In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet led with 231 points, thirty points ahead of Toyota.[7]Ford, with 167 points, was eighteen points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.[7] Kahne is the defending race winner after winning the event in 2011.[8]
Last laps
The race was won by Kevin Harvick after a green-white-checkered finish. This finish was the direct result of a heated on-track altercation between Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer. This started when, on lap 310, Bowyer made contact with the back of Gordon's car, then, a few seconds later, made more contact with the front of Gordon's car, sending him into the wall. NASCAR declared that Gordon had put himself in the wall trying to retaliate, and decided to park him for what remained of the race. When Gordon learned his penalty, he slowed down but waited for Bowyer to come back around.
Then, on Lap 311, moments before Kevin Harvick crossed the start/finish line to begin the final lap (which would have ended the race due to the caution), Gordon made contact with the right rear of Bowyer's car, sending them spinning into both Joey Logano and the wall, also taking out Aric Almirola. NASCAR officials then summoned Gordon, his crew, and owner Rick Hendrick to the NASCAR hauler to discuss his actions.
After Gordon had exited his race car in the garage, the pit crew of Bowyer confronted him and a short scuffle broke out between the pit crews of Gordon and Bowyer. No members of either pit crew were injured, nor was Gordon. Shortly afterwards, Bowyer reached his pit box and after exiting his car, began running through the paddock area towards Gordon's car hauler to confront Gordon. However upon reaching the hauler, Bowyer was restrained by officials and immediately led off. Due to the tension created by the incident between the Bowyer and Gordon crews, NASCAR had police officers stationed around the garages to avoid further altercations. While Harvick celebrated in victory lane, Gordon said "Clint's run into me numerous times during this year and I just had enough and got him back." The next week, NASCAR fined Jeff Gordon $100,000, 100 driver's points, and probation until December 31st. NASCAR's initial decision was to park Gordon for the Miami race but Gordon and boss Rick Hendrick fought their way into being allowed to race the final event, which he ended up winning over Bowyer. During the Miami weekend event, NASCAR fined Gordon's crew chief Alan Gustafson $50,000 for not controlling his driver and crews from committing the wreck, Clint Bowyer's crew chief Brian Pattie $35,000 for swearing on TV and Hendrick $5,000 for not controlling his driver.
^Brown, Brian (November 7, 2012). "The AdvoCare 500". Rotoworld.com. NBC Sports. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
^"Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved November 10, 2012.