2012 Aaron's 499

February 2025 NAS Aaron's 499 https://www.espn.com/racing/schedule/_/year/2012 Sprint Cup Series Schedule ESPN April 29, 2012http://rotoworld.com/articles/nas/40453/229/the-aarons-499 The Aaron's 499 May 2, 2012 May 5, 2012 Brown, Brian https://web.archive.org/web/20120505065311/http://rotoworld.com/articles/nas/40453/229/the-aarons-499 May 5, 2012 dead 2012 5 6 2012 10 36 Talladega Superspeedway 2024.svg Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, Alabama 2.66 4.28 194 516.04 830.824 Overcast with a temperature around 90 F C; wind out of the W at 4 mph. 160.192 mi/h Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports 49.973 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing 77 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Fox Broadcasting Company Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds The 2012 Aaron's 499 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on May 6, 2012 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Contested over 194 laps (with a green-white-checkered finish), it was the tenth race of the 2012 season. Brad Keselowski of Penske Racing took his second win of the season, while Kyle Busch finished second and Matt Kenseth finished third. There were five cautions and thirty-five lead changes among nineteen different drivers throughout the course of the race.http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/cup/raceTrax?gameId=20120506022&state=RACE RaceTrax: Aaron's 499 Fox Sports May 7, 2012 The result moved Keselowski into the twelfth position in the Drivers' Championship. He remained seventy-nine points behind of first place driver Greg Biffle and thirteen ahead of thirteen placed Ryan Newman. Chevrolet maintained its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, five points ahead of Toyota and ten ahead of Ford, with twenty-six races remaining in the season. Report Background thumb|left|Talladega Superspeedway, the race track where the race was held. The track, Talladega Superspeedway, is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Daytona International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Michigan International Speedway.NASCAR Race Tracks http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ April 29, 2012 NASCAR dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110207161158/http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ February 7, 2011 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 May 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/ April 29, 2012 NASCAR dead https://web.archive.org/web/20101115200255/http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/tal/ November 15, 2010 Before the race, Greg Biffle led the Drivers' Championship with 338 points, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. stood in second with 333. Denny Hamlin was third in the Drivers' Championship with 329 points, one ahead of Matt Kenseth and thirteen ahead of Martin Truex Jr. in fourth and fifth. Jimmie Johnson with 314 was one ahead of Kevin Harvick, as Tony Stewart with 307 points, was twenty points ahead of Carl Edwards, and twenty-nine in front of Ryan Newman.Driver's Championship Classification http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/data/standings_unofficial.html NASCAR April 29, 2012 In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 60 points, eight ahead of Toyota. Ford, with 49 points, was twelve points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.Manufactures' Championship Classification http://www.jayski.com/stats/2012/manu2012.htm Jayski.com April 29, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121130202821/http://www.jayski.com/stats/2012/manu2012.htm November 30, 2012 dead Johnson was the race's defending race winner after winning it in 2011.2011 Aaron's 499 http://www.racing-reference.info/race/2011_Aarons_499/W racing-reference.com April 29, 2012 Practice and qualifying thumb|right|200px|Jeff Gordon (Las Vegas car shown) won the pole position with a time of 49.973 seconds. Two practice sessions were held before the race on Friday. The first session was 45 minutes long, while the second lasted 60 minutes.http://www.jayski.com/news/races/2012/story/_/page/10-Talladega-NASCAR-Race-Info#prac Jayski's© NASCAR Silly Season Site – Sprint Cup Race Info / Rundown Page Jayski.com April 29, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120502100504/http://www.jayski.com/news/races/2012/story/_/page/10-Talladega-NASCAR-Race-Info#prac May 2, 2012 dead Aric Almirola was quickest with a time of 48.079 seconds in the first session, two-tenths of a second faster than Michael Waltrip.http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/10/data/practice1_speeds.html Practice One Timing and Scoring NASCAR May 4, 2012 Kenseth was third, followed by Jeff Gordon, Harvick, and Brad Keselowski. Casey Mears was seventh, still within half of a second of Almirola's time. In the second practice session, Almirola remained quickest with a time of 