2012 Lenox Industrial Tools 301

The 2012 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on July 15, 2012 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, United States. Contested over 301 laps, it was the nineteenth race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Kasey Kahne of Hendrick Motorsports took his second win of the season, while Denny Hamlin finished second and Clint Bowyer finished third.

2012 Lenox Industrial Tools 301
Race details[1][2][3]
Race 19 of 36 in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date July 15, 2012 (2012-July-15)
Official name Lenox Industrial Tools 301 The Extra Mile
Location New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire
Course Permanent racing facility
1.058 mi (1.703 km)
Distance 301 laps, 318.458 mi (512.508 km)
Weather Overcast with a temperature around 87°F; wind out of the SW at 6 mph.
Average speed 116.226 miles per hour (187.048 km/h)[4]
Pole position
Driver Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 28.548
Most laps led
Driver Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 152
Winner
No. 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network TNT
Announcers Adam Alexander, Wally Dallenbach, Jr. and Kyle Petty
Nielsen Ratings 4.775 million [5]

Report

Background

New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the race track where the race was held.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway is one of ten intermediate tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Atlanta Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, and Darlington Raceway as well as Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway.[6] The standard track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a four-turn oval track, 1.6 miles (2.6 km) long.[7] The track's turns are banked from two to seven degrees, while the front stretch, the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at one degree.[7]

Before the race, Matt Kenseth led the Drivers' Championship with 676 points, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. stood in second with 651. Greg Biffle was third in the Drivers' Championship with 632, fourteen points ahead of Jimmie Johnson and forty ahead of Tony Stewart in fourth and fifth. Kevin Harvick, with 586, was two points ahead of Denny Hamlin, as Martin Truex, Jr. with 584 points, was eleven ahead of Brad Keselowski and twelve in front of Clint Bowyer.[8] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 126 points, twenty-two points ahead of Toyota. Ford, with 90 points, was fourteen points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.[9] Ryan Newman is the defending race winner after winning the event in 2011.[10]

Shortly before the 2012 Coke Zero 400, held one week earlier, NASCAR announced that A. J. Allmendinger failed a random drug test held on June 29, 2012, and that he was suspended temporarily, depending on the result of his second test.[11] Afterward, Penske Racing announced that Sam Hornish, Jr., who replaced him in the Coke Zero 400, would also replace him for a second consecutive week.[11]

Practice and qualifying

Kyle Busch (pictured in 2015), of the Joe Gibbs Racing team won the pole position.

Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—one on Friday, July 13, and two on Saturday, July 14. The first session lasted 90 minutes, and the second was 55 minutes. The third and final session was 60 minutes.[12] Kyle Busch was quickest with a time of 28.555 seconds in the first session, less than one tenth of a second faster than Biffle.[13] Kurt Busch was just off Biffle's pace, followed by Kasey Kahne, Paul Menard, and Truex, Jr.. Brian Vickers was seventh, still within two tenths of a second of Kyle Busch's time.[13]

Forty-four cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three could qualify for the race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.[14] Kyle Busch clinched the ninth pole position of his career, with a time of 28.548 seconds.[15] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Kahne.[15] Hamlin qualified third, Truex, Jr. took fourth, and Bowyer started fifth.[15] Newman, Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt, Jr. and Stewart rounded out the top ten. The driver that failed to qualify for the race was Mike Bliss.[15] Once the qualifying session concluded, Kyle Busch expressed his happiness with qualifying: "Excellent lap, just tried to hit the same marks in practice. Haven't found the magic way to get around the Magic Mile but today we did."[3]

In the second practice session, Hamlin was quickest with a time of 28.969 seconds.[16] Gordon, with a time of 28.993, was second-quickest, ahead of Truex, Jr., Aric Almirola, and Bowyer.[16] Kahne, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Vickers, and Jeff Burton completed the first ten positions.[16] Hamlin continued to be quickest through the third practice session with a time of 28.990, 0.009 seconds faster than his fastest lap during the second session.[17] Kyle Busch was second-quickest in the session, while Keselowski was scored third.[17] Bowyer followed in the fourth position ahead of Johnson, Vickers and Truex, Jr.[17] Kahne, Logano and Carl Edwards rounded out the first ten positions in eighth, ninth and tenth, respectively.[17]

Race

The race, the nineteenth in the season, began with Kyle Busch on the Pole and Kasey Kahne starting second, not much happened here but three cautions, two for debris and one for David Reutimann's blown engine, Kyle Busch, the races polesitter had a speeding penalty which would cause him to finish 16th, Kasey Kahne won the race on lap 301 of a scheduled 301.[1]

