The 2012 Bank of America 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on October 13, 2012, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 334 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) asphalt quad-oval, it was the thirty-first race of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the fifth race in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which ends the season.
Clint Bowyer of Michael Waltrip Racing won the race, his third of the season, while Denny Hamlin finished second and Jimmie Johnson was third.
Report
Background
Charlotte Motor Speedway is one of ten intermediate tracks to hold NASCAR races. The standard track at Charlotte Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is long. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is five degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also had a five degree banking. The racetrack has seats for 140,000 spectators.
Before the race, Brad Keselowski led the Drivers' Championship with 2,179 points, and Jimmie Johnson stood in second with 2,165 points. Denny Hamlin followed in third with 2,156 points, thirteen points ahead of Kasey Kahne and seventeen ahead of Clint Bowyer in fourth and fifth. Jeff Gordon with 2,137 was four points ahead of Tony Stewart, as Martin Truex Jr. with 2,131 points, was one point ahead of Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth was eleventh and twelfth with 2,128 and 2,117 points, respectively.
In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 203 points, twenty-seven points ahead of Toyota. Ford, with 147 points, was thirteen points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third. Matt Kenseth is the defending race winner after winning the event in 2011.
On October 11, 2012, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Earnhardt Jr. would not participate in the race because of being diagnosed with a concussion one day earlier. Instead, Regan Smith, who was supposed to drive for the Phoenix Racing, would replace Earnhardt Jr., while A. J. Allmendinger would be the interim driver for Smith. Earnhardt Jr. reported that he experienced concussion symptoms after a crash at Kansas Speedway during a tire test on August 29, 2012. He claimed that he had no symptoms before the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500, but after being involved in the Big One on the final lap, he reported having concussion symptoms that lasted more than three days later, convincing him to see a neurologist, who said that Earnhardt Jr. needed to miss the next two races because of a concussion. It was the first time since the 1979 Southern 500 (the last race his father missed after an accident at Pocono in his rookie season) that a Sprint Cup race did not have an Earnhardt in the field, and the first race in the modern era that did not have a driver from North Carolina in the field, as Scott Riggs, the only North Carolina driver entered, failed to qualify.
Practice and qualifying Three practice sessions were held over the course of the race weekend. The first, held on Thursday, October 11, was used to set the qualifying order. The session was led by Denny Hamlin with a time of 28.170 seconds. Mark Martin was second, only .037 seconds behind Hamlin, with Matt Kenseth in third .016 seconds behind Martin. Joey Logano and Gordon completed the top five, while Kyle Busch, Regan Smith, Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, and Brad Keselowski completed the top 10.
Qualifying was held after the first practice session. 47 cars took 2 qualifying laps to set the 43 car field. Greg Biffle would win the pole position, setting a track record with a lap of 27.877 seconds, breaking the old track record set by Elliott Sadler in 2005. After being awarded the pole, Biffle proclaimed his excitement during the lap. "I was super excited about that lap because I drove it farther into Turn 1 than I thought would work," Mark Martin would claim the outside pole, Ryan Newman claimed the third position, and Chase drivers Bowyer, Johnson, Truex Jr., Kenseth, Hamlin, and Kahne rounded out the top 10.
A second practice was held on Friday, with Greg Biffle leading the pack with a time of 28.867. Kahne, Harvick, Johnson, Martin, Truex Jr., Keselowski, Smith, Newman, and Gordon completed the top 10. Happy Hour was also held on Friday, led by Kyle Busch.
Race The race was held under clear conditions with light winds. Pre-race ceremonies began with the Air Force ROTC Detachment 592 from UNC-Charlotte. K-Love CEO Mike Novak then delivered the invocation, followed by gospel group NewSong delivering the National Anthem. At 7:40, Wounded Warrior Project executive vice president Dave Nevins gave the command to start engines. Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Burton, and Reed Sorenson went to the rear of the field due to engine changes, while Travis Kvapil and David Gilliland went to the back for unapproved transmission changes. The race started at 7:50, with front row starters Biffle and Martin running side by side for the first 4 laps of the race, with Biffle clearing Martin in turn 4. The first caution came out when Chase driver Matt Kenseth had a left rear tire go down, resulting in him spinning in turn 4 on lap 11.
