2012 Pennsylvania 400

February 2025 NAS Pennsylvania 400 https://www.espn.com/racing/schedule/_/year/2012 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule ESPN July 30, 2012http://rotoworld.com/articles/nas/41017/229/the-pennsylvania-400 The Pennsylvania 400 NBC Sports RotoWorld.com August 1, 2012 August 2, 2012 Brown, Brian https://web.archive.org/web/20120803234003/http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/nas/41017/229/the-pennsylvania-400 August 3, 2012 dead 2012 08 5 2012 21 36 2012 Pennsylvania 400 logo.jpg Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania 2.5 4.023 98 245 394.28 160 400 643.737 Isolated thunder storms with a high temperature around 80; wind out of the S at 7 mph. 139.249 mi/h Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing 51.124 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports 44 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports ESPN Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree 4.449 million http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/08/07/cable-top-25-the-closer-tops-cable-viewership-for-week-ending-august-6-2012/144010/ https://web.archive.org/web/20120812002455/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/08/07/cable-top-25-the-closer-tops-cable-viewership-for-week-ending-august-6-2012/144010/ dead 2012-08-12 Cable Top 25: 'The Closer' Tops Cable Viewership For Week Ending August 6, 2012 - Ratings Zap2it 2012-08-14 The 2012 Pennsylvania 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on August 5, 2012 at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 98 laps of a scheduled 160, it was the twenty-first race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. On August 10, 2011, track president Brandon Igdalsky announced that the race will be shortened from 500 miles to 400 miles.Track Release http://www.nascar.com/news/110810/pocono-race-dates-shortened/index.html Pocono Cup races shortened to 400 miles in 2012 – Aug 10, 2011 Nascar.Com 2011-08-10 2012-08-13 Jeff Gordon, from the Hendrick Motorsports racing team, won his first race of the season while Kasey Kahne finished second. Martin Truex Jr. clinched the third position. The win gave Gordon his sixth at the track, at the time breaking a record shared with Bill Elliott for most wins at the track, and has since been broken by Denny Hamlin.http://www.catchfence.com/2012/sprintcup/08/05/2012-nscs-pennsylvania-400-race-results/ 2012 NSCS Pennsylvania 400 Race Results Catchfence August 13, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20160314195111/http://www.catchfence.com/2012/sprintcup/08/05/2012-nscs-pennsylvania-400-race-results March 14, 2016 deadhttp://www.altiusdirectory.com/Sports/sprint-cup-pennsylvania-500-past-winners.html Pennsylvania 400 Past Winners, History, Pennsylvania 400 Past Results, Previous Winners Altiusdirectory.com 2012-08-13 https://web.archive.org/web/20130323083654/http://www.altiusdirectory.com/Sports/sprint-cup-pennsylvania-500-past-winners.html 2013-03-23 dead The race was marred by a lightning strike which killed a spectator and injured nine others as Gordon was on his way to victory lane. The race was not red flagged (suspended) until rain hit the race track after 98 laps, 42 minutes after thunderstorm warnings were issued.David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM http://www.nascar.com/news/120805/pocono-fans-struck-by-lightning/index.html Spectator killed by lightning strike at Pocono – Aug 06, 2012 Nascar.Com 2012-08-06 The incident led to stringent policy standards for Automobile Competition Committee for the United States members (including NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA and NHRA) regarding lightning around racing venues, consistent with other sporting venues. Report Background thumb|200px|left|Pocono Raceway, the race track where the race was held. Pocono Raceway is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Daytona International Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ List of NASCAR race tracks NASCAR Turner Sports July 30, 2012 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20130101145548/http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ January 1, 2013 The standard track at Pocono Raceway is a three-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 mi km long.http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/poc/ Pocono Raceway NASCAR Turner Sports July 30, 2012 The track's turns are banked differently; the first is banked at 14°, the second turn at 8° and the final turn with 6°. However, each of the three straightaways are banked at 2°. Brad Keselowski was the defending race winner.http://racing-reference.info/race/2011_Good_Sam_RV_Insurance_500/W 2011 Good Sam RV Insurance 500 Racing-Reference USA Today Sports Media Group July 30, 2012 Before the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the Drivers' Championship with 731 points, and Matt Kenseth stood in second with 717. Greg Biffle was third in the Drivers' Championship with 709 points, five ahead of Jimmie Johnson and 42 ahead of Denny Hamlin in fourth and fifth. Kevin Harvick with 653 was even with Martin Truex Jr., as Tony Stewart with 652 points, was three ahead of Brad Keselowski, and nine in front of Clint Bowyer.Driver's Championship Classification http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/20/data/standings_official.html Turner Sports NASCAR August 2, 2012 In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 144 points, 28 ahead of Toyota. Ford, with 97 points, was fourteen points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.Manufactures' Championship Classification http://www.jayski.com/stats/2012/manu2012.htm ESPN Jayski's Silly Season Site August 2, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121130202821/http://www.jayski.com/stats/2012/manu2012.htm