2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500

February 2025 NAS Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 https://www.espn.com/racing/schedule/_/year/2012 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule ESPN October 6, 2012http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/nas/41563/229/the-good-sam-500 The Good Sam 500 NBC Sports Rotoworld.com October 3, 2012 October 6, 2012 Brown, Brian 2012 10 07 2012 30 36 2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 program cover.jpeg 200px 2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 program cover Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, Alabama, United States 2.66 4.281 189 502.74 809.082 188 500.08 804.801 Temperatures reaching up to 62.1 F C; wind speeds up to 11.1 mph km/hhttp://www.almanac.com/weather/history/AL/Talladega/2012-10-07 2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 weather information The Old Farmers' Almanac 2013-06-24 https://archive.today/20240526184542/https://www.webcitation.org/6I4eMG5Cf?url=http://m.almanac.com/weather/history/AL/Talladega/2012-10-07 2024-05-26 live 171.194 mi/h Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports 50.017 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing 39 17 Matt Kenseth Roush-Fenway Racing ESPN Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree The 2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on October 7, 2012, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, United States. Contested over 189 laps on the 2.66 mi off on asphalt tri-oval, it was the thirtieth race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as well as the fourth race in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which ends the season. Matt Kenseth of Roush Fenway Racing won the race, his second of the season, and snapped a twenty-nine race winless streak extending back to the Daytona 500; while Jeff Gordon finished second and Kyle Busch finished third. The Big One hit the field on the final lap, collecting 25 cars in turn four, with Tony Stewart flying in the air after being accidentally tagged by Michael Waltrip, who in turn was being pushed by Casey Mears.https://www.espn.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/8475556/matt-kenseth-avoids-25-car-pileup-win-talladega Matt Kenseth avoids 25-car pileup to win at Talladega - ESPN ESPN 2012-10-09 2012-11-06 Report Background 200px|left|thumb|Brad Keselowski entered the race as the Driver's Championship leader. thumb|An aerial view of Talladega Superspeedway, the venue where the race was held. Talladega Superspeedway is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races; the others are Daytona International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Michigan International Speedway.NASCAR Race Tracks http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ October 6, 2012 NASCAR dead https://web.archive.org/web/20130101145548/http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ January 1, 2013 The standard track at the speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.66 mi km long.NASCAR Tracks — The Talladega Superspeedway http://www.talladegasuperspeedway.com/This-Is-Talladega/Track-Facts.aspx Talladega Superspeedway October 6, 2012 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090827144403/http://www.talladegasuperspeedway.com/This-Is-Talladega/Track-Facts.aspx August 27, 2009 The track's turns are banked at thirty-three degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 16.5 degrees. The back stretch has a two-degree banking. Talladega Superspeedway can seat up to 143,231 people.Talladega http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/tal/ October 6, 2012 NASCAR dead https://web.archive.org/web/20101115200255/http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/tal/ November 15, 2010 Before the race, Brad Keselowski led the Drivers' Championship with 2,142 points, and Jimmie Johnson stood in second with 2,137 points.http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/data/standings.html 2012 Official Driver Standings: AAA 400 Turner Sports NASCAR October 6, 2012 Denny Hamlin followed in third with 2,126 points, nine points ahead of Clint Bowyer and sixteen ahead of Tony Stewart in fourth and fifth. Kasey Kahne with 2,110 was seven points ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr., as Martin Truex Jr. with 2,100 points, was four points ahead of Kevin Harvick, and six in front of Jeff Gordon. Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth was eleventh and twelfth with 2,091 and 2,070 points, respectively. