2012 Moscow shooting, Perpetrator
Police arrested 29-year-old Dmitry Vinogradov, a lawyer at the Rigla pharmaceutical company that owned the warehouse. He was reported to have gone on a five-day drinking binge after being jilted by a co-worker. On 8 November, Vinogradav apologized in court and pleaded that he had "no other choice". He also said that he had wanted to kill himself after the massacre, but was prevented from doing so. An investigator said that Vinogradov had been planning the shooting spree since January. Vinogradov believed killing as many things related to humans was the only way to make the world better. Vinogradov was captured on security cameras moments before the shooting began. Vinogradov was sentenced to life imprisonment on 9 September 2013 and was ordered to pay $300,000 to victims' families for damages, as well as being fined $9,000 for publishing his manifesto.


2012 Moselle Open
The 2012 Moselle Open was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the tenth edition of the Moselle Open, and part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2012 ATP World Tour. It was held at the Parc des Expositions de Metz Métropole in Metz, France, from 17 September to 23 September 2012. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won the singles title. First-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won the singles title.


2012 Moselle Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wild cards into the singles main draw:


2012 Moselle Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received entry from the singles qualifying draw:


2012 Moselle Open, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2012 Moselle Open, Finals, Doubles
Nicolas Mahut /  Édouard Roger-Vasselin defeated  Johan Brunström /  Frederik Nielsen, 7–6(3), 6–4


2012 Moselle Open – Doubles
Jamie Murray and André Sá were the defending champions, but lost in the first round to Xavier Malisse and Alexander Waske. Nicolas Mahut and Édouard Roger-Vasselin defeated Johan Brunström and Frederik Nielsen in the final, 7–6(7–3), 6–4. It was Mahut and Roger-Vasselin's third ATP World Tour doubles title of the year.


2012 Moselle Open – Singles
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga successfully defended his title, defeating Andreas Seppi in the final, 6–1, 6–2.


2012 Moselle Open – Singles, Seeds
The top four seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2012 Motegi GT 250km
The 2012 Motegi GT 250km was the eighth and final points scoring round of the 2012 Super GT season. It took place on October 28, 2012.


2012 Motocross des Nations
The 2012 Motocross des Nations was a motocross race held on 29 September and 30 September 2012 in Lommel, Belgium.


2012 Motocross des Nations, Preview
For the first time in the last few years it looked as though the deep and energy-sapping sands of Lommel may offer up a chance for the European teams to un-seat the United States and end their 7-year winning streak. The Americans entered as reigning champions, but had three riders who had never experienced this sort of sand before. 2012 AMA MX1 Champion, Ryan Dungey led the charge and had been rarely beaten throughout the American season. Blake Baggett, 2012 AMA MX2 champion and Justin Barcia had shown great speed throughout the season, whilst battling each other for the American MX2 crown.


2012 Motocross des Nations, Preview
The home team Belgium had three riders who were looking in great form, and most importantly for this event, consistent. Clement Desalle had had an injury free season and was the only real challenger to Tony Cairoli throughout the GP season. The same could be said of MX2 rider Jeremy van Horebeek, who finished in third place in the MX2 Grand Prix and was in his last year riding a 250cc machine before moving up to the MX1 class for 2013.


2012 Motocross des Nations, Preview
The final member of the team Ken de Dycker had been picked up by KTM in 2012 to stand in for the injured Max Nagl, he stayed with the manufacturer once Nagl had returned and had played second fiddle to his world champion teammate Tony Cairoli throughout much of the season, when it looked as though he had the speed to beat him.


2012 Motocross des Nations, Preview
Cairoli himself had won yet another world title, mostly un-opposed, and led the Italian team which contained, Husqvarna factory rider and mid-pack MX2 runner Alessandro Lupino and Marchetti KTM MX1 racer Davide Guarneri. Neither could be described as sand riders though.


2012 Motocross des Nations, Preview
The MX2 world champion Jeffrey Herlings had an outside chance of taking to the top-step of the podium, but would have to carry potentially bad results from British Championship MX1 rider Marc de Reuver and fellow MX2 grand prix star Glenn Coldenhoff.


2012 Motocross des Nations, Preview
Germany had turned out their strongest team for some years. Max Nagl had spent the majority of the season out injured but came back with a bang in the final few rounds of the year. Ken Roczen had come back from a tough debut year in the United States, but had been picking up form and Markus Schiffer was capable of top 10 MX1 grand prix pace.


2012 Motocross des Nations, Preview
Last year's runners up France had a full strength team but weren't great in such deep sand, the same could be said for Great Britain.


2012 Motocross des Nations, Preview
Australia finished third in 2011, but where stricken by injuries to both Chad Reed and Brett Metcalfe, along with MX2 GP runner Dean Ferris. This years team consisted wholly of Australian Championship riders, and no-one knew how they would cope.


2012 Motocross des Nations, Preview
Injuries were a problem for many other teams. South Africa weren't expected to do as well as last year as they'd lost both Tyla Rattray and Gareth Swanepoel. Spain had lost number 1 rider Jonathan Barragan, Japan had lost both Yoshitaka Atsuta and Akira Narita, Finland legend Antti Pyrhonen had retired and Austria had lost both Pascal Raucheneker and Gunter Schmidiger.


2012 Motocross des Nations, Preview
For New Zealand legend and former MX1 world championship runner up Joshua Coppins this would be his last professional event before retirement.


2012 Motocross des Nations, Preview
Mongolia were scheduled to return to the MXDN but canceled at the last minute because of logistical reasons. An under-strength Brazil side were flown out to replace them but it was a team without any of its countries top 5 riders.


