AdvoCare 500 2012 Results: Reaction, Leaders and Post Race Analysis
Jeff Gordon stole Kevin Harvick’s thunder by making noise with his temper.
The 2012 AdvoCare 500 resulted in Harvick claiming his first victory of the season, but in the second-to-last race of the Chase for the Cup, that’s not what will be remembered.
The most memorable moment goes to Gordon who ignited a rare NASCAR fight late into the race. Matt Jones of KentuckySportsRadio.com, FOXSPORTS: NASCAR and Jeff Gordon Online tweeted after the brawl:
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"Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer and their crews got into an all-out brawl. Best NASCAR fight in years. Awesome
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) November 11, 2012"
"Jeff Gordon being escorted by law enforcement to talk to officials. Bowyer is out by his car talking things over with his crew.#NASCAR
— FOX SPORTS: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) November 11, 2012"
"Alan Gustafson: "It's about the 5th time (Bowyer) run us over. Evidently, he had enough.. I love Jeff Gordon. I stand by him 100%." #nascar
— Jeff Gordon Online (@JGinfo) November 11, 2012"
Now, while the fight will steal headlines, the most influential result of Sunday’s action is without a doubt Jimmie Johnson’s poor finish.
According to the Associated Press, Johnson followed back-to-back pole positions which helped lead the five-time NASCAR Cup Series champion to two straight victories by settling for 24th on Friday. It was his worst qualifying spot in a Chase race since 2010. Johnson said of his poor position (via ESPN):
"Wasn't so good, but we've been fighting a little bit in qualifying trim…The glare was pretty bad getting into the turn, then getting the power down was tough for me up off of two. Three and four were pretty good, I felt like on both of my laps, but I struggled oddly enough down there this time.
"
It proved to be the difference as he finished in 32nd place. His disappointing performance opened the door for Brad Keselowski to leapfrog him in the point’s standings and he did just that.
Keselowski finished sixth on the evening which was more than strong enough to take the lead. In doing so, he created a gap of 20 points between himself and Johnson. And now just a single race stands between the 28-year-old driver and his first title.
AdvoCare 500 Results
Check out the full results here (via ESPN.com).
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Manufacturer |
| 1 | Kevin Harvick | 29 | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Toyota |
| 3 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Toyota |
| 4 | Kasey Kahne | 5 | Chevrolet |
| 5 | Ryan Newman | 39 | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Dodge |
| 7 | Greg Biffle | 16 | Ford |
| 8 | Kurt Busch | 78 | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Paul Menard | 27 | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Mark Martin | 55 | Toyota |
| 11 | Carl Edwards | 99 | Ford |
| 12 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 42 | Chevrolet |
| 13 | Jeff Burton | 31 | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Matt Kenseth | 17 | Ford |
| 15 | Bobby Labonte | 47 | Toyota |
| 16 | Aric Almirola | 43 | Ford |
| 17 | Danica Patrick | 10 | Chevrolet |
| 18 | Marcos Ambrose | 9 | Ford |
| 19 | Tony Stewart | 14 | Chevrolet |
| 20 | Travis Kvapil | 93 | Toyota |
Chase for the Cup Standings
| Rank | Driver | Trailing |
| 1 | Brad Keselowski | --- |
| 2 | Jimmie Johnson | -20 |
| 3 | Kasey Kahne | -50 |
| 4 | Clint Bowyer | -52 |
| 5 | Denny Hamlin | -62 |
| 6 | Matt Kenseth | -74 |
| 7 | Greg Biffle | -78 |
| 8 | Kevin Harvick | -86 |
| 9 | Tony Stewart | -88 |
| 10 | Jeff Gordon | -90 |
| 11 | Martin Truex, Jr. | -111 |
| 12 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | -160 |
David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.