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 197 points, twenty-five points ahead of Toyota.http://www.jayski.com/stats/2012/manu2012.htm 2012 NASCAR Manufacturer Championship ESPN Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site October 6, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121130202821/http://www.jayski.com/stats/2012/manu2012.htm November 30, 2012 dead Ford, with 138 points, was seven points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third. Clint Bowyer is the race's defending champion after winning the event in 2011.http://racing-reference.info/race/2011_Good_Sam_Club_500/W 2011 Good Sam Club 500 USA Today Sports Media Group Racing-Reference.info October 23, 2011 October 6, 2012 Qualifying results Pos.No.DriverMakeTimeAvg. Speed (mph)15Kasey KahneChevrolet50.017  191.455  239Ryan NewmanChevrolet50.098  191.145  315Clint BowyerToyota50.105  191.119  414Tony StewartChevrolet50.138  190.993  516Greg BiffleFord50.148  190.955  624Jeff GordonChevrolet50.176  190.848  799Carl EdwardsFord50.193  190.784  821Trevor BayneFord50.208  190.727  956Martin Truex Jr.Toyota50.225  190.662  1022Sam Hornish Jr.Dodge50.234  190.628  1155Michael WaltripToyota50.277  190.465  1288Dale Earnhardt Jr.Chevrolet50.287  190.427  1318Kyle BuschToyota50.289  190.419  1420Joey LoganoToyota50.296  190.393  1517Matt KensethFord50.302  190.370  1627Paul MenardChevrolet50.312  190.332  1748Jimmie JohnsonChevrolet50.321  190.298  1843Aric AlmirolaFord50.321  190.298  1913Casey MearsFord50.353  190.177  209Marcos AmbroseFord50.355  190.170  2129Kevin HarvickChevrolet50.370  190.113  222Brad KeselowskiDodge50.459  189.778  2311Denny HamlinToyota50.467  189.748  241Jamie McMurrayChevrolet50.469  189.740  2534David RaganFord50.502  189.616  2631Jeff BurtonChevrolet50.519  189.552  2742Juan Pablo MontoyaChevrolet50.565  189.380  2878Regan SmithChevrolet50.582  189.316  2951Kurt BuschChevrolet50.660  189.025  3030David StremmeToyota50.681  188.947  3132Terry LabonteFord50.722  188.794  3238David GillilandFord50.740  188.727  3326Josh WiseFord50.761  188.649  3498Michael McDowellFord50.764  188.638  3597Timmy HillToyota50.848  188.326  3693Travis KvapilToyota50.856  188.296  3787Joe NemechekToyota50.936  188.001  3883Landon CassillToyota50.940  187.986  3936Dave BlaneyChevrolet51.083  187.460  4047Bobby LabonteToyota51.211  186.991  4110David ReutimannChevrolet51.268  186.783  4233Cole WhittChevrolet51.404  186.289  4323Robert Richardson Jr.Toyota51.500  185.942  Source:2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance qualifying results https://www.racing-reference.info/qual-results/2012-30/W/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20210428100909/https://www.racing-reference.info/qual-results/2012-30/W/ 2021-04-28 Racing-Reference Race thumb|Kasey Kahne scored the pole position. To begin pre-race ceremonies, Billy Irvin, a volunteer with Alabama Raceway Ministries and director of ministry relations with FAITH Radio in Montgomery, Alabama, delivered the invocation.Race Summary http://www.nascar.com/lap-by-lap/121007/tallcuplbl/index.html NASCAR October 7, 2012 Then, singer Raelynn performed the National anthem. At 2:11 PM, actor Kevin James gave the command to start engines. At the drop of the green flag, Kasey Kahne led, and continued to lead for the first ten laps. On lap 11, Trevor Bayne took the lead with drafting help from Clint Bowyer. Three laps later, Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed the lead. Earnhardt Jr. led for two laps before being passed by Kyle Busch. On lap 17, the first caution came out for a three car crash in turn 4 that eliminated Carl Edwards and Cole Whitt from contention, and also gave some heavy damage to Joey Logano. Both Edwards and Logano decided to continue racing, while Whitt retired from the event. Kyle Busch continued to lead the field when the green flag waved on lap 22. Two laps later, Matt Kenseth passed Busch to lead. Kenseth led for ten laps, before Earnhardt Jr. passed him. On lap 35, Denny Hamlin reported a loose rearview mirror in his car. Earnhardt Jr. led for seven laps before being repassed by Kenseth on lap 41. One lap later, Kenseth got loose off of Greg Biffle's bumper, and he went from 1st to 31st place in a matter of seconds, while Earnhardt Jr. received the lead. On lap 50, Casey Mears received the lead. A lap later, Mears was passed by Jeff Burton, who led for two laps before Bayne received the lead. By lap 58, Mears had re-received the lead. From lap 60 to lap 62, the field was cycled through green-flag pit stops. Earnhardt Jr, Bayne, Kyle Busch, and others received speeding penalties. These penalties ultimately resulted in Earnhardt Jr. and Busch being trapped a lap down for a significant chunk of the mid-portion of the race. On lap 64, Jimmie Johnson took the lead. On lap 73, Jeff Gordon passed Johnson with drafting help from Kenseth. By lap 83, Jamie McMurray had taken the lead. On lap 90, Kurt Busch, in his last start for Phoenix Racing, received the lead. One lap later, the leading pack lapped a group of cars that were made up of Michael McDowell, Landon Cassill, Dave Blaney and Carl Edwards, the first three being in the lead lap before this. McDowell decided to take the high lane while the other three stayed in the inside lane, forcing the lead pack to weave through the middle of slower traffic. Five laps later, Kenseth took the lead. He led for two laps before Busch repassed him. Two laps after that, the second caution of the race waved when Kasey Kahne ran out of fuel, and simultaneously, Busch