Results

Qualifying

No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed Grid
18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota28.548133.4171
5Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet28.551133.4032
11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota28.552133.3993
56Martin Truex, Jr.Michael Waltrip RacingToyota28.565133.3384
15Clint BowyerMichael Waltrip RacingToyota28.569133.3195
39Ryan NewmanStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet28.578133.2776
48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet28.583133.2547
24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet28.595133.1988
88Dale Earnhardt, Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet28.628133.0459
14Tony StewartStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet28.651132.93810
16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord28.665132.87311
29Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet28.666132.86812
27Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet28.730132.57213
51Kurt BuschPhoenix RacingChevrolet28.735132.54914
55Brian VickersMichael Waltrip RacingToyota28.762132.42515
20Joey LoganoJoe Gibbs RacingToyota28.762132.42516
78Regan SmithFurniture Row RacingChevrolet28.769132.39317
47Bobby LabonteJTG Daugherty RacingToyota28.782132.33318
34David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord28.797132.26419
9Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord28.811132.20020
99Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord28.814132.18621
2Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingDodge28.836132.08522
43Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord28.891131.83323
22Sam Hornish, Jr.Penske RacingDodge28.952131.55624
31Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet28.972131.46525
10David ReutimannTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet29.016131.26626
17Matt KensethRoush Fenway RacingFord29.023131.23427
1Jamie McMurrayEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet29.023131.23428
83Landon CassillBK RacingToyota29.034131.18429
93Travis KvapilBK RacingToyota29.112130.83330
42Juan Pablo MontoyaEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet29.150130.66231
26Josh WiseFront Row MotorsportsFord29.267130.14032
13Casey MearsGermain RacingFord29.336129.83433
87Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsToyota29.342129.80734
36Dave BlaneyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet29.371129.67935
98Michael McDowellPhil Parsons RacingFord29.406129.52536
32Ken SchraderFAS Lane RacingFord29.453129.31837
49J. J. YeleyRobinson-Blakeney RacingToyota29.463129.27438
38David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord29.490129.15639
30David StremmeInception MotorsportsToyota29.504129.09440
23Scott RiggsR3 MotorsportsToyota29.557128.86341
79Kelly BiresGo Green RacingFord29.637128.51542
33Stephen LeichtCircle Sport RacingChevrolet29.714128.18243
Failed to Qualify
19Mike BlissHumphrey Smith RacingToyota29.740128.070
Source:[15]

Race results

Kasey Kahne won the race.
Pos Grid Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
125Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet30147
2311Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota30144
3515Clint BowyerMichael Waltrip RacingToyota30142
4988Dale Earnhardt, Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet30140
5222Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingDodge30139
6824Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet30139
7748Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet30138
81229Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30136
91116Greg BiffleRoush-Fenway RacingFord30135
10639Ryan NewmanStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet30134
11456Martin Truex, Jr.Michael Waltrip RacingToyota30133
121014Tony StewartStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet30132
132717Matt KensethRoush-Fenway RacingFord30131
141620Joey LoganoJoe Gibbs RacingToyota30130
151555Brian VickersMichael Waltrip RacingToyota3010
16118Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota30129
171327Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30127
182199Carl EdwardsRoush-Fenway RacingFord30126
19209Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord30125
20281Jamie McMurrayEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet30124
212531Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30123
222422Sam Hornish, Jr.Penske RacingDodge30122
231847Bobby LabonteJTG Daugherty RacingToyota30121
241451Kurt BuschPhoenix RacingChevrolet29921
253142Juan Pablo MontoyaEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet29919
261778Regan SmithFurniture Row RacingChevrolet29818
273938David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord29817
282343Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord29816
292983Landon CassillBK RacingToyota29715
303093Travis KvapilBK RacingToyota29714
313732Ken SchraderFAS Lane RacingFord29413
324333Stephen LeichtCircle Sport RacingChevrolet29312
332610David ReutimannTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet22911
341934David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord13910
354033David StremmeInception MotorsportsToyota1019
363313Casey MearsGermain RacingToyota918
373226Josh WiseFront Row MotorsportsFord827
383487Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsToyota710
393536Dave BlaneyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet685
403698Michael McDowellPhil Parsons RacingFord634
414123Scott RiggsR3 MotorsportsChevrolet323
424279Kelly BiresGo Green RacingFord192
433849J. J. YeleyRobinson-Blakeney RacingToyota41

Standings after the race

References

  1. "Sprint Cup Series Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  2. Brown, Brian (July 10, 2012). "The Lenox Industrial Tools 301". Rotoworld.com. NBC Sports. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  3. Ryan, Nate (July 13, 2012). "Kyle Busch zooms past Kasey Kahne for New Hampshire pole". Loudon, New Hampshire. USA Today. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
  4. "2012 Lenox Industrial Tools 301". Racing-reference.info. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  5. "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  6. "NASCAR Tracks—The New Hampshire Motor Speedway". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  7. "2012 Official Driver Standings: Coke Zero 400". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  8. "Manufactures' Championship Classification". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. ESPN. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  9. "2011 Lenox Industrial Tools 301". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  10. "Hornish back in 22 as Allmendinger awaits results". NASCAR. Turner Sports. July 9, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
  11. "THE RACE: Lenox Industrial Tools 301". Jayski NASCAR Silly Season Site. ESPN. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
  12. "Practice One Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  13. "Qualifying Entry List". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  14. "Race Official Lineup". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  15. "Practice Two Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
  16. "Practice Three Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
Previous race:
2012 Coke Zero 400
Sprint Cup Series
2012 season
Next race:
2012 Brickyard 400
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