2012 Gatorade Duels
The 60-lap races, which drew 80,000 spectators, served as qualifiers for the 2012 Daytona 500, the premier event of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
The concept of having two separate races to determine the starting lineup of the Daytona 500 dates back to the first event in 1959.
[13] The top 35 drivers were assigned to Gatorade Duel races based on their Daytona 500 qualifying positions.
The first Duel featured drivers who qualified in odd-numbered positions, as well as the 2012 Daytona 500 pole winner.
Two eligible drivers outside the top 35 qualified for the Daytona 500 by winning two transfer slots in each Duel.
[14] After some of the cars' engines overheated while traveling in packs during the 2012 Budweiser Shootout, NASCAR increased the engines' pressure release values from 25 psi (1.7 bar) to 28 psi (1.9 bar) to help reduce overheating and mitigate the consequences of high-temperature driving.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was third-fastest, ahead of Marcos Ambrose, Mark Martin, Clint Bowyer, Michael McDowell and Kevin Harvick.
Bobby Labonte, Joe Nemechek, Bill Elliott, Michael Waltrip and Kahne completed the top ten ahead of the races.
[18] During the session, which saw drivers running in packs and drafted off each other,[2] Juan Pablo Montoya collided with Kahne and sent his car spinning into the grass on the front stretch, tearing off some of its nose.
Biffle was joined by Mears on the front row for the second race, with Jeff Gordon in third.
[19] The thirteen drivers who were not guaranteed to qualify for the Daytona 500 and were required to get into the event on speed or being the highest-placed two drivers who were not guaranteed entry were Elliott, Bayne, Robby Gordon, Kenny Wallace, Richardson, Tony Raines, Stremme, Dave Blaney, Mike Wallace, Waltrip, J. J. Yeley, Nemechek, and McDowell.
[20] The qualifying races for the 2012 Daytona 500 began at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and was broadcast live on television in the United States by Speed,[1] and by TSN2 in Canada.
[23] Commentary was provided by Mike Joy, with analysis given by former driver Darrell Waltrip and former crew chief Larry McReynolds.
[25] The weather on the grid before start of the first race were hot and humid,[26] with the air temperature was 82 °F (28 °C); a ten percent chance of rain was forecast.
Dr. L. Ronald Durham of Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, Florida began the pre-race ceremonies with an invocation.
[27] The majority of the two-vehicle draft tandems observed at the 2011 Daytona races and greatly disliked by fans appeared to be absent; vehicles could not stay connected together for long periods of time until the engine in the following car overheated.
[28][29] Following the invocation and performance of the National Anthem, three-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Ryan Lochte commanded the drivers to begin their engines.
[27] Ambrose led Denny Hamlin (both of whom chose not to pit), Almirola, Stewart, and Jamie McMurray when the race resumed on lap 14.
[27] Crew chiefs asked their drivers to conserve fuel as early as halfway through the race.
[27][33] The incident prompted the second caution, as all drivers save Stewart, Harvick, and Edwards stopped for fuel.
[3] Following the first Gatorade Duel, the Lead Category Manager at supermarket chain Harris Teeter, Steve Kravitz, commanded the drivers to start their engines.
Kenseth, who was drafting off teammate Biffle, experienced overheating issues and dropped to ninth place.
[38] Kenseth had fallen to 13th but recovered to fifth after his crew chief Jimmy Fennig put him on a fuel-only pit stop.
Six laps later, after the leaders ran single file, Johnson helped Kenseth on the outside line in preparation for a race-winning slingshot.
[38] Kenseth passed teammate Biffle on the inside of the tri-oval shortly after they began the final lap; Biffle had ignored his crew chief Matt Puccia's order to stay on the yellow line and shield the bottom of the circuit, instead veering to the outside to try to block oncoming traffic, losing momentum.
"[33] Truex commented on his team owner Waltrip's non-qualification, "It's a tough one for him, He's been coming here a long time and this race means everything to him.
[36] Patrick, along with Gilliland, Montoya and Menard, were required to drive their backup cars for the Daytona 500.
"[43] Second-place finisher Smith stated while he would have preferred to win the race, he had no complaints, "It's good to know that we have a car capable of running up front.
Harvick said the temperatures of around 80 °F (27 °C) had affected the racing, the grills were "too tight" and competitors chose to remain in a single-file formation because of overheating.
[50] Menard criticized the style of driving that was observed during both races, saying, "NASCAR is trying to dictate physics.