was spun out on the back straightaway by Jamie McMurray. Although the car took damage from hitting the inside wall, Busch was able to refire the engine, after the emergency crews had already reached him. A medical bag that was sitting on top of the car was subsequently thrown from the back decklid. NASCAR parked Busch for pulling away and trying to drive back to the garage despite the fact that his car was shedding debris. On the restart at lap 104, Marcos Ambrose was the leader, but was passed during the next lap by Kenseth. On lap 121, Kyle Busch got onto the tail end of the lead lap, being pushed by Mears. On lap 127, Greg Biffle assumed the lead for one lap before being repassed by Kenseth. Four laps after that, Biffle pushed McMurray into the lead. Busch was shuffled back during this green flag run. On lap 139, the third caution flag of the race was waved for debris. Earnhardt Jr., who had been leading the pack when caution came out, managed to get back on the lead lap along with Kyle Busch, who got a free pass. At the restart on lap 143, Casey Mears was leading again. Laps later, Biffle passed him. On lap 151, McMurray received the lead. A lap later, Biffle repassed him. On lap 155, Kevin Harvick gave McMurray a shove to reclaim the lead for two laps. On lap 168, Harvick became the leader. He led for three laps before Mears assumed the lead. On lap 173, the lead returned to McMurray. On lap 182, Kenseth claimed the lead, and the fourth caution came out as McMurray spun out in the tri-oval off of Harvick's bumper. Under the caution, 11 drivers did not pit, Dave Blaney (who was one lap down since lap 91) was given the free pass to move to the lead lap, and Clint Bowyer led the field at the restart on lap 187. Final lap and repercussions During the Green-White-Checkered attempt, Ryan Newman tried to squeeze it four-wide in between Casey Mears and Jimmie Johnson in the middle of the pack in turn 2 and was able to not cause a wreck. Down the backstretch, Kenseth tried to block Clint Bowyer for the lead but Kenseth touched Bowyer in the right front forcing him below the yellow line. Coming to the white flag, Tony Stewart claimed the lead in the trioval. Before the White Flag was waived, the pack behind Stewart and Kenseth had all bunched up to four-wide going four-rows back. Kenseth attempted to make a charge on the outside down the back straightaway. Entering turn three, Kenseth was leading the high lane and much of the field was bunched up behind him and Stewart. In turn four, Casey Mears started pushing Michael Waltrip and the pair made a move on the inside of Stewart. As Stewart tried to block, he was turned sideways by Waltrip's car and spun into the pack. Both Waltrip and Mears turned right to avoid Stewart, however the latter touched the former's right-rear corner and the pair smashed into the pack, with Waltrip just clipping Kevin Harvick's car and then hitting the outside wall, collecting 25 cars in all. Stewart's car went airborne and was upside down on top of several cars, including Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, and Paul Menard. Overall, the wreck collected Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Bobby Labonte, Terry Labonte, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Aric Almirola, Dave Blaney, Regan Smith, Michael Waltrip, Casey Mears, Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer, David Ragan, Paul Menard, Marcos Ambrose, Martin Truex Jr., David Gilliland, Kyle Busch, Sam Hornish Jr., Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle, Travis Kvapil, and Tony Stewart. Kenseth was the only one in front of the crash and he made it to the finish line to win the race followed by Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch, who got through by going down to the apron. Greg Biffle and Ryan Newman, who were on the outside back of the four-wide pack before the crash, managed to avoid it by slowing down and weaving through out-of-control cars to finish in sixth and ninth place respectively. Only 17 of the 25 cars that were involved in the wreck were able to finish the race. Dale Earnhardt Jr. contacted a neurosurgeon following headaches from the crash two days later, and a day later, the neurosurgeon medically disqualified Earnhardt following a concussion from being part of this crash. The next day, Earnhardt admitted in a press conference he had been concussed in an August 29 tire test at Kansas after a tire failure at speeds exceeding 300 km/h in Turn 1, and hired Regan Smith in the #88 until he was cleared. This eventually led to an official concussion protocol by NASCAR that would be in full effect by the 2014 season, including a new Chase format that would fit with the protocol to allow drivers to sit out races during the regular season.http://www.nascar.com/news/121011/dearnhardt-jr-concussion-jmenzer/index.html Junior out with concussion NASCAR October 11, 2012 Earnhardt's decision to sit out two races, and in 2016 sitting out half the season because of concussion-related symptoms, led to a more serious discussion regarding concussions in