page_title: 2012 Daytona 500
section_title: Practice and qualification
hierarchical_section_title: 2012 Daytona 500 / Practice and qualification
caption_attribution_description: 2012 Kobalt Tools 400 in Las Vegas
context_page_description: The 2012 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The 54th iteration of the event, it was held between February 27–28, 2012 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, before a crowd of 140,000. The 202-lap race was won by Matt Kenseth driving for Roush Fenway Racing for his first win of the season and his second Daytona 500 victory. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished second and Greg Biffle came in third.
  The race was scheduled for February 26 but heavy rain forced NASCAR officials to delay it until February 27 at 7:02 p.m. EST. Carl Edwards, who won the pole position by posting the fastest lap in qualifying, was immediately passed by Biffle before the first turn. Biffle maintained this position until he was passed by Regan Smith on lap eleven. Denny Hamlin took over the lead after a second caution period and led the race for 57 laps, during which Biffle also led. Matt Kenseth assumed the first place on lap 146 and maintained it until a seventh caution period twelve laps later.
context_section_description: Seven practice sessions were held before the race. The first two were held on February 18 and ran for 120 and 105 minutes each. The next two on February 22 were shortened to 90 minutes each. Two days later, two more practice sessions were scheduled, which both ran for 60 minutes. The final practice session was held on February 25 and ran for 60 minutes. Greg Biffle was fastest with a time of 46.537 seconds in the first session, 0.011 seconds faster than Marcos Ambrose. Jeff Gordon (with a time of 46.596 seconds) was third, with Bayne, Paul Menard and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the next three positions. Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Aric Almirola and Carl Edwards rounded out the session's top ten drivers. In the second practice session, Biffle remained fastest with a time of 46.574 seconds, with Bayne 0.021 seconds slower than Biffle's lap time. Truex was third quickest, ahead of Stewart and Mark Martin. Menard, Edwards, Ambrose, Gordon and A. J. Allmendinger completed the top ten ahead of qualifying.
  Forty-nine cars were entered in the qualifier, according to NASCAR's qualifying procedure forty-three were allowed to race. Each driver ran two laps, and unlike most races during the season, the qualifying session determined the first two positions, while the rest of the drivers qualified by the 2012 Gatorade Duels. Edwards clinched his eleventh pole position of his career, his first in the Daytona 500, with a time of 46.216 seconds. The time had the fastest recorded average speed since Jeff Gordon's pole lap in the 1999 race. He was joined on the front row of the grid by teammate Biffle. It was the first time since the 2007 race that Ford cars had the top two starting positions. Bowyer who recorded the 22nd fastest time, had his car twice fail the post-race inspection for height sticks and was required to start at the rear of the field in the second Gatorade Duel race. After the qualifier, Edwards commented, "It's huge to start this year for us and this company with the run today. This is the result of a lot of hard work this offseason and we are now ready to focus on how to win this Daytona 500."
  Kenseth was quickest in the third practice session, with a time of 44.809 seconds. Bayne was second quickest with a lap 0.009 seconds slower. Stenhouse (who set a time of 44.849 seconds) was third fastest, ahead of Ambrose and Martin. Bowyer, Michael McDowell, Kevin Harvick were in the next three positions. Menard and Kahne followed in the top ten. Brad Keselowski slowed to avoid Newman which caused Bowyer to turn into Keselowski, sending him spinning into the grass on the backstretch. Keselowski's car had sustained minor damage which meant he was not required to use his back-up car as mechanics were able to repair the damage. Almirola led fourth practice (where twenty-five drivers took part) with a lap of 45.065 seconds, nearly one-tenth of a second faster than David Stremme. David Ragan was third ahead of Robert Richardson Jr. and Biffle. During the session (where drivers ran in packs and drafted off each other), Juan Pablo Montoya made contact with Kahne, who was sent spinning into the grass on the frontstretch which caused parts of his car's nose to be torn off. Kahne was required to use his back-up car for the rest of Speedweeks. Stewart and Kenseth were the winners of the Gatorade Duels. The qualifying grid was finalized with Stewart in third and Kenseth in fourth. Earnhardt, Regan Smith, Ambrose, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton and Elliott Sadler completed the top ten. The drivers that failed to qualify were Michael Waltrip, Richardson, Bill Elliott, Mike Wallace, Kenny Wallace and J.J. Yeley. After the duels, Patrick, David Gilliland, Montoya and Menard went to back-up cars because they were involved in wrecks during the first duel.
  Edwards was fastest in fifth practice with a 45.301 seconds lap, one-thousand of a second in front of Almirola. Ambrose (with a lap of 46.067) was third quickest, ahead of Montoya and Biffle. Kahne and Gordon were sixth and seventh quickest, within one second of Edwards' time. Kyle Busch (with a time of 45.026
caption: Carl Edwards qualified on pole, the eleventh of his career.
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