48.677.http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/10/data/practice2_speeds.html Practice Two Timing and Scoring NASCAR May 4, 2012 Kenseth followed Almirola in the second position with a time of 48.687 seconds, 0.010 seconds slower. Biffle was third quickest, ahead of Hamlin, Regan Smith, and David Gilliland. Joey Logano followed in the seventh position with a time of 49.078 seconds. Forty-four cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three would race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/10/data/qual_order.html Qualifying Entry List NASCAR May 4, 2012 Gordon clinched the seventy-first pole position of his career with a time of 49.973 seconds, the only qualifying lap under 50 seconds.http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/10/data/lineup.html Race Lineup: Aaron's 499 NASCAR May 5, 2012 May 5, 2012http://nascar.speedtv.com/article/cup-jeff-gordon-wins-talladega-superspeedway-pole-nascar-sprint CUP: Gordon Wins Talladega Pole Speed TV May 5, 2012 May 5, 2012 Hembree, Mike May 8, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120508021336/http://nascar.speedtv.com/article/cup-jeff-gordon-wins-talladega-superspeedway-pole-nascar-sprint dead Gordon qualified differently from most of the other drivers, hoping to keep his engine cool through the qualifying laps. A. J. Allmendinger qualified 0.135 seconds behind and joined Gordon on the front row of the grid. Marcos Ambrose took third place, ahead of Almirola and Kahne in the fourth and fifth positions. Championship leader, Biffle qualified sixth, while Edwards followed in seventh. Stewart, Waltrip and Kenseth completed the first ten positions. J. J. Yeley failed to qualify for the race after positing a time of 51.402 seconds. Following the qualifying session, Gordon stated, "That's quite an accomplishment. I'm just so proud of this DuPont Chevy team. We needed something to boost our morale and something positive because we've had a rough year so far. This is a surprise. We did not expect to be sitting here now talking to you about a pole, and I think it's ironice that we've got the DuPont paint scheme, which is celebrating 20 years and then we win a pole for the 20th straight year."http://www.hendrickmotorsports.com/news/article/2012/05/05/Gordon-earns-pole-position-at-Talladega-teammates-in-top-19 Gordon earns pole position at Talladega, teammates in top 19 Hendrick Motorsports May 5, 2012 May 5, 2012 Race The race, the tenth in the season, started 2:05 p.m. EDT and was televised live in the United States on Fox. The conditions on the grid were wet before the race and overcast skies are expected.Race Summary http://www.nascar.com/lap-by-lap/120506/tallcuplbl/index.html NASCAR May 6, 2012 Rain showers before the scheduled start time of 1 p.m. EDT delayed the event by 45 minutes to 2:05 p.m. EDT. At the drop of the green flag on lap 1, polesitter Jeff Gordon maintained his lead, but was soon passed on the backstretch by the Richard Petty Motorsports tandem of Marcos Ambrose and Aric Almirola. By the time the field returned to the finish line, Matt Kenseth had shoved Tony Stewart to the lead. Stewart led until lap 16, when the first caution of the day waved after Regan Smith's engine blew. Most of the drivers pitted under the caution, and A. J. Allmendinger was penalized for speeding on pit road. Kenseth led the field at the restart on lap 20. On lap 25, Denny Hamlin pushed Michael Waltrip to the lead. Waltrip continued to lead until lap 46 when he was passed by Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. During this time, Newman retired to the garage on lap 44 on a mechanical problem. Waltrip dropped to fourth on lap 48 as he was passed by Kurt Busch. On lap 52, Matt Kenseth reclaimed the lead, though he reported a vibration in his car five laps later. The field cycled through green flag pit stops from lap 58 to lap 62. On lap 64, Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed the lead. One lap later, Jimmie Johnson's car returned to the garage for a broken oil pump belt. On lap 67, Kenseth picked up Earnhardt in turn 4. The two cars gained some headway until lap 72, where a scramble for the lead sent Earnhardt back from first place to 19th place in the course of three laps, while Jeff Gordon dropped back from third to tenth place, and Kenseth claimed the lead. On lap 81, Michael Waltrip got alongside Kenseth and dueled him for several laps. On lap 87, Waltrip gave Kasey Kahne a shove to the lead. Kahne retained the lead until lap 94 when Juan Pablo Montoya pulled up alongside him. The two cars maintained the lead until another round of green flag pit stops from lap 99 to 106. Paul Menard momentarily held the lead during the cycle before he pitted. thumb|200px|left|Brad Keselowski (Las Vegas car shown) won the race, which was his second of the season. On lap 106, Greg Biffle took the lead. On lap 111, Kenseth pushed Jeff Burton to the lead alongside Biffle. On lap 120, Kurt Busch claimed the lead. He maintained this lead for two laps, when Biffle pushed Kenseth around