2012 NAPA Auto Parts 200

Coordinates: 45°30′2.08″N 73°31′20.86″W / 45.5005778°N 73.5224611°W / 45.5005778; -73.5224611

The 2012 NAPA Auto Parts 200, the sixth running of the event, was a NASCAR Nationwide Series racing event that was held on August 18, 2012, at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in the Canadian community of Montreal, Quebec.

This was the final race ever held in Montreal for the NASCAR Nationwide Series and took place on a temporary road course. The scheduled total distance of the racing event was 200.5 miles or 322.7 kilometres. However, NASCAR officials decided to lengthen this race in an attempt to implement two attempts at a green-white-checkered finish. Kyle Busch was the most favored driver at this racing event; with sports gambling web sites giving him 5-to-2 odds for winning.^[2]

Summary

More than 27% of this race was contested under a caution flag and green flags only lasted about seven laps on average. While accidents and debris were rare; cars were known to spun into hazardous conditions and the need for full-course cautions were given out alongside the "local" cautions usually found at events that are not considered to be oval tracks. While Alex Tagliani and Sam Hornish, Jr. were the main competitors for the lead in the first seven laps of the race, the final 54 laps of the race would be a five-way struggle to win the race. Notable drivers like Jacques Villeneuve, Elliott Sadler, Alex Tagliani and Justin Allgaier would be the drivers to beat.^[3]

After three hours and seven minutes of racing, Justin Allgaier defeated Sam Hornish, Jr. by nearly four thousandths of a second in front a live audience of sixty thousand people.^[3] The pre-race ceremonies began at 2:00 PM Eastern Daylight Saving Time with the invocation in both of Canada's official languages along with the national anthems of Canada (O Canada) and the United States of America (The Star-Spangled Banner).^[4] Actual racing began at approximately 2:49 PM Eastern Daylight Saving Time and ended at approximately 5:56 PM EDT.^[2] Allgaier allegedly bumped a slower moving Jacques Villeneuve out of the way; extending his winless drought at this race track to 19 years.^[5] Villeneuve was running out of gas in the final lap of this racing event and would have needed luck to win the race. Villeneuve said when interviewed that he was not out of gas, but that Justin Allgaier won by shoving him around and said that he should have won the race.^[6] Danica Patrick was leading good deal of laps and had a decent chance to win the race. A good finish wasn't in the cards, however, as someone threw a shoe on the track for some reason. Patrick hit the shoe, which came apart on impact, and the rogue footwear broke something under her car causing her to fall back and eventually have to pit for repairs, losing laps and any chance at even scoring a top-20 finish.

Jeff Green would be the last-place finisher due to a bad vibration in his vehicle on the second lap of this 81-lap race. Brian Scott, Michael Annett, and Patrick Carpentier were promising drivers that ended up finishing in the middle of the pack. Besides Allgaier and Hornish Jr., the other finishers in the "top ten" were Jacques Villeneuve, Elliot Sadler, Ron Fellows, Michael McDowell, Mike Wallace, Billy Johnson, Austin Dillon, and Kyle Busch. There were 43 drivers on the grid; Ryan Ellis was the only driver who didn't qualify for this race.^[7] His inadequate maximum speed of 90.309 miles per hour (145.338 km/h) would be relatively slow even when qualifying for a road course event.^[8] Competitors for this race came from three different countries including: Canada, the United States of America, and Australian-born Kenny Habul.^[3] Chris Cook switched from Sprint Cup Series to Nationwide (now Xfinity) Series points at this event; earning himself 5 points for qualifying for the race and finishing in 39th place.

Prize summary

While last-place finisher Jeff Green walked away with an insignificant $19,392 in American dollars ($20,021.63 when adjusted for inflation), Justin Allgaier was justly rewarded for his victory by a payout bonus of $94,318 American dollars ($97,380.36 when adjusted for inflation).^[9]

Timeline

• Start of race: Alex Tagliani had the pole position to begin the event
• Lap 2: Vibration problems got the best of Jeff Green
• Lap 3: Sam Hornish, Jr. took over the lead from Alex Tagliani
• Lap 4: Alex Tagliani took over the lead from Sam Hornish, Jr.; Chase Miller noticed that his brakes no longer worked correctly
• Lap 5: Blake Koch noticed that his brakes stopped working
• Lap 6: Sam Hornish, Jr. took over the lead from Alex Tagliani; Matt DiBenedetto had handling problems with his vehicle
• Lap 8: Jacques Villeneuve took over the lead from Sam Hornish, Jr.
• Lap 14: Louis-Philippe Dumoulin's vehicle suffered from suspension issues
• Lap 15: Eric Curran's vehicle developed a faulty transmission
• Lap 20: Sam Hornish, Jr. took over the lead from Jacques Villeneuve
• Lap 21: Danica Patrick took over the lead from Sam Hornish, Jr.; Timmy Hill had to leave the race due to transmission issues
• Lap 30: Dexter Stacy had a terminal crash
• Lap 41: Jacques Villeneuve took over the lead from Danica Patrick
• Lap 46: Elliott Sadler took over the lead from Jacques Villeneuve; Kenny Habul had a terminal crash
• Lap 52: Jacques Villeneuve took over the lead from Elliott Sadler
• Lap 54: Cole Whitt had to retire from the race due to engine concerns
• Lap 57: Andrew Ranger noticed that his vehicle's suspension was acting strangely
• Lap 59: The drive train of John Young's vehicle became problematic
• Lap 62: Joe Nemechek's radiator started acting in a strange manner
• Lap 64: Alex Tagliani took over the lead from Jacques Villeneuve
• Lap 67: Jacques Villeneuve took over the lead from Alex Tagliani
• Lap 77: Jason Bowles noticed that his brakes no longer worked properly
• Lap 81: Justin Allgaier took over the lead from Jacques Villeneuve
• Finish: Justin Allgaier finished the event as the winner

Standings after the race

References