2012 Coke Zero 400

The 2012 Coke Zero 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on July 7, 2012 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 160 laps, it was the eighteenth race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Tony Stewart of Stewart-Haas Racing took his third win of the season, while Jeff Burton finished second and Matt Kenseth finished third.

2012 Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona
Race details[1]
Race 18 of 36 in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date July 7, 2012 (2012-July-07)
Official name Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona
Location Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.02 km)
Distance 160 laps, 400 mi (643.27 km)
Weather Temperatures up to 96.1 °F (35.6 °C) with 0.47 inches (12 mm) of rain reported within 24 hours of the race; wind speeds up to 14 miles per hour (23 km/h)[2]
Average speed 157.653 miles per hour (253.718 km/h)[3]
Pole position
Driver Roush-Fenway Racing
Time 46.781
Most laps led
Driver Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing
Laps 89
Winner
No. 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing
Television in the United States
Network TNT (simulcast on TruTV)
Announcers Adam Alexander, Wally Dallenbach, Jr. and Kyle Petty
Nielsen Ratings 5.449 million [4]

Report

Background

Daytona International Speedway, where the race was held.

Daytona International Speedway is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway.[5] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.[6] The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.[6] David Ragan is the defending race winner.[7]

Before the race, Matt Kenseth led the Drivers' Championship with 633 points, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. stood in second with 622. Jimmie Johnson was third in the Drivers' Championship with 610, two points ahead of Greg Biffle and thirty-four ahead of Denny Hamlin in fourth and fifth. Kevin Harvick, with 565, was eight points ahead of Clint Bowyer, as Martin Truex, Jr. with 556 points, was eleven ahead of Tony Stewart and nineteen in front of Brad Keselowski.[8] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 117 points, seventeen points ahead of Toyota. Ford, with 84 points, was eleven points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.[9]

Practice and qualifying

Matt Kenseth (car shown) won the pole position

Two practice sessions were also held before the race on July 5, 2012. The first session was 80 minutes long, while the second was 85 minutes.[10] Aric Almirola was quickest with a time of 44.563 seconds in the first session, 0.130 faster than Marcos Ambrose.[11] Joey Logano was third quickest, followed by Ryan Newman, Biffle, and Jeff Gordon. A. J. Allmendinger was seventh, still within half of a second of Almirola's time.[11] In the second and final practice session, Jamie McMurray was quickest with a time of 45.492 seconds.[12] Michael Waltrip, with a time of 45.516, was second quickest, ahead of Kurt Busch, Travis Kvapil, and Almirola.[12] Regan Smith, Ambrose, Carl Edwards, Earnhardt, Jr., and Juan Pablo Montoya completed the first ten positions.[12]

Forty-four cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three could qualify for the race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.[13] Kenseth clinched the eighth pole position of his career, with time of 46.781 seconds.[14] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Stewart.[14] Newman qualified third, Kasey Kahne took fourth, and Biffle started fifth.[14] Gordon, Bill Elliott, Casey Mears, Allmendinger and Keselowski rounded out the top ten. The driver that failed to qualify for the race was Robert Richardson, Jr.[14] Once the qualifying session had concluded, Kenseth stated, "The interesting thing about qualifying, at least for me today, was nobody had any idea what the pole was going to be or how fast anybody was. They lined qualifying up by first practice speeds, but that was drafting for everybody. So, you really didn't know what anybody was going to run. That's the same lap we ran during a mock-up qualifying run [Friday], so I was glad we were able to repeat that, but I didn't know what anybody else was going to run. It's kind of fun to watch, because you really have no idea."[15]

Prior to the race

Tony Stewart was stripped of his second place starting spot after his car failed post-qualifying inspection. A. J. Allmendinger was suspended by NASCAR after failing a drug test. Penske Racing scrambled to get Sam Hornish, Jr. in the #22 and had Kenny Wallace (who himself was on standby for expectant father Kevin Harvick after NASCAR would not approve Austin Dillon for Sprint Cup competition at Daytona) ready to step in if Hornish couldn't make it to Daytona on time. Michael McDowell got into the #98 Phil Parsons Racing entry that Mike Bliss qualified.

