| Race details[1][2][3][4] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 34 of 36 in the2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
 The 2012 AAA Texas 500 program cover, featuringDale Earnhardt Jr.,Tony Stewart, andDanica Patrick. "Come One, Come Y'all! The Greatest Show on Asphalt" | |||
| Date | November 4, 2012 (2012-11-04) | ||
| Location | Texas Motor Speedway inFort Worth,Texas | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 335 laps, 502.5 mi (808.695 km) | ||
| Weather | Scattered showers with a temperature around 71 °F (22 °C); wind out of the NWN at 9 miles per hour (14 km/h). | ||
| Average speed | 136.117 miles per hour (219.059 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 28.261 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 168 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Allen Bestwick,Dale Jarrett andAndy Petree | ||
The2012 AAA Texas 500 was aNASCARSprint Cup Series stock car race held on November 4, 2012, atTexas Motor Speedway inFort Worth,Texas. Contested over 334 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) asphalt quad-oval, it was the 34th race of the2012 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the 8th race in the ten-raceChase for the Sprint Cup, which ends the season.Jimmie Johnson ofHendrick Motorsports won the race, his 5th win of the season.Brad Keselowski finished second, andKyle Busch third.
Texas Motor Speedway is one of tenintermediate tracks to holdNASCAR races; the others areAtlanta Motor Speedway,Kansas Speedway,Chicagoland Speedway,Darlington Raceway,Homestead Miami Speedway,New Hampshire Motor Speedway,Kentucky Speedway,Las Vegas Motor Speedway, andCharlotte Motor Speedway.[5] The standard track at Texas Motor Speedway is a four-turnquad-oval track that is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long.[6] The track's turns arebanked at 24degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is five degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also has a five degree banking.[6] The racetrack has seats for 191,122 spectators.[6]
Before the race,Jimmie Johnson led theDrivers' Championship with 2,291 points, andBrad Keselowski stood in 2nd with 2,289 points.[7]Clint Bowyer followed in 3rd with 2,265 points, three points ahead ofKasey Kahne and 23 ahead ofDenny Hamlin in 4th and 5th.[7]Jeff Gordon with 2,237 was nine points ahead ofMartin Truex Jr., asMatt Kenseth with 2,226 points, was four points ahead ofGreg Biffle and six ahead ofTony Stewart.[7]Kevin Harvick andDale Earnhardt Jr. was 11th and 12th with 2,203 and 2,151 points, respectively.[7]
In theManufacturers' Championship,Chevrolet was leading with 222 points, 25 points ahead ofToyota.[8]Ford, with 164 points, was 21 points ahead ofDodge in the battle for 3rd.[8] Stewart is the defending race winner after winning the event in2011.[9]
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Three practice sessions are scheduled to be held before the race; the first on Friday, which lasted 90 minutes. The second and third are both scheduled on Saturday afternoon with the first being 50 minutes long, while the second is scheduled for 60.[10] Truex Jr. was quickest with a time of 28.310 seconds in the first session, 0.044 seconds faster thanMark Martin.[11] Keselowski was just off Martin's pace, followed by Bowyer, Stewart, andAric Almirola. Kenseth was 7th, still within a half of a second of Truex's time.[11]
46 cars were entered for qualifying, but only 43 could qualify for the race because of NASCAR'squalifying procedure.[12] Johnson clinched the 29thpole position of his career and 4th of the season, with a time of 28.261 seconds.[3][13] He was joined on the front row of thegrid by Biffle.[13]Kyle Busch qualified third, Bowyer took 4th, and Truex Jr. started 5th.[13]Joey Logano,Trevor Bayne, Keselowski,Carl Edwards and Kenseth rounded out the top ten[13] The three drivers that failed to qualify for the race wereStephen Leicht,Kelly Bires, andDavid Stremme.[13]
In the second practice session, Keselowski was fastest with a time of 28.888 seconds, 100th of a second quicker than second-placed Johnson.[14] Hamlin took third place, ahead of Biffle, Edwards and Bowyer.[14] Kyle Busch only managed 7th place, while Stewart was only quick enough for 8th position.[14] In the third and final practice, Keselowski remained quickest with a time of 29.300 seconds.[15] Bowyer followed in second, ahead of Kenseth and Johnson.[15] Edwards was 5th quickest, with a time of 29.375 seconds.[15] Hamlin,Sam Hornish Jr., Kyle Busch,A. J. Allmendinger, and Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the first ten positions.[15]
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