# 2012 AAA Texas 500

The 2012 AAA Texas 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on November 4, 2012, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Contested over 334 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) asphalt quad-oval, it was the 34th race of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the 8th race in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which ends the season. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports won the race, his 5th win of the season. Brad Keselowski finished second, and Kyle Busch third.

## Report
### Background

Texas Motor Speedway is one of ten intermediate tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway. The standard track at Texas Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long. The track's turns are banked at 24 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is five degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also has a five degree banking. The racetrack has seats for 191,122 spectators.
Before the race, Jimmie Johnson led the Drivers' Championship with 2,291 points, and Brad Keselowski stood in 2nd with 2,289 points. Clint Bowyer followed in 3rd with 2,265 points, three points ahead of Kasey Kahne and 23 ahead of Denny Hamlin in 4th and 5th. Jeff Gordon with 2,237 was nine points ahead of Martin Truex Jr., as Matt Kenseth with 2,226 points, was four points ahead of Greg Biffle and six ahead of Tony Stewart. Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 11th and 12th with 2,203 and 2,151 points, respectively.
In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 222 points, 25 points ahead of Toyota. Ford, with 164 points, was 21 points ahead of Dodge in the battle for 3rd. Stewart is the defending race winner after winning the event in 2011.

#### Entry list

| # | Driver | Team | Make | Sponsor |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | McDonald's |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Penske Racing | Dodge | Miller Lite |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | HendrickCars.com / Great Clips |
| 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | Mac Tools |
| 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | GoDaddy |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | FedEx Office |
| 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Ford | GEICO |
| 14 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Mobil 1 |
| 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 5-hour Energy |
| 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 3M |
| 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Ford EcoBoost |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Snickers |
| 19 | Mike Bliss | Humphrey Smith Racing | Toyota | Plinker Tactical / MCM Elegante |
| 20 | Joey Logano | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | The Home Depot / redbeacon.com |
| 21 | Trevor Bayne | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center |
| 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Penske Racing | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | AARP Drive to End Hunger |
| 26 | Josh Wise | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | MDS Transport |
| 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Menards / Quaker State |
| 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Rheem / Budweiser |
| 30 | David Stremme | Inception Motorsports | Toyota | Swan Racing |
| 31 | Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Caterpillar |
| 32 | Ken Schrader | FAS Lane Racing | Ford | Federated Auto Parts |
| 33 | Stephen Leicht | Circle Sport Racing | Chevrolet | Little Joe's Autos |
| 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | CertainTeed / 31-W Insulation |
| 36 | Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | Tommy Baldwin Racing |
| 37 | J. J. Yeley | Max Q Motorsports | Chevrolet | MaxQWorkForce.com |
| 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | Long John Silver's |
| 39 | Ryan Newman | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | Quicken Loans |
| 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | Huggies |
| 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | Farmland |
| 47 | Bobby Labonte | JTG Daugherty Racing | Toyota | Wounded Warrior Project |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Lowe's |
| 51 | A. J. Allmendinger | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | Phoenix Racing |
| 55 | Mark Martin | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | Aaron's Dream Machine |
| 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | Carlyle Tools by NAPA |
| 78 | Kurt Busch | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Denver Mattress |
| 79 | Kelly Bires | Go Green Racing | Ford | United Supermarkets / Randy Hill Racing |
| 83 | Landon Cassill | BK Racing | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper |
| 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Toyota | AM/FM Energy Pellet & Wood Stoves |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | National Guard / Diet Mountain Dew |
| 91 | Reed Sorenson | Humphrey Smith Racing | Toyota | Humphrey Smith Racing |
| 93 | Travis Kvapil | BK Racing | Toyota | Dr. Pepper |
| 95 | Scott Speed | Leavine Family Racing | Ford | B&D Electrical / TWD |
| 98 | Michael McDowell | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | K-Love |
| 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Aflac |

