| Race details[1][2][3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 36 in the2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
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| Date | April 22, 2012 (2012-04-22) | ||
| Location | Kansas Speedway,Kansas City,Kansas | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.5 km) | ||
| Weather | Sunshine; wind out of the ENE at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Penske Racing | ||
| Time | 30.683 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Martin Truex Jr. | Michael Waltrip Racing | |
| Laps | 173 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Broadcasting Company | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy,Darrell Waltrip andLarry McReynolds | ||
The2012 STP 400 was aNASCARSprint Cup Seriesstock car race held on April 22, 2012 atKansas Speedway inKansas City,Kansas. Contested over 267 laps, it was the eighth race of the2012 season.Denny Hamlin ofJoe Gibbs Racing took his second win of the season, whileMartin Truex Jr. finished second andJimmie Johnson finished third.
Kansas Speedway is one of tenintermediate tracks to holdNASCAR races.[4] The standard track at Kansas Speedway is a four-turnD-shaped oval track that is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long.[5] The track's turns arebanked at fifteendegrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is 10.4 degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, is at only five degrees.[5] The racetrack has seats for 82,000 spectators.[5]
Before the race,Greg Biffle led theDrivers' Championship with 273 points, andMatt Kenseth stood in second with 254.Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third in the Drivers' Championship also with 254 points, one ahead ofMartin Truex Jr. and five ahead ofKevin Harvick in fourth and fifth.Denny Hamlin with 242 was eight ahead ofTony Stewart, asJimmie Johnson with 233 points, was eight ahead ofRyan Newman, and fourteen in front ofClint Bowyer.[6] In theManufacturers' Championship,Chevrolet was leading with 48 points, six ahead ofFord.Toyota, with 34 points, was 30 points ahead ofDodge in the battle for third.[7]Brad Keselowski was the race's defending race winner after winning it in2011.[8]
(R) - Denotes rookie driver.
(i) - Denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Two practice sessions were held before the race on Friday. The first session lasted 80 minutes long, while the second was 90 minutes long.[9]Kyle Busch was quickest with a time of 31.083 seconds in the first session, over one-tenth of a second faster thanCarl Edwards.[10]Kasey Kahne was third, followed byLandon Cassill, Earnhardt Jr., and Newman. Stewart was seventh, still within a second of Kyle Busch's time.[10] In the second practice session, Johnson was fastest with a time of 30.865 seconds, only 0.113 seconds quicker than second-placedMark Martin.[11] Biffle took third place, ahead of Keselowski,Sam Hornish Jr. and Edwards.Jeff Burton managed to be seventh quickest.[11]
Forty-six cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three can race because of NASCAR'squalifying procedure.[12]A. J. Allmendinger clinched his secondpole position during his career, with a time of 30.683 seconds.[13] He was joined on the front row of thegrid by Harvick.[13]Joey Logano qualified third, Hamlin took fourth, and Martin started fifth.[13] Truex Jr., Earnhardt Jr., Bowyer, Kahne, and Hornish Jr. rounded out the first ten positions.[13] The three drivers who failed to qualify for the race wereTim Andrews,Jeff Green andTony Raines, who had times of 31.820 and 31.846 seconds.[13]
The race, the eighth in the season, started at 1:16 p.m.EDT and was televised live in the United States onFox.[1] The conditions on the grid were dry before the race and overcast skies are expected.[14] Cole Cochran, of Kansas City Alliance Raceway Ministries, began pre-race ceremonies, by giving theinvocation. Next, Jeremy Vitt performed thenational anthem, and Victory Junction Gang Camp ambassadors gave the command for drivers to start their engines.[14] During thepace laps, Logano had to move to the rear of the grid because of changing his engine.[14]
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