2012 Motocross des Nations, Entry List
The entry list is taken from the official Motocross World Championship website.


2012 Motocross des Nations, B Final
Note 1: New Zealand won the B final which meant they qualified for the main races.


2012 Motocross des Nations, B Final, Race
Note 1: Denmark and Switzerland both lost one rider through injury and Finland lost two, their scores are placed differently from the rest of the field who lost no riders.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash
On 9 May 2012, a Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner on a demonstration tour in Indonesia crashed into Mount Salak, in the province of West Java. All 37 passengers and 8 crew on board were killed. The plane had taken off minutes before from Jakarta's Halim Airport on a promotional flight for the recently launched jet, and was carrying Sukhoi personnel and representatives of various local airlines.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash
The subsequent investigation concluded that the flight crew was unaware of the presence of high ground in the area and ignored warnings from the terrain warning system, incorrectly attributing them to a system malfunction while their view was obstructed because of thick cloud cover. It was also established that in the minutes leading to the accident, the crew, including the captain, were engaged in conversation with prospective customers present in the cockpit. The crash is both the first hull loss and first fatal accident involving a Sukhoi Superjet 100.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Background, Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident was a Sukhoi Superjet 100, registration RA-97004, msn 95004. The aircraft was manufactured in 2009 and had accumulated over 800 flight hours at the time of the accident. The Superjet 100 is the first production airliner model produced in Russia since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Background, Demonstration tour
The jet was flying as part of a "Welcome Asia!" demonstration tour. With a different jet, a demo flight had been flown successfully in Kazakhstan, but when the tour moved to Pakistan, potential buyers could see the aircraft only on the runway as no flight took place, reportedly due to a technical glitch. A leak in a 'nozzle in the engine' was found in this plane on the way to Myanmar, according to Alexander Tulyakov, vice-president of the United Aircraft Corporation, and it returned to Moscow.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Background, Demonstration tour
The jet involved in the accident was then flown in as a replacement to continue the tour. It had been scheduled to visit Laos and Vietnam. At the time of the crash, Sukhoi had 42 orders of the type from Indonesia, 170 in total, and was hoping to produce up to 1,000 aircraft.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Background, Mount Salak
In the decade between 2002 and 2012, there were seven aviation crashes in the area of Mount Salak. Three people were killed in a crash of a training aircraft not long before the SSJ-100 accident; 18 people were killed in a crash of an Indonesian Air Force military aircraft in 2008; five people were killed in a crash in June 2004, two in April 2004, seven in October 2003, and one in October 2002.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Background, Mount Salak
The Jakarta Post has dubbed Mount Salak "an airplane graveyard". High turbulence and fast-changing weather conditions of the mountainous terrain are cited as contributing factors to multiple aviation crashes in the area.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Crash
At 14:00 local time (07:00 UTC), the SSJ-100 departed from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport for a local demonstration flight, and was due to return to the departure point. This was the second demonstration flight the aircraft was operating that day. There were six crew, two representatives from Sukhoi and 37 passengers on board. Amongst the passengers were representatives from Aviastar Mandiri, Batavia Air, Pelita Air Service and Sriwijaya Air. At 14:26 (07:26 UTC), the crew requested permission to descend from 10,000 feet (3,000 m) to 6,000 feet (1,800 m), and this was granted.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Crash
Two minutes later, the crew requested and were approved to "orbit to the right." This was the last contact that Air Traffic Control had with the aircraft, which was then about 75 nautical miles (139 km) south of Jakarta, in the vicinity of 7,254-foot (2,211 m) high Mount Salak, a mountain higher than the requested flight level. Four minutes after beginning the orbit, the aircraft's Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System sent out a single "Terrain Ahead, Pull Up" audio alert, warning the crew that their predicted flight path would require a climb to avoid terrain.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Crash
Immediately after, the warning changed to an "Avoid Terrain" message, which is triggered when the aircraft would also need to be turned to avoid oncoming terrain. While the latter message sounded repeatedly, the pilots briefly discussed the warning and disabled it, believing it to be a problem with the system's terrain database. Less than 30 seconds later, the airplane's aural warning system sounded a "Gear Not Down" alert, which is independent of the EGPWS and signifies the aircraft being too close to the ground without its landing gear lowered.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Crash
The captain then disengaged the autopilot and put the airplane into a slight nose-up attitude; this was not consistent with an evasive maneuver, and the reason for this input was not conclusively determined. The captain tells the first officer that the autopilot is off, and impact with terrain occurred two seconds later, at 14:33 local time (07:33 UTC).


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Crash
Indonesia's Air Traffic Control, Jakarta Branch, reported that communication between ATC and aircraft was done in English, there was no language problem hampering communication. The aircraft had been in the area of Bogor, approximate coordinates , about 13 nautical miles (24 km) northeast of the peak of Mount Salak and 7 nautical miles (13 km) clear of mountainous terrain in safe flat area, when the crew requested to descend and to perform a right orbit. As there was no reason to decline such a clearance the flight was cleared down and for the right orbit.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Crash
This was the last transmission from the aircraft, the aircraft could not be reached afterwards. The plane having finished right orbit flew a course about 210°. It is unclear how the aircraft got into the area of Mount Salak and crashed afterwards, ATC services hope the black boxes will explain how the aircraft got there. All data including flight plan, radar data and ATC recordings as well as transcripts of interviews with the air traffic controller have been handed to Indonesia's NTSC.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Crash
A ground-and-air search for the aircraft was initiated, but was called off as night fell. On 10 May, at 09:00 (02:00 UTC), the wreckage of the Sukhoi Superjet was found on Mount Salak. It is only known that the aircraft had been flying on a clockwise flightpath around the mountain, towards Jakarta, before the crash. Preliminary reports indicated that the aircraft had hit the edge of a cliff at an elevation of 6,270 feet (1,910 m), slid down a slope and came to rest at an elevation of 5,200 feet (1,600 m). The site of the accident was not accessible by air and no rescuers had reached the site by nightfall on 10 May. Multiple groups of rescue personnel attempted to reach the wreckage on foot.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Victims
Most of the passengers were journalists and prospective clients. The 45 people on board included 14 people from the Indonesian airline Sky Aviation, Captain Aan Husdiana (Director of Operations for Kartika Airlines) and five reporters, Dody Aviantara (journalist) and Didik Nur Yusuf (photographer) from Angkasa aviation magazine, Ismiati Soenarto and Aditya Sukardi of Trans TV and Femi Adi of the American Bloomberg News.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Victims
An accomplished and experienced pilot, Peter Adler held a US passport, acting as a consultant and a passenger on the flight; according to Vladimir Prisyazhnyuk, the head of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, two Italians and one French citizen of Vietnamese descent were also on board. The captain of the jet was Alexander Yablontsev (57), a former Russian combat pilot, test pilot, and cosmonaut. He had been involved in the Buran space program, and was the pilot for the first flight of Superjet 100 in 2008. The first officer was Alexander Kotchetkov (44) and the flight navigator was Oleg Shvetsov (51).