### Practice and qualifying

Three practice sessions are scheduled to be held before the race; the first on Friday, which lasted 90 minutes. The second and third are both scheduled on Saturday afternoon with the first being 50 minutes long, while the second is scheduled for 60. Truex Jr. was quickest with a time of 28.310 seconds in the first session, 0.044 seconds faster than Mark Martin. Keselowski was just off Martin's pace, followed by Bowyer, Stewart, and Aric Almirola. Kenseth was 7th, still within a half of a second of Truex's time.
46 cars were entered for qualifying, but only 43 could qualify for the race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure. Johnson clinched the 29th pole position of his career and 4th of the season, with a time of 28.261 seconds. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Biffle. Kyle Busch qualified third, Bowyer took 4th, and Truex Jr. started 5th. Joey Logano, Trevor Bayne, Keselowski, Carl Edwards and Kenseth rounded out the top ten The three drivers that failed to qualify for the race were Stephen Leicht, Kelly Bires, and David Stremme.
In the second practice session, Keselowski was fastest with a time of 28.888 seconds, 100th of a second quicker than second-placed Johnson. Hamlin took third place, ahead of Biffle, Edwards and Bowyer. Kyle Busch only managed 7th place, while Stewart was only quick enough for 8th position. In the third and final practice, Keselowski remained quickest with a time of 29.300 seconds. Bowyer followed in second, ahead of Kenseth and Johnson. Edwards was 5th quickest, with a time of 29.375 seconds. Hamlin, Sam Hornish Jr., Kyle Busch, A. J. Allmendinger, and Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the first ten positions.

## Results
### Qualifying

| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed | Grid |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.261 | 191.076 | 1 |
| 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.364 | 190.382 | 2 |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.402 | 190.128 | 3 |
| 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 28.411 | 190.067 | 4 |
| 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 28.422 | 189.994 | 5 |
| 20 | Joey Logano | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.457 | 189.760 | 6 |
| 21 | Trevor Bayne | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 28.480 | 189.607 | 7 |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Penske Racing | Dodge | 28.491 | 189.533 | 8 |
| 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.500 | 189.474 | 9 |
| 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 28.502 | 189.460 | 10 |
| 55 | Mark Martin | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 28.527 | 189.294 | 11 |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.530 | 189.274 | 12 |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.573 | 188.990 | 13 |
| 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 28.575 | 188.976 | 14 |
| 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 28.583 | 188.923 | 15 |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.602 | 188.798 | 16 |
| 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Penske Racing | Dodge | 28.628 | 188.626 | 17 |
| 78 | Kurt Busch | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 28.663 | 188.396 | 18 |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.669 | 188.357 | 19 |
| 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Ford | 28.672 | 188.337 | 20 |
| 14 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.717 | 188.042 | 21 |
| 31 | Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.724 | 187.996 | 22 |
| 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.757 | 187.780 | 23 |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.790 | 187.565 | 24 |
| 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.810 | 187.435 | 25 |
| 51 | A. J. Allmendinger | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 28.817 | 187.389 | 26 |
| 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.823 | 187.350 | 27 |
| 37 | J. J. Yeley | Max Q Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.836 | 187.266 | 28 |
| 47 | Bobby Labonte | JTG Daugherty Racing | Toyota | 28.842 | 187.227 | 29 |
| 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.899 | 186.858 | 30 |
| 95 | Scott Speed | Leavine Family Racing | Ford | 28.899 | 186.858 | 31 |
| 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.948 | 186.541 | 32 |
| 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.958 | 186.477 | 33 |
| 19 | Mike Bliss | Humphrey Smith Racing | Toyota | 28.959 | 186.471 | 34 |
| 26 | Josh Wise | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 28.968 | 186.413 | 35 |
| 39 | Ryan Newman | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 28.975 | 186.368 | 36 |
| 98 | Michael McDowell | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | 29.022 | 186.066 | 37 |
| 93 | Travis Kvapil | BK Racing | Toyota | 29.053 | 185.867 | 38 |
| 91 | Reed Sorenson | Humphrey Smith Racing | Toyota | 29.077 | 185.714 | 39 |
| 36 | Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 29.204 | 184.906 | 40 |
| 83 | Landon Cassill | BK Racing | Toyota | 29.287 | 184.382 | 41 |
| 32 | Ken Schrader | FAS Lane Racing | Ford | 29.696 | 181.843 | 42 |
| 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Toyota | 29.097 | 185.586 | 43 |
| Failed to Qualify |||||||
| 33 | Stephen Leicht | Circle Sport Racing | Chevrolet | 29.173 | 185.103 | |
| 79 | Kelly Bires | Go Green Racing | Ford | 29.494 | 183.088 | |
| 30 | David Stremme | Inception Motorsports | Toyota | 30.568 | 176.655 | |
| Source: |||||||