motorsport. In September 2026, the Darrell Waltrip family announced he was suffering from degenerative brain symptoms related to concussions during his NASCAR career (most notably the 1983 Daytona 500 where he was severely concussed but did not sit out races) were most likely CTE-related, and weeks later Chris Lorenzen and his sister Amanda Lorenzen Gardstrom, the children of NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Fred Lorenzen, who died in December 2024, released a statement that following Boston University research, their father was diagnosed with Stage 3 CTE. The Lorenzen family started the Fred Lorenzen Help Line, inside the Concussion and CTE Institute, for motorsport-related concussions and head injuries.NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen becomes first NASCAR driver diagnosed with CTE https://concussionandcte.org/news/press-release/nascar-hall-of-famer-fred-lorenzen-becomes-first-nascar-driver-diagnosed-with-cte/ Concussion and CTE Foundation 2026-10-20 CTE Results Race results thumb|Matt Kenseth won the race. Note: Cars that finished the final lap, despite being involved in the crash, are scored as having completed all 189 laps. Pos Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Run Points 1 17 Matt Kenseth Roush-Fenway Racing Ford 189 47 2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 189 43 3 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 189 42 4 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 189 41 5 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 189 39 6 16 Greg Biffle Roush-Fenway Racing Ford 189 39 7 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 189 37 8 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 189 37 9 39 Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 189 35 10 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 189 35 11 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 189 34 12 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 189 33 13 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 189 31 14 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 189 30 15 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 189 29 16 32 Terry Labonte FAS Lane Racing Ford 189 28 17 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 189 28 18 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 189 26 19 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 189 25 20 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 189 25 21 21 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 189 0 22 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 188 23 23 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 188 22 24 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Penske Racing Dodge 188 0 25 55 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 188 19 26 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 188 19 27 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 188 18 28 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 16 2936 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 188 15 3083 Landon Cassill BK Racing Toyota 188 14 3198 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 188 13 3220 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 187 12 3330 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Toyota 187 11 341 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 184 12 3523 Robert Richardson Jr. R3 Motorsports Toyota 180 0 3699 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 179 8 37 10 David Reutimann Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 162 7 38 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 156 6 39 51 Kurt Busch Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 98 6 40 33 Cole Whitt Circle Sport Racing Chevrolet 16 0 41 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 12 0 42 97 Timmy Hill NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 8 0 43 26 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 5 1Source:2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 Race Results https://www.racing-reference.info/race-results/2012_Good_Sam_Roadside_Assistance_500/W 2025-09-15 www.racing-reference.info The lead changed 54 times, the 39th time a race at Talladega had broken 40 official lead changes. Standings after the race Drivers' Championship standingshttp://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/30/data/standings_official.html 2012 Official Driver Standings: Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 Turner Sports NASCAR October 8, 2012 Pos Driver Points 10px 1 Brad Keselowski2,179 10px 2 Jimmie Johnson2,165 (–14) 10px 3 Denny Hamlin2,156 (–23) 10px 2 4 Kasey Kahne 2,143 (–36) 10px 1 5 Clint Bowyer 2,139 (–40) Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 10px 1 Chevrolet203 10px 2 Toyota176 10px 3 Ford147 10px 4 Dodge134 Note: Only the first twelve positions are included for the driver standings. References Sprint Cup Series 2012 2012 AAA 400 2012 Bank of America 500 collapsed Category:NASCAR races at Talladega Superspeedway Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500