85°
Date: Sunday, June 16
Start Time: 1 p.m. ET
Site: Michigan International Speedway -- Brooklyn, Mich.
Track: 2-mile oval
Laps: 200
Miles: 400
Capacity: 85,000 (Grandstand Seating)
Total purse:
Payouts:
Year: 45th
On TV: TNT
Announcers:
On Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio
Race record: Dale Jarrett, 1999 (173.997 mph)
Qualifying record: Marcos Ambrose, 2012 (203.241 mph)
2012 Finish
Defending champion: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Runner up: Tony Stewart
Pole winner: Marcos Ambrose (203.241 mph)
Top 10:
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Start: 17)
2. Tony Stewart (8)
3. Matt Kenseth (6)
4. Greg Biffle (4)
5. Jimmie Johnson (10)
6. Jeff Gordon (28)
7. Clint Bowyer (13)
8. Juan Pablo Montoya (21)
9. Marcos Ambrose (1)
10. Kevin Harvick (2)
Average speed: 139.144 mph
Time of race: 2 hrs., 52 mins., 29 secs.
Margin of victory: 5.393 secs.
Caution flags: 8 for 39 laps
Lead changes: 23 among 14 drivers
Past winners
2012 Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 139.144 mph
2011 Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 153.029 mph
2010 Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 156.386 mph
2009 Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 155.491 mph
2008 Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chevrolet, 145.375 mph
2007 Carl Edwards, Ford, 148.072 mph
2006 Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 118.788 mph
2005 Greg Biffle, Ford, 150.596 mph
2004 Ryan Newman, Dodge, 139.292 mph
2003 Kurt Busch, Ford, 131.219 mph
2002 Matt Kenseth, Ford, 154.822 mph
2001 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 134.203 mph
2000 Tony Stewart, Pontiac, 143.926 mph
1999 Dale Jarrett, Ford, 173.997 mph
1998 Mark Martin, Ford, 158.695 mph
1997 Ernie Irvan, Ford, 153.338 mph
1996 Rusty Wallace, Ford, 166.033 mph
1995 Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 134.141 mph
1994 Rusty Wallace, Ford, 125.022 mph
1993 Ricky Rudd, Chevrolet, 148.484 mph
1992 Davey Allison, Ford, 152.672 mph
1991 Davey Allison, Ford, 160.912 mph
1990 Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 150.219 mph
1989 Bill Elliott, Ford, 139.023 mph
1988 Rusty Wallace, Pontiac, 153.551 mph
1987 Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 148.454 mph
1986 Bill Elliott, Ford, 138.851 mph
1985 Bill Elliott, Ford, 144.724 mph
1984 Bill Elliott, Ford, 134.705 mph
1983 Cale Yarborough, Chevrolet, 138.728 mph
1982 Cale Yarborough, Chevrolet, 118.101 mph
1981 Bobby Allison, Buick, 130.589 mph
1980 Benny Parsons, Chevrolet, 131.808 mph
1979 Buddy Baker, Chevrolet, 135.798 mph
1978 Cale Yarborough, Oldsmobile, 149.563 mph
1977 Cale Yarborough, Chevrolet, 135.033 mph
1976 David Pearson, Mercury, 141.148 mph
1975 David Pearson, Mercury, 131.398 mph
1974 Richard Petty, Dodge, 127.098 mph
1973 David Pearson, Mercury, 153.485 mph
1972 David Pearson, Mercury, 146.639 mph
1971 Bobby Allison, Mercury, 149.567 mph
1970 Cale Yarborough, Mercury, 138.302 mph
1969 Cale Yarborough, Mercury, 139.254 mph
Last race
Race: Party in the Poconos 400 (June 9)
Site: Pocono Raceway -- Long Pond, Pa.
Miles: 400
Laps: 160
Finish line order: Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman
Time of Race: 2 hrs., 46 mins., 26 secs.
Average speed: 144.202 mph
Margin of victory: 1.208 secs.
