The 2012 Finger Lakes 355 at The Glen was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...

stock car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

race held on August 12, 2012 at the

Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...

Watkins Glen, New York Watkins Glen is a village and census-designated place in and the county seat of Schuyler County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,829. Watkins Glen lies within the towns of Dix and Reading. To the southwest ...

. Contested over 90 laps, it was the twenty-second race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and the second of two

road course Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

competitions on the schedule. After the tragedy at the previous race, the track prepared in the event that thunderstorms pass through the track. The track had set up more than 30 police cars with loudspeakers, nine television screens, and the staff has text message availabilities, all intended on warning fans of any thunderstorms approaching.

Marcos Ambrose Marcos Ambrose (born 1 September 1976) is an Australian former racing driver and current Garry Rogers Motorsport competition director. He won the Australian V8 Supercar series' championship in 2003 and 2004. In 2006, Ambrose relocated to the Un ...

, from the

Richard Petty Motorsports Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded as a result of the merger between Gillett Evernham Motorsports (GEM) and Petty Enterprises, with ...

racing team, won the race ahead of

Brad Keselowski Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing, a team he also ...

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...

finished in the third position. The race was most notable for a "chaotic" finish.

Report

Background

is one of two road courses to hold

races, the other being

Sonoma Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southe ...

. The standard short road course at Watkins Glen International is a 7-turn course that is long; the track was modified in 1992, adding ''the Inner Loop'', which lengthened the long course to and the short course to the current length of .

was the defending race winner after winning the race in 2011.

Results

Qualifying

Final Lap

With three laps to go and

Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-time ...

leading,

Bobby Labonte Robert Allen Labonte (born May 8, 1964) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and current analyst for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He also currently competes full-time in the Superstar Racing Experience, driving the No. 18 car. L ...

's number 47 suffered a drawn-out engine failure, leaving oil all around the track.

passed

to challenge Busch for the final lap. Busch was losing traction from the oil, and slid up the racetrack, followed by Ambrose. Keselowski attempted to pass on the inside, blocked by Busch with car-to-car contact causing Busch to spin, leaving Keselowski in the lead with a damaged front quarter. Keselowski and Ambrose battled hard for first place, both driving through the grass to avoid more oil in turn 8. Ambrose took the flag, followed by Keselowski. Busch finished 7th.

Race results

References

{{2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup , state=collapsed NASCAR races at Watkins Glen International Finger Lakes 355 at The Glen Finger Lakes 355 at The Glen Finger Lakes 355 at The Glen