2012 FedEx 400

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2012 FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks
Race details[1][2]
Race 13 of 36 in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date June 3, 2012 (2012-06-03)
Location Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware
Course Permanent racing facility
1 mi (1.6 km)
Distance 400 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Weather Clear with a temperature near 76°F; wind out of the W at 15 mph.
Average speed 122.835 miles per hour (197.684 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Michael Waltrip Racing
Time 22.742
Most laps led
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 289
Winner
No. 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

The 2012 FedEx 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on June 3, 2012 at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware. Contested over 400 laps, it was the thirteenth race of the 2012 season. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports took his second win of the season, while Kevin Harvick finished second and Matt Kenseth finished third.

There were seven cautions and seventeen lead changes among seven different drivers during the race. Johnson's win maintained his fifth-place position in the drivers' championship, 33 points behind leader Greg Biffle and twelve ahead of Martin Truex, Jr. in sixth. Chevrolet led the Manufacturer Championship with 90 points, sixteen ahead of Toyota and 23 ahead of Ford in third.

Report[]

Background[]

Dover International Speedway, where the race was held

Dover International Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Bristol Motor Speedway, Richmond International Raceway, Martinsville Speedway, and Phoenix International Raceway.[3] The NASCAR race makes use of the track's standard configuration, a four-turn short track oval that is 1 mile (1.6 km) long.[4] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees. The front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at nine degrees with the backstretch.[4] The racetrack has seats for 135,000 spectators.[4]

Before the race, Greg Biffle led the Drivers' Championship with 453 points, and Matt Kenseth stood in second with 443. Denny Hamlin was third in the Drivers' Championship with 437, two points ahead of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and twenty-two ahead of Jimmie Johnson in fourth and fifth. Martin Truex, Jr. with 404 was six points ahead of Kevin Harvick, as Kyle Busch with 391 points, was three ahead of Tony Stewart and nineteen in front of Carl Edwards.[5] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 81 points, eleven points ahead of Toyota. Ford, with 61 points, was nine points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.[6] Kenseth was the race's defending champion.[7][8]

Practice and qualifying[]

Mark Martin qualified on the pole position for Michael Waltrip Racing.

Two practice sessions were held before the race on June 1, 2012. The first session was 85 minutes long, while the second lasted 90 minutes.[9] Mark Martin was quickest with a time of 22.613 seconds in the first session, 0.039 faster than Hamlin.[10] Truex, Jr. was third quickest, followed by Biffle, Kyle Busch, and Biffle. Ryan Newman was seventh, still within two-tenths of a second of Martin's time.[10] In the second and final practice, Aric Almirola was quickest with a time of 22.900 seconds.[11] Jeff Gordon followed in second, ahead of Earnhardt, Jr. and Johnson.[11]Scott Speed was fifth quickest, with a time of 23.260 seconds.[11] Jamie McMurray, Michael McDowell, Kurt Busch, Joe Nemechek, and J. J. Yeley rounded out the first ten positions.[11] Martin, who was quickest in the first session, could only manage 29th.[11]

Forty-five cars were entered for qualifying on June 2, 2012,[9] but only forty-three could qualify for the race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.[12] Martin of Michael Waltrip Racing clinched the 54th pole position of his Sprint Cup Series career, with a time of 22.742 seconds.[13] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Johnson.[13] Newman qualified third, Clint Bowyer took fourth, and Kenseth started fifth.[13] Harvick, Kyle Busch, Biffle, Kurt Busch and Hamlin rounded out the top ten. The two drivers who failed to qualify for the race were Josh Wise and Cole Whitt.[13]

Once the qualifying session was completed, Martin stated, "I'll never do that again. I anticipated the car being loose, but I didn't ask Rodney if he tightened it up. I knew the conditions were looser than they were in our mock qualifying run, and I didn't want to ask him because I didn't want to be concerned. I knew that I only had to make it one mile without wrecking, and I was going to drive to the limit and slightly beyond, and I felt like I did that. I wouldn't want to do that again. But I couldn't sit on these poles without the fastest race car, and MWR and Rodney Childers in particular and the guys on our team are doing that."[14]

Race[]

