Machine Gun Kelly announced as race break performer at Busch Light Clash

The musical performer during the race break at the Busch Light Clash will be Machine Gun Kelly. NASCAR announced the news Sunday afternoon. Fans in Los Angeles and watching at home will see the rapper-turned-rockstar perform at the halfway point of the Clash.

NASCAR has turned this preseason exhibition into an entire event. There is a prerace and mid-race concert. It is in the LA Coliseum for goodness sake – this is just as much about the fanfare and show than it is about racing on the track.

This is also where we see NASCAR get more creative with their music choices. This is a choice made to attract a new, younger crowd. Machine Gun Kelly and NASCAR – together at last.

It doesn’t feel so complicated now that we’ve got @machinegunkelly as our race break performer! #BuschLightClash pic.twitter.com/crqYffWibY

— Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum (@nascarclash) January 14, 2024

The Busch Light Clash has been a fun event the last two years. I think last year’s performances were solid. Wiz Khalifa was exciting and it felt like NASCAR was really trying to do something new.

However, I’ll admit, this doesn’t excite me. What excites me are lineups like NASCAR had for the Chicago Street Race, until it got rained out. Miranda Lambert, Charley Crockett, The Chainsmokers – that’s a show.

It will be interesting to see who else NASCAR has at the Busch Light Clash. It has become an event where celebrities and other notable folks in LA have popped up. Who will we see this year?

Will Busch Light Clash be as good in 2024?

In year three, many fans don’t expect the Busch Light Clash to be as exciting. We’ve seen it twice now, it turned into bumper cars last year – and it’s become a thing now. Last season, Denny Hamlin even had complaints about inhaling a lot of exhaust fumes, too.

I think race-wise, this is all about qualifying. Then, we’ll see who can be the most clever or the biggest battering ram. I still think this is a cool event. Seeing NASCAR at the Coliseum is unlike anything I’ve seen before.

After this year, I do think that it is time to move on. 2025 is going to be the start of the new TV deal, new charter agreement, and it should be an exciting opening. Go put a track down in the middle of another city and put on a show there.

In 2023, Martin Truex Jr. won the Busch Light Clash. He then went on to have a breakout season, bouncing back from a winless 2022 to win the regular season championship. What will this year’s race foreshadow?