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Investigation
One day after the crash, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev set up a commission, headed by Yury Slyusar of the Industry and Trade Ministry, to investigate the cause of the accident. According to the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC), the Indonesian agency for the investigation of civil aircraft accidents, analysis of the crash would take up to 12 months.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Investigation
On 15 May 2012, it was reported in the local media that the Indonesian government had turned down Russia's request to send back the flight data recorder, stating that Indonesian investigators would determine the cause of the crash, while Russian experts would provide support only. The cockpit voice recorder was found on 15 May 2012 at a distance of 200 m from the tail section. The flight data recorder was found on 31 May 2012 at a distance of 200 m from the tail section.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Investigation
The Indonesian NTSC had released their preliminary report, which listed factual findings but did not attempt to determine the cause of the accident. According to sources within the investigating committee, the aircraft was in full working order and the incident was ascribed to human error.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Investigation
The final report was released 18 December 2012. Crash investigators determined that the plane's terrain warning system had been functioning correctly and had warned the pilots about the impending collision with the mountain. The pilots, however, turned the system off, believing that it was malfunctioning, even though their view of the surrounding area was obstructed by thick cloud cover. Furthermore, the pilots were distracted by conversation on the flight deck unrelated to flying the plane, which contributed to their failure to notice that the plane was in danger.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Investigation
The investigation also found that the pilots were unaware of the terrain in the area because they lacked the proper charts for the area. A contributing factor was the lack of a Minimum Safe Altitude Warning System at the airport and the air traffic controller being too overworked to notice the impending crash.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Aftermath
Sky Aviation, an Indonesian air carrier, delayed the delivery of 12 Superjet 100s following the accident. Arifin Seman, the commissioner of Kartika Airlines, another domestic Indonesian carrier, went on record to say that the delivery of 30 Superjet 100s, which his company had ordered, would likely be delayed following the crash. Several days later, however, the same source published Sky Aviation's statement in which they declared that they were not going to cancel the contract. Moreover, Sky Aviation's general manager for promotion, Sutito Zainuddin, added that "the additional 100-seat planes would be needed to connect major cities in Indonesia, particularly Jakarta". Mexico's Interjet Board chairman Miguel Alemаn Velasco said the crash had no influence on the company's desire to purchase additional Superjets.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, Aftermath
Russian airline Aeroflot and Armenian Armavia were the only two operators of the SSJ-100 at the time of the crash, but had not suspended operations of the type. Armavia said that it would continue negotiations over the purchase of another Superjet 100 for its fleet, but the airline ceased operations later in 2013.


2012 Mount Salak Sukhoi Superjet crash, In popular culture
The documentary television series Mayday covered the accident in the 2018 episode "Deadly Display".


2012 Mountain West Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2012 Mountain West Conference Baseball Tournament took place from May 24–26. The top four regular season finishers of the league's five teams met in the double-elimination tournament held at University of Nevada, Las Vegas's Earl Wilson Stadium. New Mexico won their second Mountain West Conference Baseball Championship by a score of 22-3 and earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2012 Mountain West Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding
The top four finishers from the home and home, round robin regular season will be seeded one through four.


2012 Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2012 Mountain West Conference men's basketball tournament was   played at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada in March 2012. Sponsored by Conoco; it was the first tournament without BYU or Utah, but included newcomer Boise State.


2012 Mountain West Conference football season
The 2012 Mountain West Conference football season was the 14th season of college football for the Mountain West Conference (MW). In the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season, the MW had 10 football members: Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaiʻi, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, and Wyoming.


2012 Mountain West Conference football season
This was the second consecutive year in which the Mountain West saw changes in membership. After losing two of its charter members in 2011—BYU (WCC and football independent) and Utah (Pac-12)—the MW lost TCU, members since 2005, to the Big 12 in 2012. The conference reloaded with three new members—full conference members Fresno State and Nevada, and football-only Hawaiʻi.


2012 Mountain West Conference football season
This was originally intended to be the last season for Boise State and San Diego State in the MW. After the 2012–13 school year, both schools' football programs planned to join the Big East. Both schools also planned to join the Big West, a former conference home of both, for non-football sports. San Diego State, a charter member of the Big West, was set to return to that conference after a 35-year absence; Boise State was set to return after a 12-year absence.


2012 Mountain West Conference football season
However, due to major instability in the Big East, culminating in the mass exodus of the conference's seven basketball-first schools in December 2012, Boise State chose to remain in the MW for 2013 and beyond. San Diego State has since sought to remain in the MW, and as a part of Boise State's agreement to remain in the MW, the conference must offer an invitation to San Diego State to remain in the MW before it can invite any other school.


2012 Mountain West Conference football season
In addition, San Jose State and Utah State will join the MW in 2013.


2012 Mountain West Conference football season, Preseason, Award watch lists
The following Mountain West players were named to preseason award watch lists.


2012 Mountain West Conference football season, Coaches
NOTE: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season


2012 Mountain West Conference football season, Coaches
*first year as conference member, ^achieved as head coach of New Mexico from 99–08


2012 Mountain West Conference football season, Bowl games
The Mountain West Conference will have agreements with the following bowls for 2012–13:


2012 Mountain West Conference football season, Bowl games
If Hawai‘i is bowl eligible and not MW champions or selected for a BCS bowl, they will receive a berth in the Hawai‘i Bowl.


2012 Mountain West Conference football season, Regular season
All dates, times, and TV are tentative and subject to change.


2012 Mountain West Conference football season, Regular season
The Mountain West has teams in 3 different time zones. Times reflect start time in respective time zone of each team (Mountain—Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, New Mexico, Wyoming; Pacific—Fresno State, Nevada, San Diego State, UNLV; Hawaii-Aleutian—Hawaiʻi). Conference games start times are that of the home team.


2012 Movistar Team season
The 2012 season for Movistar Team began in January at the Tour Down Under. As a UCI ProTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.


2012 Mr. Olympia
The 2012 Mr. Olympia contest was an IFBB professional bodybuilding competition and the feature event of Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend 2012 held September 27–30, 2012 at the Las Vegas Convention Center and Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the 48th Mr. Olympia competition. Other events at the exhibition included the 212 Olympia Showdown, Ms. Olympia, Fitness Olympia, and Figure Olympia contests. The documentary film Generation Iron was filmed while following several Olympia contestants as they prepared for this competition.


2012 Ms. Olympia
The 2012 Ms. Olympia contest was an IFBB professional bodybuilding competition and part of Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend 2012 was held on September 28, 2012, at the South Hall in the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada and in the Orleans Arena at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada. It was the 33rd Ms. Olympia competition held. Other events at the exhibition included the 212 Olympia Showdown, Mr. Olympia, Fitness Olympia, Figure Olympia, and Bikini Olympia contests.