Busch. Kenseth retained the lead until lap 136, where Kurt Busch momentarily maintained the lead on the first two turns but was repassed by Kenseth on the back straightaway. At lap 141, Busch and Harvick ran out of fuel. As they coasted down the apron on the back straightaway, the second caution flag was waved for a nine car wreck in turns 3 and 4. It started when Aric Almirola, trying to get back above the yellow line, knocked Dave Blaney into the wall. Several more cars piled in: Landon Cassill, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Terry Labonte. Kenseth and Marcos Ambrose entered the pits after the caution flag waved and the pit road closed. As a result, they and several other drivers, including Kurt Busch and Bobby Labonte - were moved to the back of the field when the race restarted on lap 150. Paul Menard assumed the lead Two laps later, Brad Keselowski claimed the lead. On lap 159, Denny Hamlin passed Keselowski for the lead. With help from Kenseth, Casey Mears passed Hamlin three laps later, but was repassed by Hamlin a lap later. On lap 166, Keselowski returned Kenseth to the lead. On lap 175, the third caution was waved after Casey Mears cut a tire and spun in turn 2, also brushing and spinning out Trevor Bayne as he came down the banking. Denny Hamlin, Michael Waltrip, Clint Bowyer and Jamie McMurray pitted on lap 176. Kenseth led at the restart on lap 179. On lap 181, the fourth caution waved as Kurt Busch spun out in the tri-oval off of Brad Keselowski's bumper. In a notorious move, Busch drove wrong way back to the pits instead of going around the circuit, but was still scored on the lead lap. On the lap 184 restart, Kenseth continued to maintain the lead. Barely had the cars made it down the straightaway when another wreck happened as drivers shuffled around. The drivers involved in the wreck were Menard, Hamlin, Biffle, Waltrip, Harvick, Burton, Robert Richardson Jr., Stewart, and Logano. While driving back to pit road, the left rear tire on Hamlin's car disintegrated, shredding the fender and a panel onto the track. At the green flag on lap 193, Biffle pushed Kenseth clear to the lead. However, Biffle fell back on the backstretch, allowing Keselowski to take the lead with help from Kyle Busch. Keselowski held off Busch, Kenseth and Biffle to win his second Talladega race. Results Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Team Manufacturer Time Time in seconds Speed Speed in MPH1 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.973 191.624 2 22 A. J. Allmendinger Penske Racing Dodge 50.107 191.111 3 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 50.126 191.039 4 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 50.141 190.981 5 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.196 190.772 6 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.245 190.586 7 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.245 190.586 8 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 50.274 190.476 9 55 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 50.335 190.245 10 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.347 190.200 11 21 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 50.355 190.170 12 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.363 190.140 13 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 50.381 190.072 14 39 Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 50.383 190.064 15 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 50.411 189.958 16 26 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.411 189.958 17 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.425 189.906 18 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.436 189.864 19 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.454 189.797 20 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.457 189.785 21 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.482 189.691 22 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.485 189.680 23 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.506 189.601 24 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 50.518 189.556 25 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 50.539 189.477 26 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.572 189.354 27 30 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Toyota 50.578 189.331 28 32 Terry Labonte FAS Lane Racing Ford 50.618 189.182 29 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.640 189.100 30 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.647 189.073 31 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 50.653 189.051 32 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.661 189.021 33 51 Kurt Busch Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 50.671 188.984 34 10 David Reutimann Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 50.693 188.902 35 98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 50.766 188.630 36 97 Bill Elliott NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 50.890 188.171 37 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 50.933 188.012 38 36 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 51.038 187.625 39 23 Robert Richardson Jr. R3 Motorsports Toyota 51.288 186.710 40 83 Landon Cassill BK Racing Toyota 51.403 186.293 41 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 51.427 186.206 42 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 51.542 185.790 43 33 Tony Raines Circle Sport Chevrolet 51.338 186.529 Failed to Qualify 49 J. J. Yeley Robinson-Blakeney Racing Toyota 51.402 186.296 Source:Lineup Statistics http://www.motorracingnetwork.