2012 Pennsylvania 400
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 21 of 36 in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
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| Date | August 5, 2012 | ||
| Location | Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km) |
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| Distance | 98 laps, 245 mi (394.28 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 160 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
| Weather | Isolated thunder storms with a high temperature around 80; wind out of the S at 7 mph. | ||
| Average speed | 139.249 miles per hour (224.100 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | ||
| Time | 51.124 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 44 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 4.449 million | ||
The 2012 Pennsylvania 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on August 5, 2012 at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 98 laps of 160, it was the twenty-first race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. On August 10, 2011, track president Brandon Igdalsky announced that the race will be shortened from 500 miles to 400 miles.Jeff Gordon, from the Hendrick Motorsports racing team, won his first race of the season while Kasey Kahne finished second. Martin Truex, Jr. clinched the third position. The race later ended after 98 laps due to thunderstorms in the area. The win gave Gordon his first of the 2012 season, as well as his sixth at the track, the most at Pocono, breaking a tie with Bill Elliott.
Pocono Raceway is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Daytona International Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Pocono Raceway is a three-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track's turns are banked differently; the first is banked at 14°, the second turn at 8° and the final turn with 6°. However, each of the three straightaways are banked at 2°. Brad Keselowski was the defending race winner.
Before the race, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. led the Drivers' Championship with 731 points, and Matt Kenseth stood in second with 717. Greg Biffle was third in the Drivers' Championship with 709 points, five ahead of Jimmie Johnson and 42 ahead of Denny Hamlin in fourth and fifth. Kevin Harvick with 653 was even with Martin Truex, Jr., as Tony Stewart with 652 points, was three ahead of Brad Keselowski, and nine in front of Clint Bowyer. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with144 points, 28 ahead of Toyota. Ford, with 97 points, was fourteen points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.
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