The 2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 is the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car race held on October 7, 2012 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, USA. The contest is over 188 laps at 2.66 miles (4.3 km) of tri-oval asphalt, it is the thirtieth race of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the fourth race in the ten race race for the Sprint Cup, which ends the season.
Matt Kenseth of Roush Fenway Racing won the race, the second of the season, and booked ninety-nine races without races stretching back to Daytona 500; while Jeff Gordon was second and Kyle Busch came in third. The Big One crashed into the field on the last lap, collecting 25 cars in turn four, with Tony Stewart flying in the air after being tagged by Michael Waltrip.
Video 2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500
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Talladega Superspeedway is one of six superspeedways to hold the NASCAR race; others are Daytona International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway, and Michigan International Speedway. The standard line on the speedway is a four-round superspeedway that is 2.66 miles long (4.28 km). The trajectory turns thirty-three degrees, while the front stretch, the finish line location, is deflected at 16.5 degrees. Stretching back has two degrees of banking. Talladega Superspeedway can accommodate up to 143,231 people.
Before the race, Brad Keselowski led the drivers' championship with 2,142 points, and Jimmie Johnson was second with 2,137 points. Denny Hamlin followed him 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 seven points ahead of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., as Martin Truex, Jr. with 2,100 points, four points ahead of Kevin Harvick, and six ahead of Jeff Gordon. Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth are the eleventh and twelfth with 2,091 and 2,070 points respectively.
In the Manufacturing Championship, Chevrolet leads with 197 points, twenty-five points ahead of Toyota. Ford, with 138 points, seven points ahead of Dodge in the battle for a third. Clint Bowyer is the reigning champion of the race after winning the event in 2011.
Race
To start the pre-race ceremony, Billy Irvin, a volunteer with Alabama Raceway Ministries and director of service relations with FAITH Radio in Montgomery, Alabama, delivered the prayer. Later, singer Raelynn performed the national anthem. At 2:11 pm, actor Kevin James gave the order to start the engine.
Under the green flag, Kasey Kahne took the lead, and continued to lead for the first ten laps. On lap 11, Trevor Bayne leads with the help of drafting from Clint Bowyer. Three laps later, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. claimed the lead. Earnhardt, Jr. leading two laps before being skipped by Kyle Busch.
On lap 17, the first warning came out for three car accidents in turn 4 that eliminated Carl Edwards and Cole Whitt from the showdown, and also gave some heavy damage to Joey Logano. Kyle Busch continued to lead the field when a green flag waved on lap 22. Two laps later, Matt Kenseth passed Busch to the lead. Kenseth leads for ten laps, before Earnhardt, Jr passes by. On lap 35, Denny Hamlin reported a loose mirror in his car. Earnhardt, Jr. led for seven laps before being released by Kenseth on lap 41. One lap later, Kenseth escaped from Greg Biffle's bumper, and he went from position 1 to 31 in seconds, while Earnhardt, Jr. receive lead. On lap 50, Casey Mears received a clue. One lap later, Mears was authorized by Jeff Burton, who led two laps before Bayne received the lead.
On lap 58, Mears has reclaimed his lead. From lap 60 to round 62, the field is moved through a green pit stop. Earnhardt, Jr., Bayne, Kyle Busch, and others received a quick punishment. These penalties eventually resulted in Earnhardt, Jr. and Busch are caught one lap down for a significant part of the mid-race section. On lap 64, Jimmie Johnson leads. On lap 73, Jeff Gordon passed Johnson with the help of a draft from Kenseth. On lap 83, Jamie McMurray leads.
On lap 90, Kurt Busch, in his last start for Phoenix Racing, received the advantage. Five laps later, Kenseth leads. He led for two laps before Busch repeated it. Two laps after that, the second caution of the race waved when Kasey Kahne ran out of fuel, and simultaneously, Busch immediately turned back by Jamie McMurray. Although his car was damaged by crashing into an inner wall, Busch was able to repair the engine, after the emergency crew had reached him. A medical bag sitting on top of the car was then thrown from the back deck. NASCAR parked Busch for pulling away and trying to get back to the garage even though his car was in ruins.
On a restart on lap 104, Marcos Ambrose was the leader, but skipped over the next round by Kenseth. On lap 121, Kyle Busch broke into the tail end of the lap, driven by Mears. On lap 127, Greg Biffle led for one lap before being replaced by Kenseth. Four laps after that, Biffle pushed McMurray into the lead. Busch is shuffled back as long as this green flag goes.
On lap 139, the third warning flag of the race was swung for debris. Earnhardt, Jr. returned to the main lap and Kyle Busch returned to the lead lap with a free pass. When restarting on lap 143, Casey Mears leads again. After a while, Biffle passed by. On lap 151, McMurray received a clue. One lap later, Biffle responded. On lap 155, Kevin Harvick gave McMurray a push to regain the lead for two laps. In lap 168, Harvick became leader. He leads three laps before Mears leads. On lap 173, the boss returned to McMurray. On lap 182, Kenseth claimed the lead, and a fourth caution came out when McMurray spun out in a tri-oval of the Harvick bumper. Carefully, the 11 riders did not jostle, so Clint Bowyer led the field on a reload on lap 187.
Last round and reaction
Coming to the white flag, Tony Stewart claimed the lead as Kenseth made the charge outside straight back. Entering the age of three, Kenseth leads a high lane and most of the field is gathered behind him and Stewart. In turn four, Michael Waltrip received a lump from Casey Mears and made a move on the inside of Stewart. When Stewart tried to block, he turned sideways by Waltrip's car and spun into the package. Waltrip just cut Kevin Harvick's car and then hit the outside wall, collecting 25 cars. Stewart's car floated in the air and overturned over several cars, including Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, and Paul Menard. Kenseth was the only one in front of the accident and he made it to the finish line to win the race followed by Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch, who made it past him down to the apron. Greg Biffle and Ryan Newman, who were behind the packet four wide before the accident, managed to avoid it by slowing down.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. contacted a neurosurgeon after a headache from an accident two days later, and a day later, a medical neurosurgeon disqualified Earnhardt after a concussion as part of the accident. The next day, Earnhardt admitted in a press conference he had concussed in an August 29 tire test in Kansas after a tire failure at speeds exceeding 300 kilometers per hour in Turn 1, and hired Regan Smith at # 88 until he was released. This eventually led to the official concussion protocol by NASCAR which will be in full force in the 2014 season, including the new Chase format that will conform to the protocol.
Maps 2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500
Results
Race Results
Note: The car completing the last round, even though involved in an accident, is judged to have completed all 189 rounds.
The lead turned 54 times, the 39th time the race at Talladega has breached 40 official lead changes.
Standings after race
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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