| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 24 of 36 in the2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
 The 2012 Irwin Tools Night Race program cover, featuring a moonshine bottle. | |||
| Date | August 25, 2012 (2012-08-25) | ||
| Location | Bristol Motor Speedway inBristol, Tennessee | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.533 miles (0.858 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures as low as 57.2 °F (14.0 °C); wind speeds up to 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h)[1] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Germain Racing | ||
| Time | 15.701 (P1) | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Joey Logano | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 139 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ABC | ||
| Announcers | Allen Bestwick,Dale Jarrett andAndy Petree | ||
The2012 Irwin Tools Night Race was aNASCARSprint Cup Seriesstock car race held on August 25, 2012 atBristol Motor Speedway inBristol, Tennessee. Contested over 500 laps, it was the twenty-fourth race of the2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
Denny Hamlin ofJoe Gibbs Racing won the race, his first at Bristol and third of the 2012 season.Jimmie Johnson finished second andJeff Gordon was third. Nearly 150,000 people attended this 189-minute racing event.[2]
This race was broadcast onABC (throughESPN on ABC), but was not available in all areas. A handful of ABC affiliates airedNFL preseasonfootball games, with most of the affected affiliates preempting the race altogether, although at least one joined the race in progress in its final hour. Because of this,WOTV inBattle Creek, Michigan was the onlyWest Michigan ABC affiliate airing the race, asWZZM-TV inGrand Rapids, Michigan was simulcastingWXYZ-TV inSouthfield, Michigan'sDetroit Lions coverage and, unlike WXYZ-TV, chose not to join the race in progress, choosing to air syndicated programming instead.
Sprint Cup qualifying was to begin on August 24 at 5:00pm EST after the Nationwide Series qualifying. Just before the Cup cars were to take their laps, rain poured on the track. As the Cup cars were unable to make time and with the Nationwide race to run on Friday night, NASCAR cancelled qualifying and set the field according to the following criteria: The field would consist of the Top 35 in owner's points and those with the most attempts. In the event that multiple teams have the same number of starts, preference is given to the team higher in owner's points. The field would be set by their lap times during the practice session.
As a result,Casey Mears, at a time of 15.701 seconds, won the pole, followed byBrad Keselowski,Greg Biffle,Joey Logano, andAric Almirola. Four drivers would not race due to the number of attempts:Scott Speed,Kelly Bires,J. J. Yeley, andReed Sorenson.[3][4]
| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Laps led |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 500 | 70 |
| 2 | 37 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 500 | 52 |
| 3 | 11 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 500 | 0 |
| 4 | 22 | 55 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 500 | 1 |
| 5 | 9 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | 500 | 1 |
| 6 | 10 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 500 | 0 |
| 7 | 23 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 500 | 0 |
| 8 | 4 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | 500 | 139 |
| 9 | 12 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 500 | 42 |
| 10 | 7 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 500 | 0 |
| Previous race: 2012 Pure Michigan 400 | Sprint Cup Series 2012 season | Next race: 2012 AdvoCare 500 |