2012 Federated Auto Parts 400

2012 Federated Auto Parts 400
Race details[1]
Race 26 of 36 in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season

Richmond International Speedway
Date September 8, 2012 (2012-09-08)
Location Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia
Course Permanent racing facility
0.75 mi (1.2 km)
Distance 400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km)
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 21.256
Most laps led
Driver Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 199
Winner
No. 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree

The 2012 Federated Auto Parts 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on September 8, 2012 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. Contested over 400 laps, it was the twenty-sixth and final race leading into the Chase for the Sprint Cup in the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season.

Clint Bowyer of Michael Waltrip Racing won the race, his second of the season. Jeff Gordon finished second to clinch the second wild card spot in the Chase, and Mark Martin finished third.

Report

Background

Richmond International Raceway, the race track where the race was held.

Richmond International Raceway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Bristol Motor Speedway, Dover International Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, and Phoenix International Raceway.[2] The NASCAR race makes use of the track's standard configuration, a four-turn short track oval that is 0.75 miles (1.21 km) long.[3] The track's turns are banked at fourteen degrees. The front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at eight degrees while the back stretch has two degrees of banking.[3] The racetrack has seats for 94,063 spectators.[3]

Start

The race was set to start at 7:43 p.m. EDT but the start was delayed 90 minutes, and the cars were running under caution speed, Jeff Gordon was leading when the race restarted on lap 8, The second caution came out on lap 48, this was a planned competition caution, The race restarted on lap 52, and the third caution then came out on lap 53 for a one-car spin in the back straightaway, the race restarted on lap 57, and a couple of laps later, the fourth caution came out for rain on lap 139, by lap 153, the cars were brought down pit road the race was red flagged as rain returned again(the race was red flagged on lap 160 during the Daytona 500 for a cleanup after a jet dryer accident), After a delay of fifty-one minutes and 45 seconds, the cars started rolling again, and the race restarted on lap 156.

Second Half

The fifth caution came out on lap 235 when Clint Bowyer spun out in the back straightaway, the race restarted on lap 239, The race was under longer green flag runs until the end, Clint Bowyer stretched his fuel mileage and despite a late charge from Jeff Gordon, the lead was too big to overcome for Gordon, and Bowyer score his first win in Richmond, as well as the second win in the season. Gordon rallied back from going one lap down to finish 2nd, and knocked Kyle Busch out of the Chase by 3 points (Kyle finished 16th). Mark Martin clinched third.

Results

Qualifying

No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed Grid
88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.256 127.023 1
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.263 126.981 2
78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 21.275 126.910 3
15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 21.292 126.808 4
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.295 126.790 5
55 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 21.296 126.784 6
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21.315 126.671 7
20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21.327 126.600 8
56 Martin Truex, Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 21.335 126.553 9
2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 21.336 126.547 10
22 Sam Hornish Jr. Penske Racing Dodge 21.359 126.410 11
83 Landon Cassill BK Racing Toyota 21.405 126.139 12
29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 21.415 126.080 13
39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 21.416 126.074 14
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21.423 126.033 15
99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 21.423 126.033 16
17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 21.433 125.974 17
43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 21.439 125.939 18
98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 21.449 125.880 19
31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 21.455 125.845 20
5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.476 125.722 21
9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 21.481 125.692 22
16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 21.497 125.599 23
42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 21.506 125.546 24
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 21.512 125.511 25
1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 21.533 125.389 26
34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 21.533 125.389 27
14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 21.536 125.371 28
47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 21.541 125.342 29
51 Kurt Busch Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 21.561 125.226 30
30 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Toyota 21.591 125.052 31
93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 21.602 124.988 32
36 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 21.619 124.890 33
87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 21.621 124.879 34
38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 21.644 124.746 35
33 Stephen Leicht Circle Sport Racing Chevrolet 21.648 124.723 36
10 David Reutimann Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 21.651 124.706 37
23 Scott Riggs R3 Motorsports Chevrolet 21.680 124.539 38
32 Ken Schrader FAS Lane Racing Ford 21.703 124.407 39
19 Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 21.719 124.315 40
26 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 21.746 124.161 41
13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 21.759 124.087 42
91 Reed Sorenson Humphrey Smith Racing Chevrolet 21.813 123.779 43
Failed to Qualify
37 J. J. Yeley Max Q Motorsports Chevrolet 21.868 123.468
0 Mark Green SS Motorsports Toyota 22.321 120.962

References

  1. "2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  2. "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 "NASCAR Tracks—The Richmond International Raceway". Richmond International Raceway. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
Previous race:
2012 AdvoCare 500
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
2012 season
Next race:
2012 GEICO 400
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