2012 Ms. Olympia, 2012 Ms. Olympia Qualified, Points Standings
1 In the event of a tie, the competitor with the best top five contest placings will be awarded the qualification. If both competitors have the same contest placings, than both will qualify for the Olympia.


2012 Mubadala World Tennis Championship
The 2012 Mubadala World Tennis Championship in December is a non-ATP affiliated exhibition tournament. The world's top players competed in the event, which was held in a knockout format. The prize money for the winner was $250,000. The event was held at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex at the Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was a warm-up event for the 2013 tennis season, with the ATP World Tour beginning on December 31, 2012.


2012 Mubadala World Tennis Championship – Singles
Novak Djokovic was the defending champion, and won in the final 6–7(4–7), 6–3, 6-4 against Nicolás Almagro.


2012 MuchMusic Video Awards
The 2012 MuchMusic Video Awards were held June 17, 2012 at MuchMusic's headquarters in Toronto, Canada. Katy Perry was the first performer announced. The award show was co-hosted by LMFAO.


2012 MuchMusic Video Awards, Nominees
Nominees for the People's Choice Awards were announced in early May 2012. One "wildcard" nominee was chosen in each of the "UR Fave" award categories (as voted by the Much Music viewers).


2012 Mundialito de Clubes
The second Mundialito de Clubes (or Club World Cup) was a beach soccer tournament that took place at the Praia do Sol stadium at the Arena Guarapiranga sport complex, located near Represa de Guarapiranga, a reservoir located in São Paulo, Brazil from 12 – 19 May 2012. The stadium has a seating capacity of 3,500 spectators.


2012 Mundialito de Clubes, Participating teams
Twelve teams confirmed their participation in this year's tournament, an increase of two teams who participated last year:


2012 Mundialito de Clubes, Draft procedure
On 25 April 2012, at the Beach Soccer Worldwide headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, the Official Draft took place, with each team selecting ten players each. Each team has until 2159 GMT on 27 April 2012 to complete any player transfers and also the confirmation of a possible former football star (to be approved by Beach Soccer Worldwide).


2012 Mundialito de Clubes, Draft procedure
According to the draft procedure, the team representative of every Club is to attend that meeting in the two aforementioned venue, and he will be the responsible of picking the players for his squad. All Beach Soccer players can be potentially selected, and, just as it happens in great events for leagues such as the NBA, NHL or Major League Baseball, in order to set a balanced, competitive tournament, the Draft for the players’ election will follow some guidelines.


2012 Mundialito de Clubes, Players
The 'Draft' followed the following criteria: three national players (chosen beforehand), three continental players (up two from the same country), a player UEFA / CONMEBOL (South America and Europe), a player from AFC / CAF / CONCACAF / OFC (Asia / Africa / North America and the Caribbean / Oceania) player and a 'national'.


2012 Mundialito de Clubes, Group stage
The draw to divide the teams into three groups of four was conducted on 24 April 2012.


2012 Mundialito de Clubes, Group stage
All kickoff times are of local time in São Paulo, (UTC-3).


2012 Mundialito de Clubes, Knockout stage
A draw was held after the group stage matches were completed to determine the quarterfinal pairings.


2012 Mundialito de Clubes squads
These are the rosters of the twelve participating teams at the second Mundialito de Clubes (or Club World Cup) beach soccer tournament that will take place at the Praia do Sol stadium on the Arena Guarapiranga complex at Represa de Guarapiranga, a reservoir located in São Paulo, Brazil from 12–19 May 2012. The ten players were drafted at the Official Draft, with possible changes to be announced approximately 48 hours later.


2012 Munster Senior Football Championship
The 2012 Munster Senior Football Championship was that year's installment of the annual Munster Senior Football Championship held under the auspices of the Munster GAA. It was won by Cork who defeated Clare in the final. It was Cork's 37th title. This was Clare's first appearance in the final since 2000.


2012 Munster Senior Football Championship
The winning Cork team received the Cuppy Cup, and automatically advanced to the quarter-final stage of the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. Clare entered the All-Ireland Qualifiers but lost their next game, to Kerry. Cork were eliminated by eventual All-Ireland winners Donegal.


2012 Munster Senior Hurling Championship Final
The 2012 Munster Senior Hurling Championship Final was a hurling match played on 15 July 2012 at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork. The winners would advance to the semi-finals of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, while the loser would go into the All Ireland qualifiers. Tipperary and Waterford contested the final with Tipperary captained by Paul Curran retaining their title, their 40th Munster title overall with a seven-point victory.


2012 Munster Senior Hurling Championship Final, Build Up
Lar Corbett was named at right half forward in the starting fifteen for Tipperary for the first time since the 2011 All Ireland Senior Hurling Final defeat to Kilkenny, replacing the injured Gearóid Ryan. It was the only change to the Tipperary team from the one that defeated Cork 1-22 to 0-24 in the semi-final. Waterford named veteran Tony Browne in their starting fifteen at right half-back in place of Richie Foley with Noel Connors picked at corner-back ahead of Aidan Kearney, while Pauric Mahony in at number ten instead of Eoin Kelly.


2012 Munster Senior Hurling Championship Final, Reaction
After the match Tipperary manager Declan Ryan mentioned that he was still looking for more from his players, saying "I don’t think we played as well as we could have in the first half, The guys battled well and we were delighted to go in level at half-time. We finished very strongly and that’s always pleasing, We’ve done that in the last couple of games. We can be very happy with our finish anyway."


2012 Murray State Racers football team
The 2012 Murray State Racers football team represented Murray State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Chris Hatcher and played their home games at Roy Stewart Stadium. They are a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 5–6, 4–4 in OVC play to finish in sixth place.


2012 Music City Bowl
The 2012 Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 31, 2012, at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee. The fifteenth edition of the Music City Bowl began at 11:05 a.m. CST and aired on ESPN. It featured the NC State Wolfpack from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) against the Vanderbilt Commodores from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams. The Wolfpack accepted their invitation to the game after attaining a 7–5 regular-season record, while the hometown Commodores accepted theirs after attaining an 8–4 record.


2012 Music City Bowl, Teams, NC State
The Wolfpack finished in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 4–4 record, resulting in the firing of head coach Tom O'Brien after the season; assistant coach Dana Bible coached the Wolfpack in the bowl game.


2012 Music City Bowl, Teams, Vanderbilt
The Commodores' season, on the other hand, was one of their more successful in recent history; finishing in fourth place in the SEC's Eastern Division with a 5–3 record, the Commodores accepted the bid to their hometown Music City Bowl.