Caution flags: 6 for 19 laps
Lead changes: 12 among 4 drivers
Lap leaders: J. Johnson - pole; C. Edwards 1-9; J. Johnson 10-27; B. J. Johnson - pole; C. Edwards 1-9; J. Johnson 10-27; B. Keselowski 28-29; J. Johnson 30-57; B. Keselowski 58-59; J. Johnson 60-67; R. Newman 68-70; J. Johnson 71-100; R. Newman 101-113; J. Johnson 114-126; R. Newman 127-129; J. Johnson 130-160.
Entry list
#1 Jamie McMurray (Joplin, MO) Chevrolet/McDonald's
#2 Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills, MI) Ford/Miller Lite
#5 Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) Chevrolet/Farmers Insurance
#7 Dave Blaney (Hartford, OH) Chevrolet/Sany
#9 Marcos Ambrose (Launceston, Australia) Ford/Stanley
#10 Danica Patrick (Roscoe, IL) Chevrolet/GoDaddy.com
#11 Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield, VA) Toyota/FedEx Express
#13 Casey Mears (Bakersfield, CA) Ford/GEICO
#14 Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN) Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1
#15 Clint Bowyer (Emporia, KS) Toyota/5-Hour Energy
#16 Greg Biffle (Vancouver, WA) Ford/3M/Give Kids a Smile
#17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Olive Branch, MS) Ford/Zest
#18 Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Toyota/M&M's
#19 Mike Bliss (Milwaukie, OR) Toyota/Plinker Tactical
#20 Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI) Toyota/Home Depot
#21 Trevor Bayne (Knoxville, TN) Ford/Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire
#22 Joey Logano (Middletown, CT) Ford/Shell/Pennzoil
#24 Jeff Gordon (Vallejo, CA) Chevrolet/Drive to End Hunger
#27 Paul Menard (Eau Claire, WI) Chevrolet/Menards/Certain Teed
#29 Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) Chevrolet/Budweiser
#30 David Stremme (South Bend, IN) Toyota/Swan Energy
#31 Jeff Burton (South Boston, VA) Chevrolet/Caterpillar
#32 Ken Schrader (Fenton, MO) Ford/Oxy Water
#33 Austin Dillon (Welcome, NC) Chevrolet/American Ethanol
#34 David Ragan (Unadilla, GA) Ford/Taco Bell
#35 Josh Wise (Riverside, CA) Ford/MDS Transport
#36 J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) Chevrolet/TBA
#38 David Gilliland (Riverside, CA) Ford/Long John Silver's
#39 Ryan Newman (South Bend, IN) Chevrolet/Quicken Loans
#42 Juan Pablo Montoya (Bogota, Colombia) Chevrolet/Target
#43 Aric Almirola (Tampa, FL) Ford/Eckrich
#44 Scott Riggs (Bahama, NC) Ford/Brabble
#47 A.J. Allmendinger (Los Gatos, CA) Toyota/Charter
#48 Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon, CA) Chevrolet/Lowe's
#51 Bobby Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) Chevrolet/Phoenix Construction
#55 Mark Martin (Batesville, AR) Toyota/Aaron's Dream Machine
#56 Martin Truex Jr. (Mayetta, NJ) Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts
#78 Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Chevrolet/Furniture Row
#83 David Reutimann (Zephyrhills, FL) Toyota/Burger King/Dr. Pepper
#87 Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) Toyota/TBA
#88 * Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Kannapolis, NC) Chevrolet/National Guard
#93 Travis Kvapil (Janesville, WI) Toyota/Burger King/Dr. Pepper
#98 Michael McDowell (Glendale, AZ) Ford/Phil Parsons Racing
#99 Carl Edwards (Columbia, MO) Ford/Fastenal
Leading contenders
| Name | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dale Earnhardt Jr | 21 | 17 | 3 | 5 | Won | 14 | 7 | 21 | Won |
| Tony Stewart | 24 | 2 | 41 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| Matt Kenseth | 7 | 4 | 13 | 42 | 3 | 20 | 14 | 2 | 3 |
| Greg Biffle | 23 | Won | 4 | 38 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 15 | 4 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 4 | 19 | 6 | 19 | 6 | 22 | 6 | 27 | 5 |
