| Race details[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 35 of 36 in the2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
 Map of the Phoenix International Raceway | |||
| Date | November 11, 2012 (2012-11-11) | ||
| Location | Phoenix International Raceway,Avondale,Arizona | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1 miles (1.6 km) | ||
| Distance | 319 laps, 319 mi (513.381 km) | ||
| Weather | Clear with a temperature around 65 °F (18 °C); wind out of the NNW at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h). | ||
| Average speed | 111.182 miles per hour (178.930 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 25.943 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 237 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Allen Bestwick,Dale Jarrett andAndy Petree | ||
The2012 AdvoCare 500 was aNASCARSprint Cup Series stock car race held on November 11, 2012, atPhoenix International Speedway inAvondale,Arizona. Contested over 319 laps on the 1-mile (1.6 km) asphalt tri-oval, it was the thirty-fifth race of the2012 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the ninth race in the ten-raceChase for the Sprint Cup, which ends the season.Kevin Harvick ofRichard Childress Racing won the race, his only win of the season, whileDenny Hamlin finished second andKyle Busch finished third.
Phoenix International Raceway is one of fiveshort tracks to holdNASCAR races; the others areRichmond International Raceway,Dover International Speedway,Bristol Motor Speedway, andMartinsville Speedway.[3] The standard track at Phoenix International Raceway is a four-turn short trackoval that is 1 mile (1.6 km) long.[4] The first two turns arebanked from 10 to 11degrees, while the final two turns are banked from 8 to 9 degrees.[5] The front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at three degrees. The back stretch, nicknamed the 'dogleg', varies from 10 to 11 degree banking.[5] The racetrack has seats for 76,800 spectators.[4]
Before the race,Jimmie Johnson led theDrivers' Championship with 2,339 points, andBrad Keselowski stood in second with 2,332 points.[6]Clint Bowyer followed in third with 2,303 points, twenty-two points ahead ofKasey Kahne and thirty-six ahead ofMatt Kenseth in fourth and fifth.[6]Jeff Gordon with 2,267 was one point ahead ofDenny Hamlin, asTony Stewart with 2,259 points, was tied withMartin Truex Jr. and three ahead ofGreg Biffle.[6]Kevin Harvick andDale Earnhardt Jr. was eleventh and twelfth with 2,238 and 2,188 points, respectively.[6]
In theManufacturers' Championship,Chevrolet led with 231 points, thirty points ahead ofToyota.[7]Ford, with 167 points, was eighteen points ahead ofDodge in the battle for third.[7] Kahne is the defending race winner after winning the event in 2011.[8]
The race was won byKevin Harvick after a green-white-checkered finish. This finish was the direct result of a heated on-track altercation betweenJeff Gordon andClint Bowyer. This started when, on lap 310, Bowyer made contact with the back of Gordon's car, then, a few seconds later, made more contact with the front of Gordon's car, sending him into the wall. NASCAR declared that Gordon had put himself in the wall trying to retaliate, and decided to park him for what remained of the race. When Gordon learned his penalty, he slowed down but waited for Bowyer to come back around.
Then, on Lap 311, moments beforeKevin Harvick crossed the start/finish line to begin the final lap (which would have ended the race due to the caution), Gordon made contact with the right rear of Bowyer's car, sending them spinning into bothJoey Logano and the wall, also taking outAric Almirola. NASCAR officials then summoned Gordon, his crew, and ownerRick Hendrick to the NASCAR hauler to discuss his actions.
After Gordon had exited his race car in the garage, the pit crew of Bowyer confronted him and a short scuffle broke out between the pit crews of Gordon and Bowyer. No members of either pit crew were injured, nor was Gordon. Shortly afterwards, Bowyer reached his pit box and after exiting his car, began running through the paddock area towards Gordon's car hauler to confront Gordon. However upon reaching the hauler, Bowyer was restrained by officials and immediately led off. Due to the tension created by the incident between the Bowyer and Gordon crews, NASCAR had police officers stationed around the garages to avoid further altercations. While Harvick celebrated in victory lane, Gordon said"Clint's run into me numerous times during this year and I just had enough and got him back." The next week, NASCAR fined Jeff Gordon $100,000, 100 driver's points, and probation until December 31. NASCAR's initial decision was to park Gordon for the Miami race but Gordon and boss Rick Hendrick fought their way into being allowed to race the final event, which he ended up winning over Bowyer. During the Miami weekend event, NASCAR fined Gordon's crew chiefAlan Gustafson $50,000 for not controlling his driver and crews from committing the wreck, Clint Bowyer's crew chiefBrian Pattie $35,000 for swearing on TV and Hendrick $5,000 for not controlling his driver.
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