2012 Music City Bowl, Teams, Vanderbilt
This was the Commodores' second Music City Bowl; previously, they had played in the 2008 game, defeating the Boston College Eagles by a score of 16–14. It was also the first time the Commodores have ever been to a bowl game in consecutive seasons; the previous season saw them reach the 2011 Liberty Bowl, losing to the Cincinnati Bearcats by a score of 31–24.


2012 Mutua Madrid Open
The 2012 Madrid Masters (also known as the Mutua Madrid Open for sponsorship reasons) was played on outdoor blue clay courts at the Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain from 7 to 13 May. It was the 11th edition of the event on the ATP and 4th on the WTA. It was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2012 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2012 WTA Tour.


2012 Mutua Madrid Open
The clay courts used for the tournament were dyed blue to provide better contrast with the ball, which garnered controversy amongst players who found the dyeing made the surface too slippery and difficult to maneuver, putting defensive players at a disadvantage. Ion Țiriac, the former Romanian ATP player and billionaire businessman who owns the tournament, instituted the use of the color.


2012 Mutua Madrid Open, ATP doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2012 Mutua Madrid Open, WTA doubles main draw entrants, Seeds, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2012 Mutua Madrid Open, Finals, Men's doubles
Mariusz Fyrstenberg /  Marcin Matkowski defeated  Robert Lindstedt /  Horia Tecău, 6–3, 6–4


2012 Mutua Madrid Open, Finals, Women's doubles
Sara Errani /  Roberta Vinci defeated  Ekaterina Makarova /  Elena Vesnina, 6–1, 3–6, [10–4]


2012 Mutua Madrid Open – Men's Doubles
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan were the defending champions but lost in the second round to Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer. Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski won the tournament defeating Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecău 6–3, 6–4 in the final.


2012 Mutua Madrid Open – Men's Doubles, Seeds
The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2012 Mutua Madrid Open – Men's Singles
Roger Federer defeated Tomáš Berdych in the final, 3–6, 7–5, 7–5 to win the Men's Singles title at the 2012 Madrid Open. With this win, Federer won his record-tying 20th ATP Masters 1000 title and third title at Madrid.


2012 Mutua Madrid Open – Men's Singles
Novak Djokovic was the defending champion, but lost to Janko Tipsarević in the quarterfinals.


2012 Mutua Madrid Open – Men's Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2012 Mutua Madrid Open – Women's Doubles
Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko were the defending champions but Azarenka chose not to participate in doubles this year. Kirilenko played with Nadia Petrova but lost in the semifinals to eventual champions Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci. Vinci and Errani won the title after defeating Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in the final by 6–1, 3–6, [10–4] to win their first ever WTA tier I tournament.


2012 Mutua Madrid Open – Women's Doubles, Seeds
The top four seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2012 Mutua Madrid Open – Women's Singles
Petra Kvitová was the defending champion, but lost to qualifier Lucie Hradecká in the second round.


2012 Mutua Madrid Open – Women's Singles
Serena Williams won the tournament, defeating World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in straight sets, 6–1, 6–3. Azarenka lost in the final for the second year in a row.


2012 Mutua Madrid Open – Women's Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


2012 My AOD Favourites Awards
The 2012 My AOD Favourites Awards (simplified Chinese: MY AOD我的最爱颁奖典礼2012; traditional Chinese: MY AOD我的最愛頒獎典禮2012), presented by Astro in Malaysia, was an awards ceremony that recognised the best Hong Kong TVB television drama series that had aired on Malaysia's Astro On Demand (AOD) in 2012.


2012 My AOD Favourites Awards
The ceremony took place on 2 December 2012 at the Sunway Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was broadcast live to Malaysian audiences through AOD.


2012 Myanmar National League
The MNL Myanmar 2012 is the Myanmar National League's third full regular season. The fixture schedule was released on second weeks of December 2011. The season is scheduled to begin on 7 January  2012 and end on 9 September 2012. The bottom two teams are relegated to yet-to-be-formed MNL-2.


2012 Myanmar National League, Teams, Personnel and kits
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 Myanmar by-elections
The 2012 Myanmar by-elections were held on 1 April 2012. The elections were held to fill 48 vacant parliamentary seats. Three of those remained vacant as polling in three Kachin constituencies was postponed. There was no plan to fill the additional five seats cancelled in the 2010 election and one seat vacated after the decease of a RNDP member.


2012 Myanmar by-elections
The main opposition party National League for Democracy was re-registered for the by-elections on 13 December 2011 as part of the reforms in Burma since 2010. It won in 43 of the 44 seats they contested (out of 45 available). Its leader Aung San Suu Kyi ran for the seat of Kawhmu, and won.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Election observers
In February 2012, President Thein Sein remarked that the government would "seriously consider" allowing Southeast Asian observers from the Association of South East Asian Nations to observe the election. The Burmese government confirmed that it had requested for ASEAN election observers to arrive on 28 March, five days before the election. Canada, United States, European Union, China, and North Korea, as well as ASEAN dialogue partners (India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and Australia), were also invited to observe the election, although it remained unclear the degree of access these international observers were to have. The United States sent two election observers and three journalists.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Election observers
On 13 March 2012, the Union Election Commission approved political party monitors to monitor polling stations during the election. In the previous election, only Union Solidarity and Development Party monitors had been allowed to observe the elections and ballot counts. A civilian-led monitoring group, including members of the 88 Generation Students Group, also scrutinised election irregularities.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Election observers
On 28 March 2012, Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade sent a delegation consisting of Senator Consiglio Di Nino and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Deepak Obhrai.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Pre-election controversies
Aung Din of the US Campaign for Burma said that the Burmese government was exploiting the elections to have Western sanctions lifted as quickly as possible, since a free and transparent election had been one of the conditions set by the European Union and American governments. Moreover, the National League for Democracy has pointed out irregularities in voter lists and rule violations by local election committees. On 21 March 2012, Aung San Suu Kyi was quoted as saying "Fraud and rule violations are continuing and we can even say they are increasing."


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Pre-election controversies
With regard to the invitations of international election observers, a US State Department spokesperson said that the Burmese government fell short of expectations to accommodate observers during the entirety of the campaign season (as typically done), which is nearing the end, as a select number of observers were allowed only to observe the election:


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Pre-election controversies
"...it does fall short of international complete transparency on an election, and we hope they’ll continue to keep the system open, and open it further... A full-scale international observation effort would typically include quite a bit of pre-Election Day observation, systematic coverage on Election Day, post-election follow-up, and professional monitors from non-governmental organisations."


