The 2012 Gatorade Duels were a pair of stock car races held on February 23, 2012, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The 60-lap races, which drew 80,000 spectators, served as qualifiers for the 2012 Daytona 500, the premier event of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Stewart–Haas Racing's Tony Stewart won the first race, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. second, and Marcos Ambrose third. Roush Fenway Racing's Matt Kenseth won the second race, marking Kenseth's and his team's first victory in the Gatorade Duels. Regan Smith took second and Jimmie Johnson was third.
Carl Edwards led the first race from pole position on the first lap but shared the lead Stewart for the next three laps. Following that, Earnhardt took the lead on the fifth lap and held it until a caution period for a multi-car accident on lap nine. Denny Hamlin gained the lead on lap 15, but Stewart reclaimed it a lap later. With a pass on Stewart on the 17th lap, Hamlin reclaimed the lead and held it until his pit stop 26 laps later. Stewart took the lead on lap 43 and held it for the next 17 laps and two caution periods to win the first Gatorade Duel. There were three cautions and eight lead changes among five different drivers in the first race.
Greg Biffle was the early leader in the second race. Kenseth passed Biffle on the fourth lap for the lead. On the 13th lap, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch overtook him for the first two places. Biffle had passed Kyle Busch by lap 23 and retained the lead until his pit stop 14 laps later. Kenseth attempted a race-winning slingshot with three laps remaining in the race, overtaking Biffle when the final lap began, and he maintained it to win the second Gatorade Duel. There were five lead changes among five different drivers, and no cautions were given throughout the second race.
Background
The Gatorade Duels were a duo of stock car racing qualifiers held on February 23, 2012, in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Daytona International Speedway, a superspeedway that holds NASCAR races. Its standard track is a four-turn, superspeedway. Daytona's turns are banked at 31 degrees and the front stretch (the location of the finish line) is banked at 18 degrees. The defending winners of the races were Kurt Busch and Jeff Burton.
In the early years, qualifying for the Daytona 500 took various forms: one timed lap, an average of two laps, or the better of two laps. The concept of having two separate races to determine the starting lineup of the Daytona 500 dates back to the first event in 1959. The first of the two qualification races featured Convertible class cars, while the second featured Grand National cars. The races were from 1960 and 1967, and in 1969. Prior to 1971, the races yielded points to the Drivers' Championship. Large well-established teams regard the races as practice for the Daytona 500, although successfully qualifying for the event would allow smaller less-established teams to compete in future NASCAR events during the season. If the team did not qualify, it risked closing until sponsorship could be secured.
The top 35 drivers were assigned to Gatorade Duel races based on their Daytona 500 qualifying positions. The first Duel featured drivers who qualified in odd-numbered positions, as well as the 2012 Daytona 500 pole winner. The second Duel featured competitors who qualified in even-numbered positions. The results of both Duels determined the drivers' starting places in the Daytona 500. The fastest drivers who did not qualify in the top 35 filled positions 40 to 42. An eligible previous champion took the 43rd spot. In the absence of a former champion, the 43rd position would be filled by the next-fastest driver. Two eligible drivers outside the top 35 qualified for the Daytona 500 by winning two transfer slots in each Duel.
After some of the cars' engines overheated while traveling in packs during the 2012 Budweiser Shootout, NASCAR increased the engines' pressure release values from to to help reduce overheating and mitigate the consequences of high-temperature driving.
Practice and qualification
Two 90-minute practice sessions were held on February 22. Matt Kenseth was fastest in the first practice session with a time of 44.809 seconds. Trevor Bayne was second-quickest with a lap-time 0.009 seconds slower. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was third-fastest, ahead of Marcos Ambrose, Mark Martin, Clint Bowyer, Michael McDowell and Kevin Harvick. Paul Menard and Kasey Kahne. During the session, Brad Keselowski slowed to avoid Ryan Newman, forcing Bowyer to turn into Keselowski, whose car spun into the grass on the backstretch. Keselowski's car sustained minor damage, which could be repaired and he did not need to use a backup car. Aric Almirola led the second practice, in which 25 drivers competed, with a lap of 45.065 seconds—nearly one-tenth of a second faster than David Stremme. David Ragan was third, ahead of Robert Richardson Jr. and Greg Biffle. Bobby Labonte, Joe Nemechek, Bill Elliott, Michael Waltrip and Kahne completed the top ten ahead of the races.
