# 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.

## Race report
### Background

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. 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. 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. The racetrack has seats for 97,912 spectators.
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. 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. Kyle Busch was the race's defending race winner after winning it in 2011.

### Entry list

(R) - Denotes rookie driver.
(i) - Denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Sponsor |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | McDonald's |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Penske Racing | Dodge | Miller Lite |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Farmers Insurance |
| 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | Bostitch / DeWalt |
| 10 | David Reutimann | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | Tommy Baldwin Racing |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | FedEx Freight |
| 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Ford | GEICO |
| 14 | Tony Stewart | Stewart–Haas Racing | Chevrolet | Mobil 1 / Office Depot |
| 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 5-hour Energy |
| 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 3M "Give Kids a Smile" |
| 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Ford EcoBoost |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | M&M's Brown |
| 19 | Mike Bliss (i) | Humphrey Smith Racing | Toyota | Humphrey Smith Racing |
| 20 | Joey Logano | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | The Home Depot |
| 22 | A. J. Allmendinger | Penske Racing | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | DuPont |
| 26 | Josh Wise (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | MDS Transport |
| 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | NIBCO / Menards |
| 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Jimmy John's |
| 30 | David Stremme | Inception Motorsports | Toyota | Inception Motorsports |
| 31 | Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | BB&T |
| 32 | Reed Sorenson (i) | FAS Lane Racing | Ford | Virginia Faith & Freedom Coalition |
| 33 | Stephen Leicht (R) | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | Little Joe's Autos / Link-Belt Mid-Atlantic |
| 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | Front Row Motorsports |
| 36 | Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | SealWrap |
| 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | Long John Silver's |
| 39 | Ryan Newman | Stewart–Haas Racing | Chevrolet | U. S. Army Reserve |
| 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | Target |
| 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | Smithfield |
| 47 | Bobby Labonte | JTG Daugherty Racing | Toyota | Bush's Baked Beans |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Lowe's |
| 49 | J. J. Yeley | Robinson-Blakeney Racing | Toyota | JPO Absorbents |
| 51 | Kurt Busch | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | Phoenix Construction |
| 55 | Mark Martin | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | Aaron's Dream Machine |
| 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | NAPA Brakes |
| 74 | Cole Whitt (i) | Turn One Racing | Chevrolet | Turn One Racing |
| 78 | Regan Smith | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Farm American |
| 83 | Landon Cassill | BK Racing | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper |
| 87 | Joe Nemechek (i) | NEMCO Motorsports | Toyota | AM/FM Energy Pellet & Wood Stoves |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | National Guard / Diet Mountain Dew |
| 93 | Travis Kvapil | BK Racing | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper |
| 95 | Scott Speed | Leavine Family Racing | Ford | Tommy Williams Drywall |
| 98 | Michael McDowell | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | Curb Records |
| 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Ford EcoBoost |
| Official entry list |||||

### Practice and qualifying

Two practice sessions were held before the race on Friday. The first session lasted 120 minutes long, while the second was 45 minutes long. Mark Martin was quickest with a time of 21.309 seconds in the first session, under nine-hundredths of a second faster than Biffle. 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. Also in the first session, Menard collided into the wall after his throttle stuck, causing a red-flag to clean the track. 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. Landon Cassill took third place, ahead of Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Bowyer. Michael McDowell managed to be seventh quickest.
Forty-five cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three would race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure. Martin clinched his 53rd pole position during his career, with a time of 21.040 seconds. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Edwards. Harvick qualified third, Allmendinger took fourth, and Kyle Busch started fifth. Gordon, Hamlin, Truex Jr., Kasey Kahne, and Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the first ten positions. 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.

## Results
### Qualifying

| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed | Grid |
| 55 | Mark Martin | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 21.040 | 128.327 | 1 |
| 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 21.046 | 128.290 | 2 |
| 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 21.087 | 128.041 | 3 |
| 22 | A. J. Allmendinger | Penske Racing | Dodge | 21.100 | 127.962 | 4 |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 21.101 | 127.956 | 5 |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 21.135 | 127.750 | 6 |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 21.138 | 127.732 | 7 |
| 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 21.147 | 127.678 | 8 |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 21.161 | 127.593 | 9 |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 21.169 | 127.545 | 10 |
| 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 21.184 | 127.455 | 11 |
| 39 | Ryan Newman | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 21.194 | 127.395 | 12 |
| 51 | Kurt Busch | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 21.205 | 127.328 | 13 |
| 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 21.213 | 127.280 | 14 |
| 78 | Regan Smith | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 21.225 | 127.209 | 15 |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Penske Racing | Dodge | 21.261 | 126.993 | 16 |
| 36 | Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 21.266 | 126.963 | 17 |
| 20 | Joey Logano | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 21.274 | 126.915 | 18 |
| 47 | Bobby Labonte | JTG Daugherty Racing | Toyota | 21.278 | 126.892 | 19 |
| 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 21.290 | 126.820 | 20 |
| 83 | Landon Cassill | BK Racing | Toyota | 21.294 | 126.796 | 21 |
| 14 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 21.302 | 126.749 | 22 |
| 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 21.311 | 126.695 | 23 |
| 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 21.313 | 126.683 | 24 |
| 98 | Michael McDowell | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | 21.325 | 126.612 | 25 |
| 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Ford | 21.346 | 126.487 | 26 |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 21.350 | 126.464 | 27 |
| 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 21.356 | 126.428 | 28 |
| 93 | Travis Kvapil | BK Racing | Toyota | 21.369 | 126.351 | 29 |
| 31 | Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 21.408 | 126.121 | 30 |
| 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 21.408 | 126.121 | 31 |
| 26 | Josh Wise | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 21.411 | 126.103 | 32 |
| 10 | David Reutimann | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 21.423 | 126.033 | 33 |
| 30 | David Stremme | Inception Motorsports | Toyota | 21.432 | 125.980 | 34 |
| 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Toyota | 21.448 | 125.886 | 35 |
| 95 | Scott Speed | Leavine Family Racing | Ford | 21.456 | 125.839 | 36 |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 21.485 | 125.669 | 37 |
| 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 21.503 | 125.564 | 38 |
| 19 | Mike Bliss | Humphrey-Smith Racing | Toyota | 21.545 | 125.319 | 39 |
| 33 | Stephen Leicht | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | 21.574 | 125.151 | 40 |
| 74 | Cole Whitt | Turn One Racing | Chevrolet | 21.663 | 124.636 | 41 |
| 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 21.690 | 124.481 | 42 |
| 32 | Reed Sorenson | FAS Lane Racing | Ford | 21.705 | 124.395 | 43 |
| Failed to Qualify |||||||
| 23 | Scott Riggs | R3 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 21.807 | 123.813 | |
| 49 | J. J. Yeley | Robinson-Blakeney Racing | Toyota | 22.030 | 122.560 | |
| Source: |||||||