nascar 2012 - race eight

Kansas City Racing Submitted by Rick A. Talford Nascar Enthusiast KANSAS CITY, KS - NASCAR’s eighth race of the season was held at the one and a half mile track on “Earth Day.” The “STP 400” was 266 laps of racing. The Pole Winner was # 22 AJ Allmindinger, with @# 29 Kevin Harvick starting beside him. The temperature at the track was in the low fifties, with winds from fifteen to thirty miles per hour. Only one car had to go to the rear after qualifying well, that was # 20 Joey Lagono. He qualified in the third spot, but had engine troubles immediately. This would be the final race held at the track, before it gets a new surface. The first caution of the race, came at lap 52. # 15 Clint Bowyer was attempting to hit pit road, when his car spun out at the entrance. He was trying to get to pit lane, due to feeling the car was down a cylinder. He eventually did take the car to the garage for repairs, and did return to the race. While the second round of pit stops was ready to begin, # 29 Kevin Harvick, as well as # 5 Kasey Kahne both ran out of fuel before they could make their stops. Both stayed on the lead lap however after the rest of the field made their stops. On lap 132, a second caution flew for debris on the race track. The pole winner had engine troubles during the pit stop. Bobbie Labonte’s # 47 also blew and engine during the caution. Before the green flag would fly again, the # 15 Clint Bowyer cars engine let go, retiring him from the race. Lap 189 would bring out the third and final caution of the race, when # 42 Jaun Montoya ran up the track and scraped the wall. There would only be 18 laps of caution for the race, leaving the race to have another record pace of over 140 mph average. With only 30 laps remaining in the race, # 51 Kurt Busch and # 24 Jeff Gordon both began having engine failures, taking them out of contention for the win. The sun began to peak out, causing the # 56 Martin Truex Jr’s car to slow just enough for # 11 Denny Hamlin to get around him for the lead. Truex Jr. had dominated the entire race after taking the lead from Allmindinger, after only 43 laps were run. Mark Martin’s # 55 Toyota then had engine troubles with just nine laps left. The Top Ten ended with Hamlin (Toyota) in Victory Lane, Truex Jr. (Toyota) second place, #48 Jimmie Johnson (Chevy), # 17 Matt Kenseth (Ford), # 16 Greg Biffle (Ford-current points leader), # 29 Kevin Harvick (Chevy), # 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Chevy), # 5 Kasey Kahne (Chevy), #99 Carl Edwards (Ford), and # 18 Kyle Busch (Toyota). The highest placing Dodge was eleventh place # 2 Brad Keselowski. Next weeks race will be held on Saturday Night at Richmond, Virginia.