2012 AdvoCare 500 (Atlanta)

2012 AdvoCare 500
Race details[1][2]
Race 25 of 36 in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date September 2, 2012 (2012-09-02)
Location Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 1.54 miles (2.48 km)
Distance 327 laps, 503.58 mi (810.433 km)
Scheduled distance 325 laps, 500.5 mi (805.476 km)
Weather Isolated storms with temperatures around 87°F; wind out of the SSW at 6 mph.
Average speed 142.02 miles per hour (228.56 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Stewart–Haas Racing
Time 29.787
Most laps led
Driver Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 105
Winner
No. 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree

The 2012 AdvoCare 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on September 2, 2012 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, United States. Contested over 327 laps, it was the twenty-fifth race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing won the race, his fourth of the season, while Jeff Gordon finished second ahead of Brad Keselowski.

Report

Background

Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of ten intermediate tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway.[3] The standard track at Atlanta Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is 1.54 miles (2.48 km) long.[4] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five.[4]

Before the race, Greg Biffle led the Drivers' Championship with 849 points, and Jimmie Johnson stood in second with 838. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third in the Drivers' Championship with 834 points, eleven ahead of Matt Kenseth and 37 ahead of Martin Truex Jr. in fourth and fifth. Clint Bowyer with 794 was four ahead of Brad Keselowski, as Denny Hamlin with 774 points, was seven points ahead of Kevin Harvick, and 28 in front of Tony Stewart.[5] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 167 points, 30 ahead of Toyota. Ford, with 122 points, was twenty points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.[6] Jeff Gordon was the race's defending champion.[7]

Practice and qualifying

Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—one on Friday, August 31, and two on Saturday, September 1. The first session lasted 90 minutes, and the second for 55 minutes. The third and final session finished after 50 minutes.[8] Truex Jr. was quickest with a time of 29.932 seconds in the first session, less than one tenth of a second faster than Kyle Busch.[9] Stewart was just off Busch's pace, followed by Keselowski, Kasey Kahne, and Bowyer. Kenseth was seventh, still within four tenths of a second of Truex's time.[9]

Forty-seven cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three could qualify for the race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.[10] Stewart clinched the fourteenth pole position of his career,[11] with a time of 29.787 seconds.[12] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Biffle.[12] Kyle Busch qualified third, Kenseth took fourth, and Gordon started fifth.[12] Mark Martin, Hamlin, Johnson, Joey Logano and Marcos Ambrose rounded out the top ten. The four drivers that failed to qualify for the race were Michael McDowell, Josh Wise, Stephen Leicht and Mike Bliss.[12] Once the qualifying session concluded, Stewart stated, "That pole is 100 percent due to Ryan Newman. I'm not sure if we'd have run the line I'd planned on running we'd have been that fast. It's awesome having a teammate like that. I don't ever remember being here and seeing anybody run up at the top like he did."[11]

In the second practice session, Biffle was quickest with a time of 30.629 seconds.[13] Kenseth, with a time of 30.675, was second-quickest, ahead of Earnhardt Jr., Truex Jr., and Bowyer.[13] Gordon, Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Johnson, and Keselowski completed the first ten positions.[13] Kenseth was scored quickest through the third practice session with a time of 30.653, 0.022 seconds faster than his fastest lap during the second session.[14] Gordon was second-quickest in the session, while Hamlin was scored third.[14] Kyle Busch followed in the fourth position ahead of Biffle, Keselowski and Stewart.[14] Truex Jr., Martin and Juan Pablo Montoya rounded out the first ten positions in eighth, ninth and tenth, respectively.[14]

Race

The race, the 25th in the season, began at 7:30 p.m. EDT and was televised live in the United States on ESPN.[1] Hamlin won the race over second-placed Gordon after coming off of pit lane in the first position during the final caution for Jamie McMurray's crash on the front stretch.[15]

