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 (24 °C); wind out of the W at 15 mph (24 km/h).
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

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 (s) Speed (mph) Grid
55Mark MartinMichael Waltrip RacingToyota22.742158.2971
48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet22.747158.2632
39Ryan NewmanStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet22.751158.2353
15Clint BowyerMichael Waltrip RacingToyota22.778158.0474
17Matt KensethRoush Fenway RacingFord22.787157.9855
29Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet22.804157.8676
16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord22.808157.8397
18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota22.808157.8398
51Kurt BuschPhoenix RacingChevrolet22.841157.6119
11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota22.850157.54910
20Joey LoganoJoe Gibbs RacingToyota22.851157.54211
43Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord22.858157.49412
5Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet22.869157.41813
24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet22.871157.40514
31Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet22.877157.36315
2Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingDodge22.880157.34316
88Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet22.882157.32917
56Martin Truex Jr.Michael Waltrip RacingToyota22.904157.17818
99Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord22.921157.06119
27Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet22.956156.82220
9Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord22.956156.82221
47Bobby LabonteJTG Daugherty RacingToyota22.962156.78122
22A. J. AllmendingerPenske RacingDodge22.983156.63723
1Jamie McMurrayEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet22.994156.56324
79Scott SpeedGo Green RacingFord23.005156.48825
78Regan SmithFurniture Row RacingChevrolet23.009156.46026
83Landon CassillBK RacingToyota23.037156.27027
34David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord23.045156.21628
14Tony StewartStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet23.059156.12129
38David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord23.118155.72330
42Juan Pablo MontoyaEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet23.125155.67631
30David StremmeInception MotorsportsToyota23.186155.26632
98Michael McDowellPhil Parsons RacingFord23.239154.91233
49J. J. YeleyRobinson-Blakeney RacingToyota23.275154.67234
87Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsToyota23.292154.55935
19Mike BlissHumphrey Smith RacingToyota23.292154.55936
33Stephen LeichtCircle Sport RacingChevrolet23.304154.48037^
32Reed SorensonFAS Lane RacingFord23.362154.09638
10David ReutimannTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet23.373154.02439
13Casey MearsGermain RacingFord23.397153.86640
36Dave BlaneyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet23.422153.70241
93Travis KvapilBK RacingToyota23.440153.58442
23Scott RiggsR3 MotorsportsChevrolet23.304154.48043^
Failed to qualify
26Josh WiseFront Row MotorsportsFord23.333154.288
74Cole WhittTurn One RacingChevrolet23.340154.242
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
1248Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet40048
2629Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet40042
3517Matt KensethRoush Fenway RacingFord40042
41788Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet40041
5415Clint BowyerMichael Waltrip RacingToyota40039
61243Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord40038
71856Martin Truex Jr.Michael Waltrip RacingToyota40037
81120Joey LoganoJoe Gibbs RacingToyota40036
9135Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet40035
10219Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord40034
11716Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord40033
12162Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingDodge40032
131424Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet40032
14155Mark MartinMichael Waltrip RacingToyota40031
15339Ryan NewmanStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet40029
162322A. J. AllmendingerPenske RacingDodge40028
172027Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet40027
181011Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota40027
19241Jamie McMurrayEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet40025
202247Bobby LabonteJTG Daugherty RacingToyota39924
212834David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord39824
221531Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet36422
234293Travis KvapilBK RacingToyota34821
24951Kurt BuschPhoenix RacingChevrolet33820
252914Tony StewartStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet33119
261999Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord31818
272678Regan SmithFurniture Row RacingChevrolet30617
283142Juan Pablo MontoyaEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet29616
29818Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota20215
303832Reed SorensonFAS Lane RacingFord1240
313910David ReutimannTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet11013
324136Dave BlaneyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet6512
333230David StremmeInception MotorsportsToyota6311
343449J. J. YeleyRobinson-Blakeney RacingToyota4110
353733Stephen LeichtCircle Sport RacingChevrolet299
363619Mike BlissHumphrey Smith RacingToyota230
374323Scott RiggsR3 MotorsportsChevrolet217
382783Landon CassillBK RacingToyota96
393587Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsToyota90
403038David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord94
414013Casey MearsGermain RacingFord83
423398Michael McDowellPhil Parsons RacingFord82
432579Scott SpeedGo Green RacingFord81
Source:[17]

Standings after the race

References

  1. 1 2 "2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  2. 1 2 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. 1 2 3 "NASCAR Tracks—The Dover International Speedway". Dover International Speedway. Archived from the original on July 29, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  5. "2012 Official Driver Standings: Coca-Cola 600". NASCAR. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  6. 1 2 "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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 "Practice One Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Practice 2 Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
  12. "Qualifying Entry List". NASCAR. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "Race Official Lineup". NASCAR. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  14. 1 2 "Martin wins pole by narrow margin". NASCAR Wire Service. NASCAR. June 2, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 "Race Summary". NASCAR. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
  16. 1 2 "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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