November 30, 2012 dead Practice and qualifying thumb|220px|right|Juan Pablo Montoya (shown here in 2007) won the pole position ahead of Denny Hamlin. Two practice sessions were held before the race on August 3, 2012. The first and second session were each 90 minutes long.http://www.jayski.com/news/races/2012/story/_/page/21-Pocono-NASCAR-Race-Info#prac Race Info Page Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site ESPN August 3, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120801080220/http://www.jayski.com/news/races/2012/story/_/page/21-Pocono-NASCAR-Race-Info#prac August 1, 2012 dead Johnson was quickest with a time of 51.638 seconds in the first session, 0.088 faster than Kyle Busch.http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/21/data/practice1_speeds.html Practice One Timing and Scoring NASCAR Turner Sports August 3, 2012 Carl Edwards was third quickest, followed by Kenseth, Biffle, and Kasey Kahne. Joey Logano was seventh, still within a three-tenths of a second of Johnson's time. Shortly before the first session concluded, Paul Menard sustained major damages to his car after crashing, causing the team to use their replacement car.http://nascar.speedtv.com/article/cup-jimmie-johnson-opens-strong-again-at-pocono-raceway/ CUP: Johnson Opens Strong Again Speed TV August 3, 2012 August 3, 2012 Jensen, Tom August 6, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120806135910/http://nascar.speedtv.com/article/cup-jimmie-johnson-opens-strong-again-at-pocono-raceway/ dead In the second and final practice session, Earnhardt Jr. was quickest with a time of 50.721 seconds.http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/21/data/practice2_speeds.html Practice Two Timing and Scoring Turner Sports NASCAR August 3, 2012 Kenseth with a time of 50.855, was second quickest, ahead of Biffle, Kyle Busch, and Edwards. Jamie McMurray, Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, and Johnson completed the first ten positions. Forty-four cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three could qualify for the race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/21/data/qual_order.html Qualifying Entry List Turner Sports NASCAR August 4, 2012 Juan Pablo Montoya clinched his eighth pole position of his career,https://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/story/2012-08-04/Juan-Pablo-Montoya-captures-pole-at-Pocono/56783926/1 Juan Pablo Montoya starts 1st at Pocono; can he stay there? USA Today August 4, 2012 August 4, 2012 Ryan, Nate Long Pond, Pennsylvania with a time of 51.124 seconds.http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/21/data/lineup.html Race Official Lineup Turner Sports NASCAR August 4, 2012 He was joined on the front row of the grid by Hamlin. Menard qualified third, Kahne took fourth, and Marcos Ambrose started fifth. Kurt Busch, Kenseth, Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman and Johnson rounded out the top ten. The driver that failed to qualify for the race was Stephen Leicht. Once the qualifying session had concluded, Montoya stated, "I know (Sunday) is going to be a reality check that we've still got to work on it a lot. But the race hasn't even started, and we haven't seen how the car works in clean air. We know there's a lot of really strong cars, but you make the right strategy and if you get track position, we've shown we've got the speed. I'm really open-minded. I told people, 'Let's enjoy today.' " Race The race started 90 minutes late due to a rain delay.https://www.sbnation.com/nascar/2012/8/5/3221751/nascar-pocono-race-update-weather-today-2012/in/2981382 NASCAR Pocono Race Underway After 90-Minute Rain Delay 5 August 2012 SBNation.com 2012-08-13 The first ten laps of the race featured two lead changes and four others as Denny Hamlin and pole-sitter Juan Pablo Montoya repassed each other four times in two laps. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was also in contention for the lead before his transmission broke, and Jimmie Johnson led the most laps, but would crash on a restart with Matt Kenseth and Hamlin in Turn 1 on Lap 91. Jeff Gordon, who was running fifth on the restart avoided the crash, and would become the new leader. Seven laps later under caution, the thunderstorm hit the track and after 98 of the scheduled 160 laps, giving Gordon his 86th career Sprint Cup win. Kasey Kahne came in second, and his contentions in the race were dashed in pit road during the final caution,NASCAR Wire Service http://www.nascar.com/news/120805/jgordon-wins-rain-shortened-pocono/index.html Gordon wins rain-shortened Pocono race – Aug 06, 2012 Nascar.Com 2012-08-06 2012-08-13 when he ran over an air hose and had a flat right-rear tire.https://www.foxnews.com/sports/cup-wild-card-race-wide-open/ CUP: Wild Card Race Wide Open Fox News 2012-08-14 Results Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Team Manufacturer Time Time in seconds Speed Speed in MPH1 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 51.124 176.043 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.196 175.795 3 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 51.245 175.627 4 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51.300 175.439 5 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 51.302 51.302 6 51 Kurt Busch Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 51.329 175.339 7 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 51.379 175.169 8 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51.390 175.131 9 39 Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 51.400 175.097 10 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51.409 175.067 11 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 51.418 175.036 12 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 