During the session, which saw drivers running in packs and drafted off each other, Juan Pablo Montoya collided with Kahne and sent his car spinning into the grass on the front stretch, tearing off some of its nose. Kahne was required to use a backup car for the rest of Speedweeks. Because the qualifying grids were determined by the order in which drivers qualified in Daytona 500 pole position qualifying, Carl Edwards started from pole in the first race and Biffle in the second. Edwards was joined on the grid's front row by Dale Earnhardt Jr., with Ambrose in third. Stenhouse and Bayne started in fourth and fifth positions respectively. Biffle was joined by Mears on the front row for the second race, with Jeff Gordon in third. Martin Truex Jr. started fourth, and Martin began from fifth. The thirteen drivers who were not guaranteed to qualify for the Daytona 500 and were required to get into the event on speed or being the highest-placed two drivers who were not guaranteed entry were Elliott, Bayne, Robby Gordon, Kenny Wallace, Richardson, Tony Raines, Stremme, Dave Blaney, Mike Wallace, Waltrip, J. J. Yeley, Nemechek, and McDowell.
Qualifying 1 and 2 results Race 1Race 2 Driver Team Manufacturer Driver Team Manufacturer1 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 1 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 2 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 3 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 3 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 4 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 4 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 5 21 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 5 55 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 6 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 6 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 7 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 7 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 8 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 8 39 Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 9 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 9 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 10 22 A. J. Allmendinger Penske Racing Dodge 10 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 11 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 11 26 Tony Raines Front Row Motorsports Ford 12 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 12 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 13 09 Kenny Wallace RAB Racing Toyota 14 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 14 36 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 15 30 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Toyota 15 51 Kurt Busch Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 16 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 16 33 Elliott Sadler Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 17 10 Danica Patrick Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 17 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 18 32 Terry Labonte FAS Lane Racing Ford 18 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 19 40 Michael Waltrip Hillman Racing Toyota 19 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 20 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 97 Bill Elliott NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 21 98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 21 93 David Reutimann BK Racing Toyota 22 83 Landon Cassill BK Racing Toyota 22 23 Robert Richardson Jr. R3 Motorsports Toyota 23 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 23 49 J. J. Yeley Robinson-Blakeney Racing Toyota 24 37 Mike Wallace Rick Ware Racing Ford 24 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 25 7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge
Races The qualifying races for the 2012 Daytona 500 began at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and was broadcast live on television in the United States by Speed, and by TSN2 in Canada. Commentary was provided by Mike Joy, with analysis given by former driver Darrell Waltrip and former crew chief Larry McReynolds.
Both races lasted for 60 laps over a distance of , and attended by 80,000 spectators. The weather on the grid before start of the first race were hot and humid, with the air temperature was ; a ten percent chance of rain was forecast. Dr. L. Ronald Durham of Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, Florida began the pre-race ceremonies with an invocation. Vocalist Catrina Mack from Orlando, Florida performed the national anthem.
The majority of the two-vehicle draft tandems observed at the 2011 Daytona races and greatly disliked by fans appeared to be absent; vehicles could not stay connected together for long periods of time until the engine in the following car overheated.
Race 1
Following the invocation and performance of the National Anthem, three-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Ryan Lochte commanded the drivers to begin their engines. Edwards maintained the lead into turn one with Earnhardt in second. Tony Stewart took the lead on lap two by passing Edwards on the outside. Edwards, with help from Bayne, passed Stewart into turn three to recover first place two laps later. Earnhardt took the lead on the fifth lap, while Ambrose took second. Earnhardt retook the lead after Edwards briefly had it back. Bayne, who was also battling for the lead, had fallen back by lap seven. McDowell collided with David Gilliland's left-rear quarter panel between turns one and two on lap nine; Gilliland went up the track towards the outside wall and collected Menard and Montoya, triggering the race's first caution and bringing out the pace car. Keselowski's car was also entangled in the wreckage and incurred minor damage. Gilliland, Menard, and Montoya retired their cars in the garage with substantial damage. Most of the drivers, including Earnhardt, made pit stops for fuel. Earnhardt had to make another pit stop after a pit crew member went over the wall too soon, sending him down the race order.
Ambrose led Denny Hamlin (both of whom chose not to pit), Almirola, Stewart, and Jamie McMurray when the race resumed on lap 14. One lap later, Hamlin passed Ambrose for the lead. Burton helped Stewart take the lead from Hamlin one lap later. Hamlin retook the lead on lap 17, while McDowell moved into second. Hamlin maintained his advantage for the next four laps while McMurray battled Stewart for second. McDowell had dropped to eighth place by lap 21, while Stewart continued in second by lap 25. McMurray was unable to complete a pass on the outside of Hamlin for the lead at turn three on the 28th lap, dropping him to eighth two laps later. Crew chiefs asked their drivers to conserve fuel as early as halfway through the race. On lap 32, the top five were Hamlin, Stewart, Harvick, Stenhouse and Ambrose. As the cars ran in single file, Edwards had dropped to 15th place one lap later. McDowell was told by his team to save fuel on lap 43.