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Pre-election controversies
Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), a Bangkok-based election monitoring organisation, has publicly called the election observations inadequate, failing to meet international standards, being too restrictive (only two observers are allowed per government, or five for ASEAN nations), and coming too late (invitations were sent less than two weeks before the election date), all of which make it logistically impossible to monitor all 48 polling stations. On 20 March 2012, Somsri Hananuntasuk, executive director of ANFREL, was deported from Yangon, purportedly for entering the country on a tourist visa.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Pre-election controversies
On 23 March 2012, the three by-elections in Kachin State, namely in the constituencies of Mogaung, Hpakant and Bhamo Townships, were postponed due to the security situation there.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Pre-election controversies
Two days before the by-elections, at press conference, Suu Kyi remarked that the voter irregularities were "beyond what is acceptable for democratic elections," said she did not consider the campaign "genuinely free and fair" and referred to acts of intimidation (such as stone-throwing incidents and vandalism) toward party members. On 1 April, the opposition National League for Democracy alleged irregularities, claiming that ballot sheets had been tampered to allow the election commission to cancel the vote for Suu Kyi's party.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Pre-election controversies
Two Australian MPs (Janelle Saffin and Mathias Cormann), who were selected to observe the by-elections as part of Australia's monitoring team, were denied visas to enter the country.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Aftermath
Much of the international reaction on the by-elections revolved around the sanctions imposed by Western countries (including the United States, Australia, and the European Union). President Thein Sein and the Burmese government were eager to work with Aung San Suu Kyi to remove these measures.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Aftermath
President Thein Sein remarked that the by-elections were conducted "in a very successful manner."


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Aftermath
The Union Solidarity and Development Party said it would lodge official complaints to the Union Election Commission on poll irregularities, voter intimidation, and purported campaign incidents that involved National League for Democracy members and supporters. The National League for Democracy also sent an official complaint to the commission, regarding ballots that it claimed had been tampered with wax.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Aftermath
In response to the by-elections, a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said:


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Aftermath
China has noted that some Western countries have said they will lift sanctions on Myanmar. China has had a consistent stance on this issue. We welcome moves by these countries to lift sanctions on Myanmar and call on all parties to fully lift sanctions on Myanmar as soon as possible.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Aftermath
ASEAN leaders, including those from Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia, called for the immediate removal of sanctions. Singapore's Prime Minister said the following: "President Thein Sein has been much bolder than many observers have expected. ASEAN is happy that Myanmar has been able to take these steps forward." Australia's foreign minister, Bob Carr, said the Australian government was planning to loosen sanctions, but not abolish them altogether.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Aftermath
US Senator John McCain, who had met with Aung San Suu Kyi in January 2012, said:


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Aftermath
We should now work with our many international partners to begin the process of easing sanctions on Burma. This will be a gradual and incremental process, and the U.S. Congress will have a critical role to play.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Aftermath
On 4 April 2012, the Obama administration announced that it would nominate an ambassador to the country and ease some travel and finance restrictions, without specifying a time table. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said of the elections:


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Aftermath
The results of the April 1st parliamentary by-elections represents a dramatic demonstration of popular will that brings a new generation of reformers into government. This is an important step in the country’s transformation, which in recent months has seen the unprecedented release of political prisoners, new legislation broadening the rights of political and civic association, and fledgling process in internal dialogue between the government and ethnic minority groups.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Aftermath
To normalise diplomatic relations between the countries, she also said that following the nomination of an ambassador, the US would establish USAID mission in Burma, ease restrictions on export of finance services and developmental assistance and facilitate travel for some government officials, although targeted sanctions toward "individuals and institutions that remain on the wrong side of these historic reform efforts" would remain in place.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Aftermath
A few sanctions (in the financial, agriculture, tourism and telecommunications sectors), are directly controlled by the executive branch, but most of the imposed sanctions were legislated by Congress, and were to take a lengthy process to remove. On 6 April 2012, the Obama administration nominated Derek Mitchell, who was then serving as the American special envoy to Burma, as United States Ambassador to Burma.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Aftermath
The European Union, which had already eased some sanctions and travel restrictions (including on Thein Sein), agreed to review travel bans and asset freezes on individuals tied to the previous ruling junta, the State Peace and Development Council on 23 April 2012. UK Foreign Secretary William Hague suggested that easing of restrictions would be contingent on the release of political prisoners and further progress.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Aftermath
Other scholars noted that the by-elections, which were a relatively minor event, given the number of seats at stake, were not as defining and important as other steps toward national reconciliation. Some called removal of sanctions premature, while others considered sanctions ineffective in the reform process.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Results, House of Nationalities
Six of the 224 seats in the Amyotha Hluttaw (House of Nationalities) were up for election. A by-election was not held in one remaining vacant seat, with this seat instead continuing to remain vacant until the 2015 General Election.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Results, House of Representatives
37 of the 440 seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw (House of Representatives) were up for election. By-elections were not held in seven remaining vacant seats, with these seats instead continuing to remain vacant until the 2015 General Election.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, Results, State and Regional Hluttaws
2 of the 860 seats in the State and Regional Hluttaws were up for election.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, By Constituency, House of Nationalities (Amyotha Hluttaw), Sagaing Region
Kanbalu, Kyunhla, Ye-U and Taze Townships make up Constituency No. 3.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, By Constituency, House of Nationalities (Amyotha Hluttaw), Sagaing Region
Banmauk, Kawlin, Wuntho and Pinlebu Townships make up Constituency No. 7.


2012 Myanmar by-elections, By Constituency, House of Nationalities (Amyotha Hluttaw), Shan State
Lashio, Tangyan, Mongyai, Hsenwi and Kunlong Townships make up Constituency No. 3.


2012 Myanmar train crash
The 2012 Burma train crash occurred on 9 November 2012 near Kantbalu in central Burma. A train travelling from Mandalay to Myitkyina and which included seven wagons containing petrol and two containing diesel fuel derailed and burnt. At least 27 people were killed and more than 80 were injured; according to the Information Ministry, many had been trying to collect spilt fuel.


2012 Māori All Blacks tour of England
The 2012 New Zealand Māori rugby union tour of England was a series of three matches played by the Māori All Blacks (then known as the New Zealand Māori team) in England.


2012 Māori All Blacks tour of England
Despite playing three fixtures, only one would be against a test international nation (Canada); this was the second time the two teams met. The Māori team also faced English domestic team Leicester Tigers and a RFU Championship XV, a team consisting of players that compete in England's second-tier club tournament, RFU Championship.


