries a purse of $2.085 million and the bragging rights of winning at a historic sports venue. Joey Logano won this race's first iteration in L.A. last year, but he's the third choice, per Caesars Sportsbook, at 8-1 in the latest 2023 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum odds, which trails co-favorites Chase Elliott (15-2) and Kyle Larson (15-2). Before scouring the 2023 Clash at the Coliseum starting lineup and making any 2023 NASCAR at the Coliseum predictions, be sure to see the latest 2023 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum picks from SportsLine's proven projection model.

Developed by daily Fantasy pro and SportsLine predictive data engineer Mike McClure, this proprietary NASCAR prediction model simulates every race 10,000 times, taking into account factors such as track history and recent results.

In the 2021 season, McClure's model nailed Martin Truex Jr. to win at Martinsville for a strong 3-1 payout. Then it called Elliott to win at Road America for a 5-2 payout. McClure's model also called Larson's win at Texas for an 11-4 payout and his win at Kansas for a 9-4 payout in back-to-back weeks before nailing Larson to win the season-finale in Phoenix to claim the NASCAR Cup Championship. In total, it nailed five of Larson's wins during a historic season.

In 2022, it was high on Ross Chastain to win in Austin, giving him a far better shot to win than his 40-1 odds implied. The model was also high on Joey Logano before he won as a 15-1 underdog at Darlington and high on Logano again when he returned 14-1 on his win in St. Louis. In early August, it was much higher on Kevin Harvick than his 17-1 odds implied and Harvick went on to capture the win at Michigan and then was high on Tyler Reddick before he won at Texas for a 12-1 payout. Anyone who followed its lead on those plays saw huge returns on its NASCAR picks.

Now, the model simulated the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum 2023 10,000 times. Head to SportsLine to see the complete NASCAR at the Coliseum projected leaderboard.

Top 2023 NASCAR Clash at the Coliseum predictions

For the 2023 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, the model is high on Tyler Reddick, even though he's a 15-1 longshot in the latest 2023 NASCAR at Los Angeles odds. He's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. Reddick finished second in qualifying at this event last year before going on to win the second heat. However, a crash knocked him out of contention in the feature race, although he showed he has what it takes to excel on this track.

Reddick notched his first three career Cup Series wins in 2022 as a part of his 10 top-five finishes. While he finished 14th in the standings, just six drivers had more top-fives which shows his potential. He's since switched team from Richard Childress to 23XI, and that potential could be realized with a new crew behind him, making Reddick an undervalued option in NASCAR at Los Angeles bets. See who else to back here.

And a massive shocker: Kyle Busch, one of the Vegas favorites at 8-1, stumbles big-time and barely cracks the top five. There are far better values in the 2023 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum starting grid. The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has finished eighth or worse in the NASCAR standings the last three seasons and has only managed four wins during that span.

Busch finished 13th in the standings last season and only managed one win. Even though he was on the pole for the 2022 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum and led 65 laps, Busch was edged out by Joey Logano. He also struggled on short tracks late last season, finishing 29th at Martinsville and 34th at Bristol during the NASCAR playoffs. See who else to fade here.

How to make 2023 NASCAR at the Coliseum picks

The model is also targeting two other drivers with 2023 NASCAR at the Coliseum odds of 15-1 or longer to make a serious run at the checkered flag. Anyone who backs these drivers could hit it big. You can see all of the model's NASCAR picks over at SportsLine.

So who wins the 2023 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum? And which long shots do you need to back? Check out the latest 2023 NASCAR at the Coliseum odds below, then visit SportsLine now to see the full projected 2023 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum leaderboard, all from the model that called multiple longshots in 2022 and nailed five of Kyle Larson's wins in 2021

2023 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum odds

Kyle Busch 8-1
Joey Logano 8-1
Chase Elliott 8-1
Kyle Larson 8-1
Christopher Bell 10-1
Denny Hamlin 12-1
Ryan Blaney 12-1
Tyler Reddick 15-1
William Byron 15-1
Ross Chastain 15-1
Kevin Harvick 18-1
Martin Truex Jr. 20-1
Brad Keselowski 25-1
Alex Bowman 28-1
Bubba Wallace 28-1
Chase Briscoe 28-1
Daniel Suarez 35-1
Aric Almirola 40-1
Ryan Preece 40-1
Austin Dillon 50-1
Austin Cindric 50-1
AJ Allmendinger 75-1
Ty Gibbs 75-1
Chris Buescher 75-1
Noah Gragson 75-1
Justin Haley 75-1
Erik Jones 75-1
Ricky Stenhouse 200-1
Harrison Burton 250-1
Michael McDowell 250-1
Ty Dillon 300-1
Todd Gilliland 500-1
BJ McLeod 1000-1
Corey Lajoie 1000-1
Cody Ware 1000-1
JJ Yeley 1000-1