The 2012 Quaker State 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race that was held on June 30, 2012, at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky. Contested over 267 laps, it was the 17th race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Brad Keselowski won the race, his third of the season. Kasey Kahne finished second and Denny Hamlin was third.
Report
Background
Kentucky Speedway, is one of ten intermediate tracks to hold NASCAR races. The standard track at Kentucky Speedway is a four-turn tri-oval track that is long. The track's turns are banked at 14 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is 8 degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, is at only 4 degrees. The racetrack has seats for 107,000 spectators. The defending winner of the event is Kyle Busch, who won it in 2011. The inaugural race was plagued by a massive traffic problem where many of the fans who expected to attend the race were turned away after several hours on Interstate 71. Following the problem, Kentucky Speedway announced that they bought more land for parking and began to work with the state government to improve traffic around the speedway in time for the 2012 race.Jensen, Tom. What now, Kentucky? . Speed, 2011-07-10.Hembree, Mike. Kentucky Speedway To Add Parking Area . Speed, 2011-07-10.Kentucky Speedway apologizes to fans . Speedway Motorsports, 2011-07-11.Blount, Terry. Kentucky Speedway gets a mulligan. ESPN, 2011-07-12.
Practice and qualifying
Race The race, the 17th of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season began at 7:48 EDT. The race was televised live in the United States on TNT. Jimmie Johnson started on pole position. The Kentucky Army National Guard and the Boone County Sheriff's Office presented the flag. The invocation was offered by Pastor John Roberts of Raceway Ministries. Laura Bell Bundy performed the national anthem. The grand marshal was Quaker State Official Steve Reindl.
Results
Qualifying
Grid Driver Team ManufacturerTimeSpeed1 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.700181.8182 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.765181.4213 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.810181.1474 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.939180.3675 39 Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet 29.944180.3376 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 29.962180.2287 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.963180.2228 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 29.966180.2049 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.994180.03610 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 30.006 179.96411 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 30.041179.75412 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 30.082179.50913 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 30.111179.33614 51 Kurt Busch Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 30.133179.20615 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.155179.07516 22 A. J. Allmendinger Penske Racing Dodge 30.160179.04517 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 30.169178.99218 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 30.190178.86719 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.212178.73720 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 30.298178.23021 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 30.367177.82522 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet 30.371177.80123 83 Landon Cassill BK Racing Toyota 30.505177.02024 95 Scott Speed Leavine Family Racing Ford 30.594176.50525 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 30.644176.21726 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 30.687175.97027 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 30.729175.73028 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 30.749175.61529 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.820175.21130 26 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 30.843175.08031 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 30.846175.06332 30 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Toyota 30.900174.75733 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 30.911174.69534 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 30.963 174.40235 98 Michael McDowellPhil Parsons Racing Ford 30.963174.40236 23 Scott Riggs R3 Motorsports Chevrolet 30.973174.34537 19 Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 30.986174.27238 10 David Reutimann Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 31.122173.51139 55 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 31.359172.19940 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 31.658170.57341 32 Ken Schrader FAS Lane Racing Ford 32.041168.53442 36 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 0.0000.00043 33 Stephen Leicht Circle Sport Racing Chevrolet 31.190173.132 Failed to Qualify44 49 J. J. Yeley Robinson-Blakeney Racing Toyota 31.284172.61245 52 Mike Skinner Hamilton Means Racing Toyota 31.418171.876
Race results
Pos Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Run Points 1 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 267 47 25 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 42 311Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 42 488Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 40 5 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 39 6 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 267 39 7 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 267 37 8 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 267 36 9 22 A. J. Allmendinger Penske Racing Dodge 267 35 10 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 267 36 11 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 33 12 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 267 32 13 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 267 31 14 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 267 30 15 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 267 29 16 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 267 28 17 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 267 28 18 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 267 27 19 51 Kurt Busch Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 267 25 20 99 Carl Edwards Roush-Fenway Racing Ford 266 24 21 16 Greg Biffle Roush-Fenway Racing Ford 266 23 22 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 266 22 23 10 David Reutimann Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 266 21 24 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 266 20 25 83 Landon Cassill BK Racing Toyota 266 19 26 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 266 18 27 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 265 17 28 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 265 16 29 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 263 15 30 55 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 262 14 31 32 Ken Schrader FAS Lane Racing Ford 262 13 32 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 231 12 33 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 209 11 34 39 Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 208 10 35 36 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 114 9 36 30 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Toyota 71 8 37 26 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 60 7 38 98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 58 6 39 95 Scott Speed Leavine Family Racing Ford 55 5 40 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 52 0 41 33 Stephen Leicht Circle Sport Chevrolet 47 3 42 19 Mike Bliss Tri-Star Motorsports Toyota 18 0 43 23 Scott Riggs R3 Motorsports Chevrolet 12 1
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Matt Kenseth633 2 Dale Earnhardt Jr.622 3 Jimmie Johnson610 4 Greg Biffle608 5 Denny Hamlin565
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet177 2 Toyota100 3 Ford84 4 Dodge73
Note: Only the top five positions are included for the driver standings.
References