WATCH: Caleb Williams addresses seeing his home field turned into a NASCAR race
USC quarterback Caleb Williams served as the honorary starter for NASCAR’s Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. Williams made plenty of plays inside the Coliseum for the Trojans this past football season, but on Sunday was tasked with waiving the green flag to start the race. Prior to the race, Williams spoke about the transformation of the Coliseum from a football venue to a NASCAR track.
“So I saw a bit of it last year, I wasn’t here exactly and there was a lot going on. But I did see they were changing the whole stadium last year and I didn’t get the chance to go,” Williams said.
Williams was likely busy still ironing out the details of his transfer from Oklahoma to USC during last year’s edition of the Busch Light Clash. This is the second year that the race has been held in Los Angeles, serving as an annual pre-season race ahead fo the Daytona 500.
“So when I heard they were returning it was something I wanted to go to, a bunch of my teammates said it was a blast last year,” Williams said. “Pretty special event to be able to turn out the Coliseum into a race track, so can’t wait and should be fun.”
With the race and event being so new to Los Angeles and Coliseum, Williams was also asked what his first time suiting up and stepping on the field for the Trojans in the Coliseum was like.
“First game experience it was pretty special, can’t really put into words exactly. Just knowing such a historic place with a bunch of historic players and legends that have played in it and events like this that’s been in it. It’s pretty cool to be able to go out there every Saturday and perform for everybody,” Williams said.
William’s Heisman trophy-winning season was a gem, as he threw for 4,537 yards and a nation leading 42 touchdowns while leading the Trojans to an 11-3 record, their best finish since 2017. He’s been quite busy this offseason, as he was also recently honored at halftime of the UCLA-USC basketball game.
A successful season definitely calls for an entertaining offseason, as Williams will continue to enjoy it while working towards leading the Trojans to another successful year.