| Jeff Gordon | 38 | 32 | 8 | 9 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 6 |
| Clint Bowyer | 39 | 16 | 26 | 10 | 22 | 8 | 7 | ||
| Kevin Harvick | 17 | 25 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 18 | 19 | 14 | 10 |
| Carl Edwards | 5 | 2 | Won | 7 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 11 | |
| Brad Keselowski | 27 | 25 | 13 | ||||||
| Ryan Newman | Won | 15 | 15 | 37 | 42 | 23 | 32 | 6 | 15 |
| Mark Martin | 34 | 3 | 27 | 29 | 25 | Won | 16 | 9 | 29 |
| Kurt Busch | 11 | 12 | 9 | 25 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 30 |
| Kyle Busch | 9 | 14 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 3 | 32 | |
| Kasey Kahne | 2 | 18 | Won | 32 | 2 | 21 | 2 | 28 | 33 |
| Denny Hamlin | 12 | 14 | 14 | 3 | Won | Won | 34 | ||
| Joey Logano | 25 | 10 | 18 | 35 |
Notes
Located roughly 70 miles west of Detroit, Michigan International Speedway is a 2-mile oval with 18 degrees of banking in all of its turns, as well as 5 degrees of banking on the frontstretch and 2 degrees on the backstretch. The length of the frontstretch is 3,600 feet, and the backstretch measures 2,242 feet. Ground-breaking of this track took place on Sept. 28, 1967. It underwent a repave prior to the June 2012 race.
There have been 87 races in NASCAR's premier series held at Michigan. The track has hosted two events each season since 1969, with the exception of 1973, which had just one race there.
The inaugural Cup race at Michigan on June 15, 1969 was 500 miles in length. Cale Yarborough won that event. The second race there on Aug. 17 of that year was 600 miles long. Michigan was re-measured to 2.04 miles for the second race in 1970 and both events in 1971, with the distance being 402 miles. All other races at this track have been scheduled for 400 miles.
Bill Elliott holds the record for most starts at Michigan with 61. Elliott is not on the entry list for this race. Mark Martin's 54 starts is tops among those drivers entered.
David Pearson holds the record for most victories at Michigan with nine. Martin has five wins, which is the best among those entered.
Jack Roush has the most car owner wins at Michigan with 12, followed by Glen Wood with 11. Greg Biffle gave Roush the track record with his victory in the most recent race there last August.
David Pearson has the most pole wins at Michigan with 10, followed by Elliott with six and Jeff Gordon with five.
The race winner at Michigan has started from the pole 16 times, which is more than any other starting position there. Brian Vickers most recently did it August 2009.
Since NASCAR began using electronic timing and scoring in 1993, the closest margin of victory in a Cup race at Michigan occurred on June 10, 2001 when Gordon beat Ricky Rudd to the finish line by just 0.085 seconds.
The furthest back a driver has started and won a Cup race at Michigan is 32nd, accomplished by Mark Martin in June 2009. He drove for Hendrick Motorsports at the time.
Three active drivers scored their first poles in the series at Michigan: Jeff Burton (Aug. 18, 1996), J.J. Yeley (June 17, 2007) and Marcos Ambrose (June 17, 2012).
Two drivers entered in this race made their Cup debuts at Michigan: Carl Edwards (Aug. 22, 2004) and Landon Cassill (June 13, 2010).
No active driver won his or her first race in the series at this track.
Kurt Busch holds the record as the youngest driver to win a race at Michigan. Busch took the checkered flag there on June 15, 2003 when he was 24 years, 10 months and 11 days old. When Harry Gant was 52 years, 7 months and 6 days old, he became the oldest driver to win at this track on Aug. 16, 1992.
The next race is the June 23 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Clint Bowyer is the defending race winner.
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