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Season-Stats/Statistics.aspx?SubSeriesID=1&YearID=41&RaceID=5580&StatType=Qualifying dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120603115505/http://www.motorracingnetwork.com/Race-Series/NASCAR-Sprint-Cup/Statistics/Season-Stats/Statistics.aspx?SubSeriesID=1&YearID=41&RaceID=5580&StatType=Qualifying June 3, 2012 May 5, 2012 MotorRacingNetwork.comJayski's® NASCAR Silly Season Site — Talladega Sprint Cup Qualifying Order/Results, Lineup http://www.jayski.com/news/stats/2012/story/_/page/10-Talladega-Qualifying-Lineup#lineup dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120507072228/http://www.jayski.com/news/stats/2012/story/_/page/10-Talladega-Qualifying-Lineup#lineup May 7, 2012 May 5, 2012 Jayski.com Race results Pos Grid Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points 113 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 194 47 221 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 194 43 310 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 194 43 45 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 194 41 56 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 194 40 624 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 194 38 732 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 194 37 811 21 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 194 0 918 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 194 36 1029 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 194 35 1123 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 194 33 124 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 194 32 1326 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 194 31 143 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 194 30 152 22 A. J. Allmendinger Penske Racing Dodge 194 29 1641 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 194 29 1717 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 194 28 1825 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 194 27 199 55 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 194 26 2033 51 Kurt Busch Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 194 25 2142 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 192 23 2234 10 David Reutimann Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 192 22 2322 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 192 22 248 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet 190 21 2520 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 184 20 2630 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 184 18 2739 23 Robert Richardson Jr. R3 Motorsports Toyota 182 0 2815 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 166 16 2928 32 Terry Labonte FAS Lane Racing Ford 143 15 3038 36 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 142 14 317 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 142 13 3212 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 142 13 331 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 142 11 3440 83 Landon Cassill BK Racing Toyota 141 10 3519 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 61 10 3614 39 Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet 42 8 3736 97 Bill Elliott NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 37 7 3843 33 Tony Raines Circle Sport Chevrolet 32 6 3927 30 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Toyota 30 5 4031 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 15 4 4137 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 7 0 4216 26 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 5 2 4335 98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 2 1Source:2012 Official Race Results : Aaron's 499 http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/10/data/results_official.html May 7, 2012 NASCAR Standings after the race Drivers' Championship standingshttp://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/10/data/standings_official.html 2012 Official Driver Standings: Aaron's 499 NASCAR May 7, 2012 Pos Driver Points 1 Greg Biffle378 2 Matt Kenseth371 3 Dale Earnhardt Jr.369 4 Denny Hamlin351 5 Kevin Harvick333 Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet63 2 Toyota58 3 Ford53 4 Dodge46 Note: Only the top five positions are included for the driver standings. References Sprint Cup Series 2012 2012 Capital City 400 2012 Bojangles' Southern 500 Category:NASCAR races at Talladega Superspeedway Aaron's 499 Aaron's 499 Aaron's 499