2012 Capital City 400

The 2012 Capital City 400 presented by Virginia Is For Lovers was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on April 28, 2012 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. Contested over 400 laps, it was the ninth race of the 2012 season. Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing took his first win of the season, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second and Tony Stewart finished third.

2012 Capital City 400
Race details[1][2]
Race 9 of 36 in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date April 28, 2012 (2012-04-28)
Location Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia
Course Permanent racing facility
0.75 mi (1.20 km)
Distance 400 laps, 300 mi (483 km)
Weather Mostly cloudy; wind out of the E at 6 mph.
Average speed 105.202 miles per hour (169.306 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Michael Waltrip Racing
Time 21.040
Most laps led
Driver Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing
Laps 211
Winner
No. 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

Race report

Background

Richmond International Raceway, the race track where the race was held.

Richmond International Raceway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Bristol Motor Speedway, Dover International Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, and Phoenix International Raceway.[3] The NASCAR race makes use of the track's standard configuration, a four-turn short track oval that is 0.75 miles (1.21 km) long.[4] The track's turns are banked at fourteen degrees. The front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at eight degrees while the back stretch has two degrees of banking.[4] The racetrack has seats for 97,912 spectators.[4]

Before the race, Greg Biffle led the Drivers' Championship with 312 points, and Martin Truex Jr. stood in second with 297. Matt Kenseth was third in the Drivers' Championship with 295 points, four ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and six ahead of Denny Hamlin in fourth and fifth. Kevin Harvick with 287 was twelve ahead of Jimmie Johnson, as Tony Stewart with 265 points, was fourteen ahead of Carl Edwards, and sixteen in front of Ryan Newman.[5] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 54 points, eight ahead of Ford. Toyota, with 43 points, was ten points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.[6] Kyle Busch was the race's defending race winner after winning it in 2011.[7]

Practice and qualifying

Mark Martin won the pole position, after having the fastest time of 21.040 seconds.

Two practice sessions were held before the race on Friday. The first session lasted 120 minutes long, while the second was 45 minutes long.[8] Mark Martin was quickest with a time of 21.309 seconds in the first session, under nine-hundredths of a second faster than Biffle.[9] Paul Menard was third, followed by Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, and Johnson. A. J. Allmendinger was seventh, still within two-tenths of a second of Martin's time.[9] Also in the first session, Menard collided into the wall after his throttle stuck, causing a red-flag to clean the track.[10] In the second practice session, Earnhardt Jr. was fastest with a time of 21.800 seconds, only 0.026 seconds quicker than second-placed Edwards.[11] Landon Cassill took third place, ahead of Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Bowyer. Michael McDowell managed to be seventh quickest.[11]

Forty-five cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three would race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.[12] Martin clinched his 53rd pole position during his career, with a time of 21.040 seconds.[13] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Edwards.[13] Harvick qualified third, Allmendinger took fourth, and Kyle Busch started fifth.[13] Gordon, Hamlin, Truex Jr., Kasey Kahne, and Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the first ten positions.[13] The two drivers who failed to qualify for the race were Scott Riggs and J. J. Yeley, who had times of 21.807 and 22.030 seconds.[13]


Results

Qualifying

No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed Grid
55Mark MartinMichael Waltrip RacingToyota21.040128.3271
99Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord21.046128.2902
29Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet21.087128.0413
22A. J. AllmendingerPenske RacingDodge21.100127.9624
18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota21.101127.9565
24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet21.135127.7506
11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota21.138127.7327
56Martin Truex Jr.Michael Waltrip RacingToyota21.147127.6788
5Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet21.161127.5939
88Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet21.169127.54510
43Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord21.184127.45511
39Ryan NewmanStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet21.194127.39512
51Kurt BuschPhoenix RacingChevrolet21.205127.32813
9Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord21.213127.28014
78Regan SmithFurniture Row RacingChevrolet21.225127.20915
2Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingDodge21.261126.99316
36Dave BlaneyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet21.266126.96317
20Joey LoganoJoe Gibbs RacingToyota21.274126.91518
47Bobby LabonteJTG Daugherty RacingToyota21.278126.89219
42Juan Pablo MontoyaEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet21.290126.82020
83Landon CassillBK RacingToyota21.294126.79621
14Tony StewartStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet21.302126.74922
15Clint BowyerMichael Waltrip RacingToyota21.311126.69523
17Matt KensethRoush Fenway RacingFord21.313126.68324
98Michael McDowellPhil Parsons RacingFord21.325126.61225
13Casey MearsGermain RacingFord21.346126.48726
48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet21.350126.46427
16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord21.356126.42828
93Travis KvapilBK RacingToyota21.369126.35129
31Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet21.408126.12130
27Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet21.408126.12131
26Josh WiseFront Row MotorsportsFord21.411126.10332
10David ReutimannTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet21.423126.03333
30David StremmeInception MotorsportsToyota21.432125.98034
87Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsToyota21.448125.88635
95Scott SpeedLeavine Family RacingFord21.456125.83936
1Jamie McMurrayEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet21.485125.66937
34David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord21.503125.56438
19Mike BlissHumphrey-Smith RacingToyota21.545125.31939
33Stephen LeichtCircle SportChevrolet21.574125.15140
74Cole WhittTurn One RacingChevrolet21.663124.63641
38David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord21.690124.48142
32Reed SorensonFAS Lane RacingFord21.705124.39543
Failed to Qualify
23Scott RiggsR3 MotorsportsChevrolet21.807123.813
49J. J. YeleyRobinson-Blakeney RacingToyota22.030122.560
Source:


References

  1. "Sprint Cup Series Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  2. Brown, Brian (April 24, 2012). "The Capital City 400". Rotoworld.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  3. "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  4. "NASCAR Tracks—The Richmond International Raceway". Richmond International Raceway. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  5. "Driver's Championship Classification". NASCAR. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  6. "Manufactures' Championship Classification". Jayski.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  7. "2011 Crown Royal Presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400". racing-reference.com. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  8. "Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site – Sprint Cup Race Info / Rundown Page". Jayski.com. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  9. "Practice One Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  10. Spencer, Lee (April 27, 2012). "Menard goes to back-up in first session". Fox Sports. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  11. "Practice Two Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  12. "Qualifying Entry List". NASCAR. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  13. "Race Official Lineup". NASCAR. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
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