AAA Texas 500 2012 Results: Reaction, Leaders and Post Race Analysis
Jimmie Johnson’s Sunday began and ended like the last one.
The 2012 AAA Texas 500 resulted in the five-time NASCAR Cup Series champion winning his fifth race of the season. Like last week at Martinsville in the TUMS Fast Relief 500, he started in the pole position and took advantage of it.
As his poles begin to add up, so are his wins. And as his wins begin to add up, the distance between himself and Brad Keselowski widens in the Sprint Cup Standings.
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The Associated Press reported that Keselowski was confident in where he’d start after he secured the eighth spot in the qualifying runs. He said (via ESPN):
"We're in strong position to control our own destiny as far as the Chase is concerned and having a shot at winning it. That's really about all you can ask. Certainly you'd like to have a big lead, but that's not very realistic when you're racing the best and competing against the best.
"
Keselowski would’ve leapfrogged Johnson on the leaderboard with a win. But in the end, he was forced to settle for second. Because of that, Johnson’s Sprint Cup lead grew from two to seven points.
Johnson did dominate most of the race, though, as he led 168 laps. Comparatively, Keselowski led just 75. Kyle Busch, who finished third, led 80.
In other news, while the race ended in similar fashion as last week, it didn’t start the same for everyone.
Kevin Harvick was crashed into before it even started.
"Never good when the day starts with a parachute weight hitting our car... Welcome to 2012.... twitter.com/KevinHarvick/s…
—Kevin Harvick (@KevinHarvick) November 4, 2012"
Here are the race results and current Chase for the Cup leaderboard.
AAA Texas 500 Results
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Manufacturer |
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Dodge |
| 3 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Toyota |
| 4 | Matt Kenseth | 17 | Ford |
| 5 | Tony Stewart | 14 | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Clint Bowyer | 15 | Toyota |
| 7 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 88 | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Kurt Busch | 78 | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Kevin Harvick | 29 | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Greg Biffle | 16 | Ford |
| 11 | Joey Logano | 20 | Toyota |
| 12 | Ryan Newman | 39 | Chevrolet |
| 13 | Martin Truex, Jr. | 56 | Toyota |
| 14 | Jeff Gordon | 24 | Chevrolet |
| 15 | Aric Almirola | 43 | Ford |
| 16 | Carl Edwards | 99 | Ford |
| 17 | Sam Hornish Jr. | 22 | Dodge |
| 18 | Jamie McMurray | 1 | Chevrolet |
| 19 | Jeff Burton | 31 | Chevrolet |
| 20 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Toyota |
Chase for the Cup Standings
| Rank | Driver | Trailing |
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | --- |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | -7 |
| 3 | Clint Bowyer | -36 |
| 4 | Kasey Kahne | -58 |
| 5 | Matt Kenseth | -72 |
| 6 | Jeff Gordon | -72 |
| 7 | Denny Hamlin | -73 |
| 8 | Tony Stewart | -80 |
| 9 | Martin Truex, Jr. | -80 |
| 10 | Greg Biffle | -83 |
| 11 | Kevin Harvick | -101 |
| 12 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | -151 |
David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.
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