51.439 174.964 13 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 51.486 174.805 14 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.489 174.795 15 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 51.541 174.618 16 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 51.558 174.561 17 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 51.596 174.432 18 55 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 51.600 174.419 19 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 51.631 174.314 20 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 51.642 51.642 21 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 51.661 174.213 22 83 Landon Cassill BK Racing Toyota 51.676 174.162 23 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 51.748 173.920 24 10 David Reutimann Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 51.852 173.571 25 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Penske Racing Dodge 51.866 173.524 26 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 51.900 173.410 27 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51.933 173.300 28 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 51.964 173.197 29 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 52.064 172.864 30 19 Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 52.138 172.619 31 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 52.213 172.371 32 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 52.314 172.038 33 23 Scott Riggs R3 Motorsports Toyota 52.351 171.917 34 26 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 52.352 171.913 35 37 J. J. Yeley Max Q Motorsports Chevrolet 52.384 171.808 36 30 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Toyota 52.436 171.638 37 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 52.556 171.246 38 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 52.692 170.804 39 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 52.737 170.658 40 91 Reed Sorenson Humphrey Smith Racing Ford 52.761 170.581 41 32 Jason White FAS Lane Racing Ford 53.611 167.876 42 36 Tony Raines Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet — — 43 98 Mike Skinner Phil Parsons Racing Ford 52.781 170.516 Failed to Qualify 33 Stephen Leicht Circle Sport Racing Chevrolet 52.790 170.487 Source: Race results thumb|Jeff Gordon was declared the winner after rain shortened the race to 98 laps. Pos Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points 1 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 98 47 2 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 98 43 3 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 98 41 42 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 98 41 514 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet 98 39 639 Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet 98 38 799 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 98 37 815 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 98 36 978 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 98 35 109 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 98 34 1127 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 98 33 1255 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 98 32 1320 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 98 31 1448 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 98 32 1516 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 98 29 1629 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 98 28 171 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 98 28 1843 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 98 26 1922 Sam Hornish Jr. Penske Racing Dodge 98 0 2042 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 98 25 2138 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 98 23 2231 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 98 22 2317 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 98 22 2410 David Reutimann Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 97 20 2593 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 97 19 2683 Landon Cassill BK Racing Toyota 97 18 2747 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 96 17 2834 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 96 16 2911 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 90 16 3051 Kurt Busch Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 84 15 3132 Jason White FAS Lane Racing Ford 81 0 3288 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 80 13 3318 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 74 11 3430 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Toyota 43 10 3513 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 40 9 3687 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 37 0 3726 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 34 7 3836 Tony Raines Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 31 6 3919 Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 29 0 4037 J. J. Yeley Max Q Motorsports Chevrolet 27 4 4198 Mike Skinner Phil Parsons Racing Ford 26 3 4291 Reed Sorenson Humphrey Smith Racing Ford 10 0 4323 Scott Riggs R3 Motorsports Toyota 9 1Source:http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/21/data/results_official.html 2012 Official Race Results : Pennsylvania 400 Turner Sports NASCAR August 8, 2012 August 9, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120809010552/http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/21/data/results_official.html dead Standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 744 2 Matt Kenseth 739 (–5) 3 Greg Biffle 738 (–6) 4 Jimmie Johnson 736 (–8) 5 Martin Truex Jr. 694 (–50) Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 153 2 Toyota 122 (–31) 3 Ford 100 (–53) 4 Dodge 87 (–66) Note: Only the top five positions are included for the driver standings. Lightning strikes After the race, a spectator was killed by a lightning strike, while nine others (one critical) were injured.David Newton https://www.espn.