2012 Lenox Industrial Tools 301
The 2012 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on July 15, 2012 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, United States. Contested over 301 laps, it was the nineteenth race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Kasey Kahne of Hendrick Motorsports took his second win of the season, while Denny Hamlin finished second and Clint Bowyer finished third.
| Race details[1][2][3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 19 of 36 in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | July 15, 2012 | ||
| Official name | Lenox Industrial Tools 301 The Extra Mile | ||
| Location | New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.058 mi (1.703 km) | ||
| Distance | 301 laps, 318.458 mi (512.508 km) | ||
| Weather | Overcast with a temperature around 87°F; wind out of the SW at 6 mph. | ||
| Average speed | 116.226 miles per hour (187.048 km/h)[4] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 28.548 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 152 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TNT | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander, Wally Dallenbach, Jr. and Kyle Petty | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 4.775 million [5] | ||
Report
Background
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New Hampshire Motor Speedway is one of ten intermediate tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Atlanta Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, and Darlington Raceway as well as Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway.[6] The standard track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a four-turn oval track, 1.6 miles (2.6 km) long.[7] The track's turns are banked from two to seven degrees, while the front stretch, the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at one degree.[7]
Before the race, Matt Kenseth led the Drivers' Championship with 676 points, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. stood in second with 651. Greg Biffle was third in the Drivers' Championship with 632, fourteen points ahead of Jimmie Johnson and forty ahead of Tony Stewart in fourth and fifth. Kevin Harvick, with 586, was two points ahead of Denny Hamlin, as Martin Truex, Jr. with 584 points, was eleven ahead of Brad Keselowski and twelve in front of Clint Bowyer.[8] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 126 points, twenty-two points ahead of Toyota. Ford, with 90 points, was fourteen points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.[9] Ryan Newman is the defending race winner after winning the event in 2011.[10]
Shortly before the 2012 Coke Zero 400, held one week earlier, NASCAR announced that A. J. Allmendinger failed a random drug test held on June 29, 2012, and that he was suspended temporarily, depending on the result of his second test.[11] Afterward, Penske Racing announced that Sam Hornish, Jr., who replaced him in the Coke Zero 400, would also replace him for a second consecutive week.[11]
Practice and qualifying
Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—one on Friday, July 13, and two on Saturday, July 14. The first session lasted 90 minutes, and the second was 55 minutes. The third and final session was 60 minutes.[12] Kyle Busch was quickest with a time of 28.555 seconds in the first session, less than one tenth of a second faster than Biffle.[13] Kurt Busch was just off Biffle's pace, followed by Kasey Kahne, Paul Menard, and Truex, Jr.. Brian Vickers was seventh, still within two tenths of a second of Kyle Busch's time.[13]
Forty-four cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three could qualify for the race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.[14] Kyle Busch clinched the ninth pole position of his career, with a time of 28.548 seconds.[15] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Kahne.[15] Hamlin qualified third, Truex, Jr. took fourth, and Bowyer started fifth.[15] Newman, Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt, Jr. and Stewart rounded out the top ten. The driver that failed to qualify for the race was Mike Bliss.[15] Once the qualifying session concluded, Kyle Busch expressed his happiness with qualifying: "Excellent lap, just tried to hit the same marks in practice. Haven't found the magic way to get around the Magic Mile but today we did."[3]
In the second practice session, Hamlin was quickest with a time of 28.969 seconds.[16] Gordon, with a time of 28.993, was second-quickest, ahead of Truex, Jr., Aric Almirola, and Bowyer.[16] Kahne, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Vickers, and Jeff Burton completed the first ten positions.[16] Hamlin continued to be quickest through the third practice session with a time of 28.990, 0.009 seconds faster than his fastest lap during the second session.[17] Kyle Busch was second-quickest in the session, while Keselowski was scored third.[17] Bowyer followed in the fourth position ahead of Johnson, Vickers and Truex, Jr.[17] Kahne, Logano and Carl Edwards rounded out the first ten positions in eighth, ninth and tenth, respectively.[17]
Race
The race, the nineteenth in the season, began with Kyle Busch on the Pole and Kasey Kahne starting second, not much happened here but three cautions, two for debris and one for David Reutimann's blown engine, Kyle Busch, the races polesitter had a speeding penalty which would cause him to finish 16th, Kasey Kahne won the race on lap 301 of a scheduled 301.[1]
Results
Qualifying
Race results
Standings after the race
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References
- "Sprint Cup Series Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- Brown, Brian (July 10, 2012). "The Lenox Industrial Tools 301". Rotoworld.com. NBC Sports. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
- Ryan, Nate (July 13, 2012). "Kyle Busch zooms past Kasey Kahne for New Hampshire pole". Loudon, New Hampshire. USA Today. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
- "2012 Lenox Industrial Tools 301". Racing-reference.info. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
- "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- "NASCAR Tracks—The New Hampshire Motor Speedway". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- "2012 Official Driver Standings: Coke Zero 400". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- "Manufactures' Championship Classification". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. ESPN. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- "2011 Lenox Industrial Tools 301". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- "Hornish back in 22 as Allmendinger awaits results". NASCAR. Turner Sports. July 9, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
- "THE RACE: Lenox Industrial Tools 301". Jayski NASCAR Silly Season Site. ESPN. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
- "Practice One Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
- "Qualifying Entry List". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
- "Race Official Lineup". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
- "Practice Two Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
- "Practice Three Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
| Previous race: 2012 Coke Zero 400 |
Sprint Cup Series 2012 season |
Next race: 2012 Brickyard 400 |