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Brad Keselowski had the win in his hands during the inaugural Cup race at Kentucky in his hands in 2011. The No. 2 team had a slower pit stop than most of the leaders and Keselowski never recovered to contend for the win.
2012 was a different story. It was the first time Cup qualifying was held after a rain shower cancelled qualifying for the inaugural Quaker State 400 the year before.
Jimmie Johnson set the new track record with a speed of 181.818 mph with Kyle Busch starting on the outside of him.
Busch’s car was the dominant car of the night, taking the lead from the start and leading 118 of the 267 laps for the night. The 18 car faded though but still rebounded to finish tenth.
Keselowski caught Busch for the top spot on lap 34 during a long green-flag run but the No. 2 hovered around the top-five all night.
After the half-way break, Denny Hamlin and Johnson swapped the lead on several occasions before a caution on lap 210 bunched up the field.
Hamlin and Keselowski made green-flag pit stops right before the caution flew. The No. 2 team caught a lucky break when the car ran out of gas on pit road before Keselowski hit the stall.
Those who didn’t pit under the green flag came in under the caution and the Blue Deuce was out in front.
Keselowski drove away from the field and the 2 car had enough gas to take his third checkered flag of 2012. The win would be one of five during the Michigan driver’s championship season.
After falling down a lap early in the race, Kasey Kahne rallied his way back to finish second, as Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-five.
The race featured 17 lead changes among six drivers.
2012 Quaker State 400 Top-Ten