2012 FedEx 400 going under green flag

The race, the thirteenth in the season, began at 1:00 p.m. EDT and was televised live in the United States on Fox.[1] The conditions on the grid were dry before the race, the air temperature at 76 °F (24 °C); mostly clear skies were expected.[2] Dan Schafer, pastor of Calvary Assembly of God in Hightstown, New Jersey, began pre-race ceremonies, by giving the invocation.[15] Next, Kris Allen performed the national anthem, and Delaware Governor Jack Markell gave the command for drivers to start their engines.[15]

Martin retained his pole position lead into the first corner, followed by Johnson, who started second. However, by the end of the first lap, Johnson had become the leader. On the following lap, Bowyer fell to fifth, as Kenseth passed him. On the seventh lap, Martin reclaimed the lead from Johnson. Two laps later, the race was slowed by a caution flag after a large accident involving thirteen drivers occurred on the backstretch, including Tony Stewart, Landon Cassill, Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Speed, Joe Nemechek, and more. The race was red flagged shortly after the accident. After twenty minutes under the red flag, the race resumed under caution. Most of the front running drivers didn't make a pit stop during the caution, while others who were behind seventeenth pitted. On the lap 13 restart, Martin was the leader ahead of Johnson, as Kenseth passed Newman for the third position. By the eighteenth lap, Martin had expanded his lead to half a second over Johnson. However, Johnson began to catch Martin, and passed him for the first position on lap 30.[15]

On lap 35, Johnson continued to lead over Martin and Kenseth, while Bowyer was placed in fourth. Johnson continued to expand his lead over Martin to over a second by the 43rd lap in the race. Less than ten laps later, Johnson passed Kurt Busch, who started ninth, to place him a lap behind the leaders. On the 56th lap, Gordon overtook Kyle Busch for the fifth position, as Newman fell to tenth after Hamlin and Edwards passed him. Thirteen laps later, David Stremme retired from the race as green flag pit stops began after McMurray, Biffle, Hamlin and Harvick came to pit road. Kenseth and ten other drivers pitted on the following lap, as Martin, Johnson, Bowyer, Earnhardt, Jr., and Gordon pitted on the 71st lap. Two laps later, Stewart, who was involved in the accident during the ninth lap, returned to the race after repairs to the car. At lap 75, Kurt Busch was given a drive-through penalty after entering pit road too fast, as Martin reclaimed the lead.[15][16]

Kurt Busch drives his car to the garage after an engine failure.

Nine laps later, Johnson moved past Martin to take the first position. By the 91st lap, Johnson expanded his lead to one second over Martin. Six laps later, Kenseth moved to the third position while Gordon moved to fourth. On lap 98, Regan Smith returned to the race after repairs to the damage sustained on the ninth lap to his car. Less than five laps later, Stephen Leicht and Reed Sorenson also returned to the race to gain positions and points (Sorenson's team trying to gain breathing room inside the Top 35, while Leicht was trying to get closer), while Johnson maintained a two-second lead over Martin. On the 109th lap, Juan Pablo Montoya returned to the race after sustaining damage to his car after the accident on lap nine. Three laps later, the second caution was given after David Reutimann's engine failed. On the lap 117 restart, Johnson led ahead of Martin, Kenseth, Kyle Busch, and Gordon. On the following lap, Kyle Busch passed Martin for the second position, as Johnson expanded his lead. By lap 132, Harvick had moved into the third position while Martin fell to the fifth position.[15][16]

On lap 133, Leicht returned to the garage after being over 100 laps off the pace, and Gordon passed Harvick for the third position. Eight laps later, Gordon overtook Kyle Busch to claim the second position behind Johnson. On the 160th lap, Harvick reclaimed the third position from Kyle Busch.

Results[]

Qualifying[]