2012 Māori All Blacks tour of England, Fixtures, RFU Championship XV
Touch judges:Steve Lee (England)Simon McConnell (England)Television match official:Trevor Fisher (England)


2012 Māori All Blacks tour of England, Squad
It was announced that Highlanders head coach Jamie Joseph, would coach the side for the 2012 tour, after leading the Māori's to success over England in 2010.


2012 Māori All Blacks tour of England, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under IRB eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-IRB nationality.


2012 NAB Cup
The 2012 NAB Cup was the Australian Football League (AFL) pre-season competition played before the 2012 home-and-away season. The games were played between 17 February and 18 March 2012.


2012 NAB Cup
The competition format was changed for the second consecutive season, although the format was similar to that used in the previous year. As part of this year's competition, the NAB Regional Challenge was dissolved, with live matches to be staged at both regular AFL venues and select regional centres.


2012 NAB Cup
The format for the 2012 NAB Cup was as follows:


2012 NAB Cup, Games
The fixtures were announced by the AFL on 26 October 2011, while the playing order of first-round games were announced by the AFL on 23 January 2012.


2012 NACAC Cross Country Championships
The 2012 NACAC Cross Country Championships took place on March 17, 2012. The races were held at the Queen's Park Savannah in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. A detailed report of the event was given for the IAAF.


2012 NACAC Cross Country Championships, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 108 athletes (+ 1 guest) from 12 countries participated.


2012 NACAC U23 Championships in Athletics
The 2012 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics were held at the Centro Paralímpico Nacional in Irapuato, Mexico from 6 to 8 July. It was the seven edition of the biennial athletics competition for NACAC area athletes under 23 years of age. A total of 44 track and field events were contested, divided evenly between the sexes. It was the third time that Mexico had hosted the event, having done so in 2000 and 2008.


2012 NACAC U23 Championships in Athletics
Over 400 athletes from 23 nations competed at the championships. Eleven championship records were broken at the competition, with particularly strong performances in the sprint events. Jason Rogers equalled the 100 metres record while Auriyall Scott improved the women's time. Kimberlyn Duncan and Rebecca Alexander made it an American sweep of the women's sprints with two more records.


2012 NACAC U23 Championships in Athletics
Shane Brathwaite won the men's 110 metres hurdles with a record run of 13.31 seconds. Jamaica's Traves Smikle gave a strong performance in the discus throw, becoming the first athlete to clear sixty metres in the history of the meet. Amanda Bingson added more than four metres to the women's hammer throw record, while Mexico's Abigail Gomez claimed the javelin throw record for the host nation.


2012 NACAC U23 Championships in Athletics
The United States was dominant at the competition, winning all but five of the women's titles. Mexico managed to win five gold medals and Canada had the third most wins with four golds. Sixteen nations reached the medal table


2012 NACAC U23 Championships in Athletics, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 303 athletes from 23 countries participated.


2012 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics – Results
These are the results of the 2012 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics which took place from 6 to 8 July 2012 in Irapuato, Mexico.


2012 NACAM Rally Championship
The 2012 NACAM Rally Championship was the 5th season of the FIA's NACAM Rally Championship. This Championship is the FIA rally championship for the North America and Central America region. The season began April 20 in Puebla, Mexico, and endeded November 18 in Cartagena, Colombia, after 6 events. Raúl Orlandini Griswold was at that date the reigning champion. Ricardo Triviño, 2009 champion, ran int the .


2012 NACAM Rally Championship, Report, Round 1: Rally Cañadas
Ricardo Triviño took the first round in Puebla. Nicolás Bedoya not completed the first stage. Francisco Name also abandoned in after the third stage. Triviño won the first six stages making an advantage of 1:37.0 over John Powell. Powell won the last stage, but he only can recover 22.8 seconds. Triviño took the first place in the Driver's Championship.


2012 NACAM Rally Championship, Report, Round 2: Rally Montañas
The second round in Oaxaca started with Carlos Izquierdo taking the lead. Powell, Landazuri and Fernández not finished the first stage. Triviño lost near 10 minutes in this stage. However, Triviño won the next 8 stages reaching the fourth place in the NACAM classification. In the special stage 10 Name had abandon, Name been in the second position. Izquierdo won the last 3 stages, and took the victory.


2012 NACAM Rally Championship, Calendar
The original calendar had six rallies, two of them in Mexico. Panama was originally included as the venue of the fifth round, however, on March 7 this round was changed to Ecuador.


2012 NACAM Rally Championship, Results and standings, Driver's Championship
Points are awarded to the top 10 classified finishers. The best 5 of a driver's results count towards the championship.


2012 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2012 Buffalo Funds - NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 75th annual NAIA basketball tournament features 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. The opening game started on March 14, and the National Championship Game was played on March 20.