Results

Qualifying

No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed Grid
17Matt KensethRoush Fenway RacingFord46.781192.3861
14Tony Stewart1Stewart-Haas RacingChevrolet46.787192.3612
39Ryan NewmanStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet46.789192.3533
5Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet46.804192.2914
16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord46.841192.1395
24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet46.860192.0616
50Bill ElliottTurner MotorsportsChevrolet46.872192.0127
13Casey MearsGermain RacingFord46.891191.9348
22A. J. Allmendinger2Penske RacingDodge46.901191.8949
2Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingDodge46.910191.85710
9Marcos Ambrose4Richard Petty MotorsportsFord46.918191.82411
29Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet46.924191.79912
99Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord46.946191.71013
27Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet46.953191.68114
42Juan Pablo MontoyaEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet46.978191.57915
21Trevor BayneWood Brothers RacingFord46.998191.49716
48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet47.003191.47717
43Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord47.054191.27018
56Martin Truex, Jr.Michael Waltrip RacingToyota47.060191.24519
20Joey LoganoJoe Gibbs RacingToyota47.064191.22920
31Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet47.097191.09521
98Mike Bliss3Phil Parsons RacingFord47.124190.98622
18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota47.134190.94523
11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota47.140190.92124
88Dale Earnhardt, Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet47.158190.84825
78Regan SmithFurniture Row RacingChevrolet47.190190.71826
30David StremmeInception MotorsportsToyota47.203190.66627
34David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord47.215190.61728
55Michael WaltripMichael Waltrip RacingToyota47.220190.59729
15Clint BowyerMichael Waltrip RacingToyota47.230190.55730
1Jamie McMurrayEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet47.231190.55331
26Josh WiseFront Row MotorsportsFord47.325190.17432
38David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord47.335190.13433
36Dave BlaneyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet47.339190.11834
32Terry LabonteFAS Lane RacingFord47.357190.04635
51Kurt BuschPhoenix RacingChevrolet47.370189.99436
87Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsToyota47.450189.67337
33Stephen LeichtCircle Sport RacingChevrolet47.690188.71938
83Landon CassillBK RacingToyota47.699188.68339
10David ReutimannTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet47.733188.54940
93Travis KvapilBK RacingToyota47.888187.93941
47Bobby LabonteJTG Daugherty RacingToyota48.256186.50542
49J. J. YeleyRobinson-Blakeney RacingToyota48.123187.02143
Failed to Qualify
23Robert Richardson, Jr.R3 MotorsportsToyota48.171186.834
Sources:[14][16]
Notes
^1  Tony Stewart will have to start forty-second after his time and speed was disallowed because of an air hose violation found in post-qualifying inspection.[14][17] Stewart was later docked six points for the infraction.
^2  Sam Hornish, Jr. replaced Allmendinger after he failed a drug test.
^3  Michael McDowell raced in the car.
^4  Marcos Ambrose started in the rear due to an unapproved change to the car under impound race rules.

Race results

Tony Stewart won the race.
Pos Grid Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Run Points
14214Tony StewartStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet16047
22031Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet16042
3117Matt KensethRoush-Fenway RacingFord16043
41920Joey LoganoJoe Gibbs RacingToyota16040
5339Ryan NewmanStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet16039
61399Carl EdwardsRoush-Fenway RacingFord16038
745Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet16037
892Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingDodge16036
92855Michael WaltripMichael Waltrip RacingToyota1600
104147Bobby LabonteJTG Daugherty RacingToyota16034
113910David ReutimannTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet16033
12524Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet16032
13301Jamie McMurrayEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet16031
141327Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet16030
152488Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet16029
164093Travis KvapilBK RacingToyota16028
171856Martin Truex, Jr.Michael Waltrip RacingToyota16028
18713Casey MearsGermain RacingToyota16027
191743Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord16025
203432Terry LabonteFAS Lane RacingFord1600
21416Greg BiffleRoush-Fenway RacingFord16024
223336Dave BlaneyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet16022
231129Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet16021
242218Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota16021
252311Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota15619
262734David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord15519
271521Trevor BayneWood Brothers RacingFord1520
281442Juan Pablo MontoyaEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet15216
292915Clint BowyerMichael Waltrip RacingToyota15215
30109Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord15214
313238David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord15214
323883Landon CassillBK RacingToyota15112
33822Sam Hornish, Jr.Penske RacingDodge1490
342578Regan SmithFurniture Row RacingChevrolet13310
353551Kurt BuschPhoenix RacingChevrolet1329
361648Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet1248
37650Bill ElliottTurner MotorsportsChevrolet1237
383126Josh WiseFront Row MotorsportsFord477
392630David StremmeInception MotorsportsToyota255
404349J. J. YeleyRobinson-Blakeney RacingToyota164
413687Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsToyota100
423733Stephen LeichtCircle Sport RacingChevrolet42
432198Michael McDowellPhil Parsons RacingFord31

Standings after the race

References

  1. "2012 Sprint Cup Series Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
  2. "2012 Coke Zero 400 weather information". The Old Farmer's Almanac. Archived from the original on 2013-07-13. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  3. "2012 Coke Zero 400". Racing-Reference.info. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  4. "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
  5. "NASCAR Tracks — The Daytona International Speedway". Speedway-guide.com. Archived from the original on August 30, 2010. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
  6. "2011 Coke Zero 400". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
  7. "2012 Official Driver Standings: Quaker State 400". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
  8. "Manufactures' Championship Classification". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. ESPN. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
  9. "Race Info Page". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. ESPN. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  10. "Practice One Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  11. "Practice Two Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  12. "Qualifying Entry List". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  13. "Race Official Lineup". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  14. NASCAR Wire Service (July 6, 2012). "Kenseth wins pole at Daytona". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  15. "Time Trial Results" (PDF). Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. ESPN. July 6, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 11, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  16. Hembree, Mike (July 6, 2012). "CUP: Kenseth Wins Daytona Pole". Speed TV. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
Previous race:
2012 Quaker State 400
Sprint Cup Series
2012 season
Next race:
2012 Lenox Industrial Tools 301
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