2012 Quaker State 400

2012 Quaker State 400

Race details[1][2]
Race 17 of 36 in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season
Date	June 30, 2012 (2012-June-30)
Official name	Quaker State 400
Location	Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance	267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.542 km)
Weather	88 degrees Fahrenheit Wind NW 10 mph Partly Cloudy skies
Pole position
Driver	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
Time	29.700 seconds
Most laps led
Driver	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps	116
Winner
No. 2	Brad Keselowski	Penske Racing
Television in the United States
Network	TNT
Announcers	Larry McReynolds, Wally Dallenbach, Jr. and Kyle Petty

The 2012 Quaker State 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held 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, the race track where the race will be held.

Kentucky Speedway, is one of ten intermediate tracks to hold NASCAR races.^[3] The standard track at Kentucky Speedway is a four-turn tri-oval track that is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long.^[4] 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.^[4] The racetrack has seats for 107,000 spectators.^[5] The defending winner of the event is Kyle Busch, who won it in 2011.^[6] 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.^{[7][8][9][10]}

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

Race results

Standings after the race

References