2012 AAA Texas 500
The 2012 AAA Texas 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on November 4, 2012, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Contested over 334 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) asphalt quad-oval, it was the thirty-fourth race of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the eighth race in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which ends the season. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports won the race, his fifth win of the season. Brad Keselowski finished second while Kyle Busch was third.
| Race details[1][2][3][4] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 34 of 36 in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
 Simple line diagram of Texas Motor Speedway track layout | |||
| Date | November 4, 2012 | ||
| Location | Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 335 laps, 502.5 mi (808.695 km) | ||
| Weather | Scattered showers with a temperature around 71 °F (22 °C); wind out of the NWN at 9 miles per hour (14 km/h). | ||
| Average speed | 136.117 miles per hour (219.059 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 28.261 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 168 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree | ||
Report
Background
Texas Motor Speedway is one of ten intermediate tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway.[5] The standard track at Texas Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long.[6] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is five degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also has a five degree banking.[6] The racetrack has seats for 191,122 spectators.[6]
Before the race, Jimmie Johnson led the Drivers' Championship with 2,291 points, and Brad Keselowski stood in second with 2,289 points.[7] Clint Bowyer followed in third with 2,265 points, three points ahead of Kasey Kahne and twenty-three ahead of Denny Hamlin in fourth and fifth.[7] Jeff Gordon with 2,237 was nine points ahead of Martin Truex, Jr., as Matt Kenseth with 2,226 points, was four points ahead of Greg Biffle and six ahead of Tony Stewart.[7] Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was eleventh and twelfth with 2,203 and 2,151 points, respectively.[7]
In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 222 points, twenty-five points ahead of Toyota.[8] Ford, with 164 points, was twenty-one points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.[8] Stewart is the defending race winner after winning the event in 2011.[9]
Practice and qualifying
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Three practice sessions are scheduled to be held before the race; the first on Friday, which lasted 90 minutes. The second and third are both scheduled on Saturday afternoon with the first being 50 minutes long, while the second is scheduled for 60.[10] Truex, Jr. was quickest with a time of 28.310 seconds in the first session, 0.044 seconds faster than Mark Martin.[11] Keselowski was just off Martin's pace, followed by Bowyer, Stewart, and Aric Almirola. Kenseth was seventh, still within a half of a second of Truex's time.[11]
Forty-six cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three could qualify for the race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.[12] Johnson clinched the twenty-ninth pole position of his career and fourth of the season, with a time of 28.261 seconds.[3][13] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Biffle.[13] Kyle Busch qualified third, Bowyer took fourth, and Truex, Jr. started fifth.[13] Joey Logano, Trevor Bayne, Keselowski, Carl Edwards and Kenseth rounded out the top ten[13] The three drivers that failed to qualify for the race were Stephen Leicht, Kelly Bires, and David Stremme.[13]
In the second practice session, Keselowski was fastest with a time of 28.888 seconds, one-hundredth of a second quicker than second-placed Johnson.[14] Hamlin took third place, ahead of Biffle, Edwards and Bowyer.[14] Kyle Busch only managed seventh place, while Stewart was only quick enough for eighth position.[14] In the third and final practice, Keselowski remained quickest with a time of 29.300 seconds.[15] Bowyer followed in second, ahead of Kenseth and Johnson.[15] Edwards was fifth quickest, with a time of 29.375 seconds.[15] Hamlin, Sam Hornish, Jr., Kyle Busch, A. J. Allmendinger, and Earnhardt, Jr. rounded out the first ten positions.[15]
Results
Qualifying
Race results
Standings after the race
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References
- "2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
- Brown, Brian (October 30, 2012). "The AAA 500". Rotoworld.com. NBC Sports. Archived from the original on October 31, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
- Ryan, Nate (November 3, 2012). "Jimmie Johnson on pole for Texas". USA Today. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
- "2012 Official Race Results : AAA Texas 500". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
- "Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
- "Track Facts". Texas Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on November 22, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
- "2012 Official Driver Standings: Tums Fast Relief 500". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
- "2012 NASCAR Manufacturer Championship". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. ESPN. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
- "2011 AAA Texas 500". Racing-Reference.info. USA Today Sports Media Group. November 6, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
- "Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site – Sprint Cup Race Info / Rundown Page". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. ESPN. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
- "Practice One Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
- "Qualifying Order". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
- "Race Lineup". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
- "Practice Two Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
- "Practice Three Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
- "2012 Official Driver Standings: AAA Texas 500". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
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