Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 2012 Results: Reaction and Post-Race Analysis
Results of the 2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 included Matt Kenseth finishing first and Tony Stewart getting cursed.
Kenseth is currently last in the Chase for the Cup standings, but he narrowed the gap, earning 47 points on Sunday. He’s now 67 behind the leader, Brad Keselowski, who increased his lead over Jimmie Johnson to 14 points on the afternoon. Keselowski finished seventh and Johnson 17th.
How the race’s outcome adjusted the Chase standings was overshadowed, though, by the crash that Stewart, who finished 22nd, started on the final lap. He even admitted it, as, according to Nate Ryan of USA Today, he said after its conclusion:
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
"It's my fault. I take 100 percent of the blame. I was trying to win the race and stay ahead and Michael got a big head of a steam. I turned down across the front of his car. It was a mistake on my part, but it made for a bad day for a lot of other guys.
"
The “a lot of other guys” he referred to were part of a 20-car pileup.
If Stewart had passed Kenseth and won at Talladega, he would’ve put himself back in the thick of things for the Sprint Cup Series crown. Instead, he fell to seventh in the standings and 46 points behind Keselowski, who just so happened to be able to avoid the wreck Stewart caused.
Here are the top 20 finishers from Sunday’s race, as well as the current Chase for the Cup standings.
Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 Results
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Manufacturer |
| 1 | Matt Kenseth | 17 | Ford |
| 2 | Jeff Gordon | 24 | Chevrolet |
| 3 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Toyota |
| 4 | David Ragan | 34 | Ford |
| 5 | Greg Biffle | 16 | Ford |
| 6 | Regan Smith | 78 | Chevrolet |
| 7 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Dodge |
| 8 | Travis Kvapil | 93 | Toyota |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | 39 | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Jeff Burton | 31 | Chevrolet |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Toyota |
| 12 | Martin Truex Jr. | 56 | Toyota |
| 13 | Kasey Kahne | 5 | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Kevin Harvick | 29 | Chevrolet |
| 15 | David Gilliland | 38 | Ford |
| 16 | Terry Labonte | 32 | Ford |
| 17 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | Chevrolet |
| 18 | Bobby Labonte | 47 | Toyota |
| 19 | Trevor Bayne | 21 | Ford |
| 20 | Aric Almirola | 43 | Ford |
Chase for the Cup Standings
| Rank | Driver | Trailing |
| 1 | Brad Keselowski | --- |
| 2 | Jimmie Johnson | -14 |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | -20 |
| 4 | Kasey Kahne | -37 |
| 5 | Clint Bowyer | -40 |
| 6 | Jeff Gordon | -42 |
| 7 | Tony Stewart | -46 |
| 8 | Martin Truex Jr. | -47 |
| 9 | Greg Biffle | -48 |
| 10 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | -52 |
| 11 | Kevin Harvick | -52 |
| 12 | Matt Kenseth | -62 |
David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