### Race results

| Pos | Grid | Car | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 335 | 48 |
| 2 | 8 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Penske Racing | Dodge | 335 | 43 |
| 3 | 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 335 | 42 |
| 4 | 10 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 335 | 41 |
| 5 | 21 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 335 | 39 |
| 6 | 4 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 335 | 38 |
| 7 | 19 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 335 | 37 |
| 8 | 18 | 78 | Kurt Busch | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 335 | 36 |
| 9 | 23 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 335 | 35 |
| 10 | 2 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 335 | 34 |
| 11 | 6 | 20 | Joey Logano | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 335 | 33 |
| 12 | 36 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 335 | 33 |
| 13 | 5 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 335 | 31 |
| 14 | 16 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 335 | 30 |
| 15 | 14 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 335 | 29 |
| 16 | 9 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 335 | 28 |
| 17 | 17 | 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Penske Racing | Dodge | 335 | 0 |
| 18 | 24 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 335 | 26 |
| 19 | 22 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 335 | 25 |
| 20 | 12 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 335 | 24 |
| 21 | 20 | 13 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Ford | 335 | 23 |
| 22 | 7 | 21 | Trevor Bayne | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 335 | 0 |
| 23 | 38 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | BK Racing | Toyota | 335 | 22 |
| 24 | 32 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 335 | 0 |
| 25 | 13 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 334 | 19 |
| 26 | 41 | 83 | Landon Cassill | BK Racing | Toyota | 333 | 18 |
| 27 | 27 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 332 | 17 |
| 28 | 33 | 34 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 331 | 16 |
| 29 | 11 | 55 | Mark Martin | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 329 | 15 |
| 30 | 31 | 95 | Scott Speed | Leavine Family Racing | Ford | 328 | 14 |
| 31 | 42 | 32 | Ken Schrader | FAS Lane Racing | Ford | 328 | 13 |
| 32 | 15 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 310 | 12 |
| 33 | 29 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | JTG Daugherty Racing | Toyota | 284 | 11 |
| 34 | 25 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 279 | 10 |
| 35 | 30 | 38 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 225 | 9 |
| 36 | 36 | 51 | A. J. Allmendinger | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 107 | 8 |
| 37 | 35 | 26 | Josh Wise | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 41 | 7 |
| 38 | 37 | 98 | Michael McDowell | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | 37 | 6 |
| 39 | 40 | 36 | Dave Blaney | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 37 | 5 |
| 40 | 43 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Toyota | 33 | 0 |
| 41 | 34 | 19 | Mike Bliss | Humphrey Smith Racing | Toyota | 32 | 0 |
| 42 | 28 | 37 | J. J. Yeley | Max Q Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 | 2 |
| 43 | 39 | 91 | Reed Sorenson | Humphrey Smith Racing | Toyota | 6 | 0 |
| Source: ||||||||

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 2,339 |
| | 2 | Brad Keselowski | 2,332 (–7) |
| | 3 | Clint Bowyer | 2,303 (–36) |
| | 4 | Kasey Kahne | 2,281 (–58) |
| 3 | 5 | Matt Kenseth | 2,267 (–72) |
| | 6 | Jeff Gordon | 2,267 (–72) |
| 2 | 7 | Denny Hamlin | 2,266 (–73) |
| 2 | 8 | Tony Stewart | 2,259 (–80) |
| 2 | 9 | Martin Truex Jr. | 2,259 (–80) |
| 1 | 10 | Greg Biffle | 2,256 (–83) |
| | 11 | Kevin Harvick | 2,238 (–101) |
| | 12 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 2,188 (–151) |
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Chevrolet | 231 |
| 2 | Toyota | 201 (–30) |
| 3 | Ford | 167 (–64) |
| 4 | Dodge | 149 (–82) |