No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed Grid
55 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 22.742 158.297 1
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.747 158.263 2
39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 22.751 158.235 3
15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 22.778 158.047 4
17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 22.787 157.985 5
29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.804 157.867 6
16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 22.808 157.839 7
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.808 157.839 8
51 Kurt Busch Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 22.841 157.611 9
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.850 157.549 10
20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.851 157.542 11
43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 22.858 157.494 12
5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.869 157.418 13
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.871 157.405 14
31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.877 157.363 15
2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 22.880 157.343 16
88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.882 157.329 17
56 Martin Truex, Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 22.904 157.178 18
99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 22.921 157.061 19
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.956 156.822 20
9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 22.956 156.822 21
47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 22.962 156.781 22
22 A. J. Allmendinger Penske Racing Dodge 22.983 156.637 23
1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 22.994 156.563 24
79 Scott Speed Go Green Racing Ford 23.005 156.488 25
78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 23.009 156.460 26
83 Landon Cassill BK Racing Toyota 23.037 156.270 27
34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 23.045 156.216 28
14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 23.059 156.121 29
38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 23.118 155.723 30
42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 23.125 155.676 31
30 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Toyota 23.186 155.266 32
98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 23.239 154.912 33
49 J. J. Yeley Robinson-Blakeney Racing Toyota 23.275 154.672 34
87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 23.292 154.559 35
19 Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 23.292 154.559 36
33 Stephen Leicht Circle Sport Racing Chevrolet 23.304 154.480 37^
32 Reed Sorenson FAS Lane Racing Ford 23.362 154.096 38
10 David Reutimann Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 23.373 154.024 39
13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 23.397 153.866 40
36 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 23.422 153.702 41
93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 23.440 153.584 42
23 Scott Riggs R3 Motorsports Chevrolet 23.304 154.480 43^
Failed to qualify
26 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 23.333 154.288
74 Cole Whitt Turn One Racing Chevrolet 23.340 154.242
Source:[13][14]
^ Stephen Leicht and Scott Riggs had identical qualifying times. Under NASCAR rules,
Leicht would be in a higher starting position as his team is higher in owners' points.

Race results[]

Jimmie Johnson won the race.
Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 2 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 48
2 6 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 42
3 5 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 400 42
4 17 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 41
5 4 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 400 39
6 12 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 400 38
7 18 56 Martin Truex, Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 400 37
8 11 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 36
9 13 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 35
10 21 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 400 34
11 7 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 400 33
12 16 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 400 32
13 14 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 32
14 1 55 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 400 31
15 3 39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 400 29
16 23 22 A. J. Allmendinger Penske Racing Dodge 400 28
17 20 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 27
18 10 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 27
19 24 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 400 25
20 22 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 399 24
21 28 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 398 24
22 15 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 364 22
23 42 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 348 21
24 9 51 Kurt Busch Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 338 20
25 29 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 331 19
26 19 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 318 18
27 26 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 306 17
28 31 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 296 16
29 8 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 202 15
30 38 32 Reed Sorenson FAS Lane Racing Ford 124 0
31 39 10 David Reutimann Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 110 13
32 41 36 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 65 12
33 32 30 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Toyota 63 11
34 34 49 J. J. Yeley Robinson-Blakeney Racing Toyota 41 10
35 37 33 Stephen Leicht Circle Sport Racing Chevrolet 29 9
36 36 19 Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 23 0
37 43 23 Scott Riggs R3 Motorsports Chevrolet 21 7
38 27 83 Landon Cassill BK Racing Toyota 9 6
39 35 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 9 0
40 30 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 9 4
41 40 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 8 3
42 33 98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 8 2
43 25 79 Scott Speed Go Green Racing Ford 8 1
Source:[17]

Standings after the race[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Brown, Brian (May 30, 2012). "The FedEx 400". Rotoworld.com. Archived from the original on June 1, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  3. ^ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c "NASCAR Tracks—The Dover International Speedway". Dover International Speedway. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  5. ^ "2012 Official Driver Standings: Coca-Cola 600". NASCAR. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Manufactures' Championship Classification". Jayski.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  7. ^ "2011 FedEx 400 Benefitting Autism Speaks". racing-reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  8. ^ "Matt Kenseth wins at Dover". Associated Press. ESPN. May 15, 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Jayski's© NASCAR Silly Season Site – Sprint Cup Race Info / Rundown Page". Jayski.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Practice One Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Practice 2 Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
  12. ^ "Qualifying Entry List". NASCAR. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Race Official Lineup". NASCAR. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  14. ^ a b "Martin wins pole by narrow margin". NASCAR Wire Service. NASCAR. June 2, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  15. ^ a b c d e "Race Summary". NASCAR. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
  16. ^ a b "Racetrax: FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks". Fox Sports. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  17. ^ "2012 Official Race Results : FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  18. ^ "2012 Official Driver Standings: FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks". NASCAR. Retrieved June 5, 2012.


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