Sprint Cup 2018: Race 18 -- The Second Half Begins NOW!

The 2012 Sprint Cup Season crosses its halfway threshold with its return to Daytona for tonight’s running of the Coke Zero 400, the third restrictor plate race on the schedule. Certainly, Matt Kenseth, tonight’s pole sitter and points leader commands much attention as his future for 2012 remains unannounced and speculation has made it all but certain he will be running for Joe Gibbs racing, but does he replace Joey Logano? Does he take on Home Depot sponsorship? Could there be a surprise candidate who will field the former champion and perennial Chase contender?

Beyond that the field of cars likely to race in The Chase continues to tighten and while every could, should, or might is being given Jeff Gordon as a likely contender, viewing results so far this year, his position in the points and no wins, let’s be real, things need to start changing very soon, and that means winning multiple races – no easy feat.

The sheet metal carnage seen in the Subway Jalapeno 250 Nationwide Series race should set a somber tone for the 400 mile test that will play out tonight. Drivers will be carefully monitoring temperatures with the pop off valve designed to set very low tolerance for cooling system temperature build up. Watch out for large packs of cars and individual cars trying to change positions for cooling positions. It might be cliché to  say, but the drivers who avoid the big wreck will be the ones who advance their march on the Chase.

Tonight's Lineup:

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POS		CAR		DRIVER		MAKE		SPONSOR		SPEED
1		17		Matt Kenseth		Ford		Zest		192.386
2		39		Ryan Newman		Chevrolet		Aspen Dental		192.353
3		5		Kasey Kahne		Chevrolet		HendrickCars.com		192.291
4		16		Greg Biffle		Ford		3M		192.139
5		24		Jeff Gordon		Chevrolet		Pepsi Max		192.061
6		50		Bill Elliott		Chevrolet		Walmart		192.012
7		13		Casey Mears		Ford		GEICO		191.934
8		22		AJ Allmendinger		Dodge		Shell / Pennzoil		191.894
9		2		Brad Keselowski		Dodge		Miller Lite		191.857
10		9		Marcos Ambrose		Ford		DEWALT		191.824
11		29		Kevin Harvick		Chevrolet		Budweiser Folds of Honor		191.799
12		99		Carl Edwards		Ford		Subway		191.71
13		27		Paul Menard		Chevrolet		Quaker State / Menards		191.681
14		42		Juan Montoya		Chevrolet		Target		191.579
15		21		Trevor Bayne		Ford		Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center		191.497
16		48		Jimmie Johnson		Chevrolet		Lowe's		191.477
17		43		Aric Almirola		Ford		U.S. Air Force		191.27
18		56		Martin Truex Jr.		Toyota		NAPA Batteries		191.245
19		20		Joey Logano		Toyota		Dollar General		191.229
20		31		Jeff Burton		Chevrolet		Wheaties		191.095
21		98		Mike Bliss		Ford		Phil Parsons Racing		190.986
22		18		Kyle Busch		Toyota		Interstate Batteries		190.945
23		11		Denny Hamlin		Toyota		FedEx Office		190.921
24		88		Dale Earnhardt Jr.		Chevrolet		National Guard 'An American Salute' / Diet Mountain Dew		190.848
25		78		Regan Smith		Chevrolet		Furniture Row / Farm American		190.718
26		30		David Stremme		Toyota		Stock Car Steel and Aluminum		190.666
27		34		David Ragan		Ford		MHP / 8 Hour Alert		190.617
28		55		Michael Waltrip		Toyota		Aaron's Dream Machine		190.597
29		15		Clint Bowyer		Toyota		5-hour Energy		190.557
30		1		Jamie McMurray		Chevrolet		Bass Pro Shops / NRA Museum		190.553
31		26		Josh Wise*		Ford		MDS Transport		190.174
32		38		David Gilliland		Ford		Glory Foods		190.134
33		36		Dave Blaney		Chevrolet		Golden Corral		190.118
34		32		Terry Labonte		Ford		C&J Energy		190.046
35		51		Kurt Busch		Chevrolet		Phoenix Construction Services		189.994
36		87		Joe Nemechek		Toyota		AM / FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves		189.673
37		33		Stephen Leicht*		Chevrolet		Little Joes Au5ow		188.719
38		83		Landon Cassill		Toyota		Burger King / Dr Pepper		188.683
39		10		David Reutimann		Chevrolet		Carport Empire.com/Tmone.com Call Centers		188.549
40		93		Travis Kvapil		Toyota		Burger King		187.939
41		47		Bobby Labonte+		Toyota		Kingsford		186.505
42		14		Tony Stewart		Chevrolet		Mobil 1		-
43		49		J.J. Yeley		Toyota		Jay Robinson Inc.		187.021