The 2012 AdvoCare 500 was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

stock car race held on November 11, 2012, at Phoenix International Speedway in Avondale,

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. Contested over 319 laps on the 1-mile (1.6 km) asphalt tri-oval, it was the thirty-fifth race of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the ninth race in the ten-race

Chase for the Sprint Cup The NASCAR playoffs, formerly officially known as the Chase for the Nextel/Sprint Cup (Nextel from 2004–2007, Sprint from 2008–2016), is a championship playoff system used in NASCAR's three national series. The system was founded as The Ch ...

, which ends the season.

Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and commentator for '' NASCAR on Fox''. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewa ...

Richard Childress Racing Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard C ...

won the race, his only win of the season, while

Denny Hamlin James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also co-owns and op ...

finished second and

Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and par ...

finished third.

Report

Background

Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway (formerly known as ISM Raceway from 2018–2020, Phoenix International Raceway from 1964–1973 and 1976–2017, and FasTrack International Speedway from 1973–1976) is a dogleg oval track in Avondale, Arizona. The track has ...

is one of five short tracks to hold

races; the others are

Richmond International Raceway Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It currently hosts one NASCAR Cup Series race weekend and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. It formerly h ...

Dover International Speedway Dover Motor Speedway (formerly known as the Dover International Speedway from 2002 to 2021 and as the Dover Downs International Speedway from 1969 to 2001) is a oval track in Dover, Delaware. The venue has hosted major events since its inaugu ...

Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol Motor Speedway (formerly known as the Bristol International Raceway from 1978 to 1996 and as the Bristol International Speedway from 1961 to 1978) is a oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in Bristol, Tennessee. The track ha ...

, and

Martinsville Speedway Martinsville Speedway is a oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, United States, a community of Martinsville, Virginia. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1947, primarily events sanctione ...

. The standard track at Phoenix International Raceway is a four-turn short track

oval An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas of mathematics (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.), it is given a more precise definition, which may inc ...

that is long. The first two turns are banked from 10 to 11 degrees, while the final two turns are banked from 8 to 9 degrees. The front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at three degrees. The back stretch, nicknamed the 'dogleg', varies from 10 to 11 degree banking. The racetrack has seats for 76,800 spectators. Before the race,

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club. Johnson has won seven Cup ch ...

led the Drivers' Championship with 2,339 points, and

Brad Keselowski Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RFK Racing, a te ...

stood in second with 2,332 points.

Clint Bowyer Clinton Aaron Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and commentator for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado ...

followed in third with 2,303 points, twenty-two points ahead of

Kasey Kahne Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American professional dirt track racing and stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet SS for Richard Childress Racing. Currently, K ...

and thirty-six ahead of

Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and the current competition advisor for Legacy Motor Club in the NASCAR Cup Series. Most recently, he raced part-time in the Superstar Racing Exper ...

in fourth and fifth.

Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American stock car racing executive and former professional stock car racing driver who currently serves as the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, d ...

with 2,267 was one point ahead of

, as

Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed "Smoke", is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver, and former NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. He currently competes in the NHRA Top Fuel class. He is a four-t ...

with 2,259 points, was tied with

Martin Truex Jr. Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 56 Toyota Camry XSE for Tricon Garage. He is the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series ...

and three ahead of

Greg Biffle Gregory Jack Biffle (born December 23, 1969), nicknamed "the Biff", is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. After racing in the NASCAR Winter Heat Series in the mid-1990s, he was recommended to Jack Roush by former race ...

and

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and broadcaster. A third-generation driver, he is the son of the late 7-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt and relative ...

was eleventh and twelfth with 2,238 and 2,188 points, respectively. In the Manufacturers' Championship,

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

led with 231 points, thirty points ahead of

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, with 167 points, was eighteen points ahead of

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

in the battle for third. Kahne is the defending race winner after winning the event in 2011.

Last laps

The race was won by

after a green-white-checkered finish. This finish was the direct result of a heated on-track altercation between

and

. This started when, on lap 310, Bowyer made contact with the back of Gordon's car, then, a few seconds later, made more contact with the front of Gordon's car, sending him into the wall. NASCAR declared that Gordon had put himself in the wall trying to retaliate, and decided to park him for what remained of the race. When Gordon learned his penalty, he slowed down but waited for Bowyer to come back around. Then, on Lap 311, moments before

crossed the start/finish line to begin the final lap (which would have ended the race due to the caution), Gordon made contact with the right rear of Bowyer's car, sending them spinning into both

Joey Logano Joseph Thomas Logano (born May 24, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No.22 Ford Mustang (seventh generation), Ford Mustang Dark Horse for NASCAR operations of Tea ...

and the wall, also taking out

Aric Almirola Aric Michael Almirola (born March 14, 1984) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. Almirola previously compete ...

. NASCAR officials then summoned Gordon, his crew, and owner

Rick Hendrick Joseph Riddick "Rick" Hendrick III (born July 12, 1949) is an American businessman. He is best known as the owner of the NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports. He is also a co-owner of JR Motorsports and founder of the Hendrick Automotive Group, the l ...

to the NASCAR hauler to discuss his actions. After Gordon had exited his race car in the garage, the pit crew of Bowyer confronted him and a short scuffle broke out between the pit crews of Gordon and Bowyer. No members of either pit crew were injured, nor was Gordon. Shortly afterwards, Bowyer reached his pit box and after exiting his car, began running through the paddock area towards Gordon's car hauler to confront Gordon. However upon reaching the hauler, Bowyer was restrained by officials and immediately led off. Due to the tension created by the incident between the Bowyer and Gordon crews, NASCAR had police officers stationed around the garages to avoid further altercations. While Harvick celebrated in victory lane, Gordon said ''"Clint's run into me numerous times during this year and I just had enough and got him back."'' The next week, NASCAR fined Jeff Gordon $100,000, 100 driver's points, and probation until December 31. NASCAR's initial decision was to park Gordon for the Miami race but Gordon and boss Rick Hendrick fought their way into being allowed to race the final event, which he ended up winning over Bowyer. During the Miami weekend event, NASCAR fined Gordon's crew chief

Alan Gustafson Alan Arthur Gustafson (born August 5, 1975) is an American NASCAR Cup Series crew chief who works for Hendrick Motorsports as the crew chief of their No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driven by Chase Elliott in the NASCAR Cup Series. He and Elliott won ...

$50,000 for not controlling his driver and crews from committing the wreck, Clint Bowyer's crew chief Brian Pattie $35,000 for swearing on TV and Hendrick $5,000 for not controlling his driver.

References

{{2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup , state=collapsed NASCAR races at Phoenix Raceway

AdvoCare 500 (Phoenix) The NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Joey Logano is the defending winner of the event. It is one of five NASCAR races run with a length measu ...

AdvoCare 500 The Ambetter Health 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. Christopher Bell (racing driver), Christopher Bell is the defending race winner. This race was originally Atlanta ...