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/8237643/one-dead-nine-others-injured-lightning-strikes-following-nascar-race-pocono One dead, nine others injured in lightning strikes following NASCAR race at Pocono – ESPN Espn.go.com 2008-01-01 2012-08-06DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/pocono-10-injured-lightning-strike-race-16935551 Fan Hit by Lightning Goes From Critical to Stable – ABC News Abcnews.go.com 2012-08-06 The nine injured spectators were taken to area hospitals, and five of them were later taken to local hospitals for examination. The track had tweeted for fans to "seek shelter as severe lightning and heavy winds are in our area",http://articles.philly.com/2012-08-06/news/33066209_1_brandon-igdalsky-pocono-raceway-huge-crack https://archive.today/20130131140253/http://articles.philly.com/2012-08-06/news/33066209_1_brandon-igdalsky-pocono-raceway-huge-crack dead January 31, 2013 Lightning kills one at Pocono Raceway – Philly.com Articles.philly.com 2012-08-06 2012-08-11 and the fans were instructed by public address systems at the track to take cover. However, fans posted on the track's Facebook page that they could not hear the warnings, and a fan tweeted to the Associated Press that the noise levels at races are so loud that little could hear the public address system. The race wasn't called until 42 minutes after the warning, leading to questions over whether or not NASCAR should have ended the race earlier or stopped the race prior to Lap 81 (which would have led to a Monday morning resumption of the race as less than half distance was reached).https://sports.yahoo.com/news/nascar-fan-killed-lightning-race-161248151--nascar.html NASCAR fan killed by lightning strike at Pocono – Yahoo! Sports Sports.yahoo.com 2012-08-06 2012-08-13 2012-08-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20120810022036/http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nascar-fan-killed-lightning-race-161248151--nascar.html dead Race winner Jeff Gordon stated that he had heard a crack while he was on pit road. "You could tell it was very close. I mean, that's the thing that's going to take away from the victory, is the fact that somebody was affected by that." Jeff Gordon The victim, 41-year-old Brian Zimmerman from Moosic, Pennsylvania, was standing next to his car at the track's parking lot behind the Turn 3 grandstand. Bystanders had attempted to perform CPR on him until paramedics arrived. Zimmerman was later taken to the track's medical facility, and was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 6:11 pm. The victim that was in critical condition after getting struck was later in stable condition on August 6.Seth Livingstone, Special to NASCAR.COM http://www.nascar.com/news/120806/pocono-lightning-reaction/index.html Weather warnings scrutinized after fan's death – Aug 07, 2012 Nascar.Com 2012-08-07 2012-08-13 The American flag at the track was flown at half-mast the morning after the race. Pocono Raceway later established the "Pennsylvania 400 Memorial Fund" to help benefit the victims of the strikes.Westfall Bob http://www.wtrf.com/story/19216570/inside-track https://archive.today/20130209183215/http://www.wtrf.com/story/19216570/inside-track dead February 9, 2013 INSIDE TRACK: Pennsylvania 400 Memorial Fund Established to Bene – WTRF 7 News Sports Weather – Wheeling Steubenville Wtrf.com 2012-08-03 2012-08-10 On August 5, 2014, Zimmerman's wife sued NASCAR, seeking damages for negligence and wrongful death.Thompson Andrew http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/08/05/70100.htm Widow Sues NASCAR for Lightning Strike Courthouse News Service 2014-08-05 2014-08-05 A jury deemed that Pocono International Raceway was negligent, but did not find that this negligence was responsible for the death of Zimmerman. NASCAR was not found to be negligent in any of the lawsuits.Jury rules for Pocono Raceway, NASCAR in lawsuit on fan's death by lightning NBC SportsJury: NASCAR, Pocono Raceway didn't cause harm in lightning death Associated Press via USA Today Aftermath As a result, ACCUS-FIA, the governing body on motorsport in the United States that consists of the major motorsport sanctioning bodies (NASCAR, INDYCAR, IMSA, NHRA, SCCA, USAC, WKA), has adopted rules on lightning consistent with other sporting events. This applies to all motorsport in the United States governed by ACCUS-FIA members. If, at any time, weather radar detects lightning inside a 13 kilometer (eight mile) radius of the venue, spectator warnings are immediately delivered to clear the grandstands by public address system and video boards at the circuit. The race is immediately suspended, with a 30-minute suspension clock starting immediately. The safety car is deployed and leads the field to pit lane, with an immediate red flag. All race marshals are immediately sent indoors to a safe area, most transported by safety trucks. Teams then cover cars (removing electrical equipment) with drivers and crews (including media) headed to an indoor media center. For each lightning strike inside the radius (marked on the weather radar), the 30-minute clock is reset. Activity may not resume until the 13 km area suffers no lightning strikes for 30 consecutive minutes.https://www.weather.gov/media/safety/lightning/Lightning_Safety_Toolkit_Outdoor_Venues.pdf Lighting Safety: Outdoor Venues National Weather Service 2026-05-02May 2026 References External links NASCAR page Sprint Cup Series 2012 2012 Brickyard 400 2012 Finger Lakes 355 at The Glen collapsed Category:NASCAR races at Pocono Raceway Pennsylvania 400 Pennsylvania 400 Brickyard 400 Category:NASCAR controversies