On the lap 15 restart, Biffle continued to lead when David Ragan, Jeff Burton, and Tony Stewart all collided.
Results
Qualifying Grid Driver Team Manufacturer 1 16Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27.877 193.708 2 55Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 27.927 193.361 3 39Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 27.943 193.251 4 15Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 27.973 193.043 5 48Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.980 192.995 6 56Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 27.991 192.919 7 17Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27.996 192.885 8 18Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.001 192.850 9 11Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.008 192.802 10 5Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.031 192.644 11 29Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.032 192.637 12 20Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.043 192.561 13 24Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.094 192.212 14 22Sam Hornish Jr. Penske Racing Dodge 28.174 191.666 15 47Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 28.183 191.605 16 21Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 28.229 191.293 17 43Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 28.230 191.286 18 9Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 28.231 191.279 19 99Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.236 191.245 20 2Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 28.238 191.232 21 78Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 28.239 191.225 22 42Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.318 190.691 23 95Scott Speed Leavine Family Racing Ford 28.318 190.691 24 27Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.329 190.617 25 34David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.364 190.382 26 88Regan Smith Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.394 190.181 27 13Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 28.417 190.027 28 19Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 28.417 190.027 29 6Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.423 189.987 30 1Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.441 189.867 31 30David Stremme Inception Motorsports Toyota 28.468 189.687 32 14Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.483 189.587 33 98Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 28.483 189.587 34 10David Reutimann Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 28.493 189.520 35 37J. J. Yeley Max Q Motorsports Chevrolet 28.520 189.341 36 38David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.533 189.255 37 83Landon Cassill BK Racing Toyota 28.546 189.168 38 51A. J. Allmendinger Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 28.550 189.142 39 31Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.652 188.469 40 32Timmy Hill FAS Lane Racing Ford 28.689 188.225 41 93Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 28.918 186.735 42 36Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 28.982 186.323 43 91Reed Sorenson Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 28.556 189.102 Failed to Qualify 87Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 28.581 188.937 26Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.858 187.123 23Scott Riggs R3 Motorsports Chevrolet 29.191 184.989 33Cole Whitt Circle Sport Chevrolet 29.425 183.517 Source:
Race results
Pos Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points 1 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 334 47 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 334 43 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 334 42 4 16 Greg Biffle Roush-Fenway Racing Ford 334 41 5 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 334 39 6 55 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 334 39 7 99 Carl Edwards Roush-Fenway Racing Ford 334 37 8 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 334 36 9 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 334 35 10 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 334 34 11 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 334 35 12 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 334 32 13 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 334 31 14 17 Matt Kenseth Roush-Fenway Racing Ford 334 30 15 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Penske Racing Dodge 334 0 16 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 334 28 17 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 334 27 18 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 332 27 19 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 332 25 20 39 Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 332 24 21 78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 332 23 22 21 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 332 0 23 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 331 21 24 51 A. J. Allmendinger Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 330 20 25 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 330 19 26 83 Landon Cassill BK Racing Toyota 329 18 27 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 328 17 28 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 327 16 29 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 327 15 30 10 David Reutimann Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 327 14 31 98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 326 13 32 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 324 12 33 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 303 12 34 35 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 287 10 35 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush-Fenway Racing Ford 190 0 36 32 Timmy Hill FAS Lane Racing Ford 182 0 37 30 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Toyota 62 7 38 88 Regan Smith Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 61 6 39 19 Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 53 0 40 95 Scott Speed Leavine Family Racing Ford 50 4 41 91 Reed Sorenson Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 32 0 42 37 J. J. Yeley Max Q Motorsports Ford 30 2 43 36 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 25 1Source:
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Brad Keselowski2214 2 Jimmie Johnson2207 (–7) 3 Denny Hamlin2199 (–15) 1 4 Clint Bowyer2186 (–28) 1 5 Kasey Kahne2179 (–35)
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet209 2 Toyota185 3 Ford151 4 Dodge137
Note: Only the top five positions are included for the driver standings.
References