Results

Qualifying

Grid No. Driver Manufacturer Time Speed
1 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 29.787 186.121
2 16 Greg Biffle Ford 29.863 185.648
3 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 29.888 185.493
4 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 29.916 185.319
5 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 29.918 185.307
6 55 Mark Martin Toyota 29.930 185.232
7 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 29.932 185.220
8 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 29.945 185.139
9 20 Joey Logano Toyota 29.954 185.084
10 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 29.959 185.053
11 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 29.968 184.997
12 99 Carl Edwards Ford 29.979 184.929
13 43 Aric Almirola Ford 29.988 184.874
14 34 David Ragan Ford 30.010 184.738
15 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 30.031 184.609
16 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 30.038 184.566
17 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 30.052 184.480
18 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 30.061 184.425
19 13 Casey Mears Ford 30.117 184.082
20 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 30.119 184.070
21 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 30.121 184.058
22 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 30.172 183.747
23 10 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 30.184 183.643
24 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 30.189 183.643
25 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 30.211 183.509
26 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 30.227 183.412
27 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 30.231 183.388
28 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 30.234 183.370
29 38 David Gilliland Ford 30.235 183.364
30 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 30.240 183.333
31 30 David Stremme Toyota 30.289 183.037
32 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 30.314 182.886
33 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevrolet 30.335 182.759
34 49 Jason Leffler Toyota 30.349 182.675
35 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 30.357 182.627
36 95 Scott Speed Ford 30.370 182.549
37 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 30.398 182.380
38 91 Reed Sorenson Toyota 30.430 182.189
39 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 30.438 182.141
40 37 J. J. Yeley Chevrolet 30.450 182.069
41 83 Landon Cassill Toyota OP
42 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota OP
43 32 T. J. Bell Ford OP
Failed to Qualify
98 Michael McDowell Ford 30.499 181.776
26 Josh Wise Ford 30.564 181.390
33 Stephen Leicht Chevrolet 30.582 181.283
19 Mike Bliss Toyota 30.689 180.651
Source:[16]
  • OP – Owners Points

Race results

Pos No. Driver Manufacturer Laps Run Laps Lead Stadus Points
1 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 327 105 running 48
2 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 327 6 running 43
3 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 327 0 running 41
4 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 327 40 running 41
5 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 327 101 running 40
6 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 327 66 running 39
7 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 327 0 running 37
8 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 327 0 running 36
9 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 327 0 running 35
10 55 Mark Martin Toyota 327 0 running 34
11 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 327 0 running 0
12 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 327 0 running 32
13 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 327 0 running 31
14 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 327 0 running 30
15 16 Greg Biffle Ford 327 1 running 30
16 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 327 0 running 0
17 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 327 0 running 27
18 20 Joey Logano Toyota 327 0 running 26
19 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 327 0 running 25
20 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 326 0 running 24
21 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevrolet 326 0 running 23
22 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 326 8 running 23
23 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 325 0 running 21
24 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 325 0 running 20
25 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 324 0 running 19
26 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 324 0 running 18
27 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 324 0 running 17
28 34 David Ragan Ford 323 0 running 16
29 10 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 321 0 running 0
30 32 T. J. Bell Ford 319 0 running 0
31 38 David Gilliland Ford 298 0 running 13
32 43 Aric Almirola Ford 297 0 running 12
33 13 Casey Mears Ford 291 0 engine 11
34 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 269 0 crash 10
35 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 268 0 crash 9
36 99 Carl Edwards Ford 264 0 engine 8
37 95 Scott Speed Ford 196 0 suspension 7
38 49 Jason Leffler Toyota 77 0 vibration 0
39 30 David Stremme Toyota 54 0 suspension 5
40 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 43 0 vibration 4
41 37 J. J. Yeley Chevrolet 32 0 brakes 3
42 91 Reed Sorenson Toyota 24 0 overheating 0
43 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 22 0 rear gear 0
Source:[17]

Standings after the race

References

  1. ^ a b "2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  2. ^ Brown, Brian (August 28, 2012). "The AdvoCare 500". Rotoworld.com. NBC Sports. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  3. ^ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "NASCAR Tracks—The Atlanta Motor Speedway". Atlanta Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  5. ^ "Driver's Championship Classification". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Manufactures' Championship Classification". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  7. ^ "2011 AdvoCare 500". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  8. ^ "THE RACE: AdvoCare 500". Jayski NASCAR Silly Season Site. ESPN. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Practice One Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  10. ^ "Qualifying Entry List". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  11. ^ a b "Tony Stewart claims Atlanta pole". ESPN. August 31, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  12. ^ a b c d "Race Official Lineup". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  13. ^ a b c "Practice Two Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  14. ^ a b c d "Practice Three Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  15. ^ "Hamlin repeats, edges Gordon for Atlanta victory". NASCAR. Turner Sports. September 3, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  16. ^ "2012 AdvoCare 500 qualifying results". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  17. ^ "2012 AdvoCare 500 Race Results". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved September 15, 2025.


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