2012 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2012 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship was held in March at Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Missouri. The 21st annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship
The 2012 NAIA Football National Championship was played on December 13, 2012 as the 57th Annual Russell Athletic NAIA Football National Championship. The game matched the once-beaten and 5th-ranked Knights from Marian University against the undefeated and 3rd-ranked Mustangs from Morningside College. The game matched two teams making their first appearance in the championship game, assuring someone would win the title for the first time. The teams proved to be evenly matched, and the outcome was not decided until the winning points were scored in the first round of overtime. With their winning field goal, the Marian Knights prevailed, 30-27 in the first overtime game in NAIA football championship history.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship
The championship game was played at Barron Stadium in Rome, Georgia. A total of sixteen teams participated in the single-elimination tournament from across the country. Placement in the tournament was based on the final edition of the 2012 NAIA Coaches' Poll. This year's field included the top 15 teams from the final poll as well as #18 Bethel (TN). Two teams were bypassed as a result of the automatic berth granted to Bethel, champions of the Mid-South Conference West Division.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #15 Ottawa (KS) at #2 Missouri Valley
Missouri Valley finished the regular season with its third consecutive conference championship and an undefeated 10–0 record, while Ottawa entered into the game with its second consecutive conference championship and a record of 8–2. Missouri Valley earned the home field advantage for the first round.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #15 Ottawa (KS) at #2 Missouri Valley
Missouri Valley scored 15 points in the first quarter and held Ottawa to zero, and held that lead for the entire game. Missouri Valley averaged 6.9 yards per play while holding Ottawa to 2.7. Missouri Valley's 487 total yards was made up of 229 yards rushing and 258 passing. With 13:46 left in the second quarter, Ottawa scored and managed to bring the score within eight points, but Missouri Valley pulled further away to a victorious final score of 56–21.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #18 Bethel (TN) at #1 Georgetown (KY)
Bethel was a big underdog, favored to lose to Georgetown by 30 points. However, they came into the game and won on a fake PAT after a 47-yard Hail Mary that appeared to only bring the game to overtime. The whole sequence in the final minute of the game was phenomenal. After Bethel was stopped on fourth down near mid-field, they still stopped Georgetown and forced a punt. However, Georgetown was able to run down the clock to 44 seconds left and downed the punt at the 6-yard line, leaving Bethel the other 94 yards to go and no timeouts.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #18 Bethel (TN) at #1 Georgetown (KY)
Some fans started leaving and most assumed that the game was basically done. However, after two quick first down completions, Bethel had 31 seconds left on their 45, and some hope started to show. Ultimately, it came down to 4th and 2 on the Georgetown 47-yard line with 7 seconds left, an obvious Hail Mary situation when you are down 7 points. The pass was aimed at the front of the right side of the endzone. It was knocked down, yet that deflection was caught at the 6-yard line.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #18 Bethel (TN) at #1 Georgetown (KY)
Instead of trying to charge for the endzone right in front of him, the receiver saw another receiver running to the middle part of the endzone. He went unnoticed by the defense, as they thought that all of the receivers would be where the ball was thrown. The receiver with the ball casually threw it back to the open receiver, who went easily into the endzone. The mostly Georgetown fan filled crowd was in stunned silence, besides the few Bethel fans.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #18 Bethel (TN) at #1 Georgetown (KY)
Bethel got their special teams on the field rather quickly, considering that most players were jumping around and celebrating the play before. Georgetown was out of timeouts and couldn't "ice the kicker" by calling a timeout and allowing the kicker to see the importance of the kick, making him nervous. However, there was no kick; Bethel pulled off a fake PAT kick, where the lineman on the edge of the line ran out into the open field, as Georgetown didn't have time to fully get itself set.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #18 Bethel (TN) at #1 Georgetown (KY)
In fact, there was a penalty on Georgetown for too many men on the field, which Bethel obviously declined. After the game, Bethel coach Roger Diplomatie said that the lateral on the Hail Mary wasn't designed to happen, however it was planned for an extra receiver to be away from the pass for exactly what happened. As for the PAT, Roger said that he only told the special teams players on the field that they were going to do the fake.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #18 Bethel (TN) at #1 Georgetown (KY)
He did this as to avoid the sideline going serious, knowing that it is a tough play to execute if the defense does a different scheme than he had thought; in fact most players didn't even realize that they had gone for two because they assumed that they were going to get the easy one point kick. Most players admitted their surprise, though they were just happy that they still won.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #18 Bethel (TN) at #1 Georgetown (KY)
Coach Roger said that "Hadn't we gone for two, the crowd could have gotten loud again and [Georgetown] likely would have beaten us in overtime... sometimes, things just can't last too long." The game set multiple records, being only the third time that an 18 seed beat a  seed in the first round, and it spoiled Georgetown's first postseason appearance as a 1 seed.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #18 Bethel (TN) at #1 Georgetown (KY)
It set a record for most safeties scored in a postseason game with one for each team and they were the first points scored, oddly enough, which caused the score of 2-2 to be held in a game for the first known time in college or professional history. It had the most combined touchdowns (11) in a postseason game since 2001. Georgetown kick return specialist Anthony Henson became the first player to return two kicks 95+ yards in the same game. It was also the first time that each team scored at least twice on offense, defense, and special teams (the fake PAT counts as special teams).


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #18 Bethel (TN) at #1 Georgetown (KY)
1st quarter-G- Safety (G 2-0)B- Safety (T 2-2)B- 39-yard run, kick PAT (B 9-2)G- 98-yard kick return, kick PAT (T 9-9)


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #18 Bethel (TN) at #1 Georgetown (KY)
2nd quarter-G- 56-yard interception return, kick PAT (G 16-9)B- 68-yard punt return, kick PAT (T 16-16)B- 12-yard fumble recovery return, kick PAT (B 23-16)


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #18 Bethel (TN) at #1 Georgetown (KY)
3rd quarter-B- 81-yard interception return, kick PAT (B 30-16)G- 96-yard kick return, kick PAT (B 30-23)G- 4-yard pass, kick PAT (T 30-30)


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #18 Bethel (TN) at #1 Georgetown (KY)
4th quarter-G- 23-yard run, kick PAT (G 37-30)B- 16-yard pass, kick PAT (T 37-37)G- 33-yard pass, kick PAT (G 44-37)B- 47-yard pass, pass for 2PT conversion (B 45-44)


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #11 Baker (KS) at #6 Saint Francis (IN)
Before the game, a fan seated behind me was overheard to employ an unusual method of predicting the final outcome. USF was ranked #6; Baker was ranked #11. Therefore, USF would win by 5. Scientific or not, the fan's prediction proved to be prophetic as USF prevailed in the contest by a final score of 22-17.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #11 Baker (KS) at #6 Saint Francis (IN)
The game's outcome was largely determined by a USF defense that would bend but not break. After winning the opening coin flip, Baker elected to receive. Saint Francis kicked the ball into the endzone, and Baker started at their own 25 after the touchback. A few plays later, the defense responded with the first interception of the game, and USF took over deep in Baker territory. The turnover led to the first score of the game, an 11-yard pass to give the Cougars a 6-0 lead. No other scores were logged in the first quarter.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #11 Baker (KS) at #6 Saint Francis (IN)
In the second quarter, USF tacked on a field goal after the defense forced and recovered a Baker fumble. It was the first of 3 on the day for the Cougar placekicker, tying the school's record for most field goals in one game. Baker took the ensuing kickoff and marched in for their first score of the game, narrowing the USF lead to 9-7. USF then took over on offense and produced their best sustained drive of the game.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #11 Baker (KS) at #6 Saint Francis (IN)
With 33 seconds left in the first half, the Cougars’ quarterback scored on a 13-yard scamper into the end zone to bring the score to 16-7. Not to be outdone, Baker took the following kickoff and marched close enough to kick a field goal with 10 seconds left to bring the halftime score to 16-10 in favor of Saint Francis.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #11 Baker (KS) at #6 Saint Francis (IN)
The third quarter was a back-and-forth defensive struggle, and neither team scored.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #11 Baker (KS) at #6 Saint Francis (IN)
The fourth quarter saw Saint Francis convert their second field goal. But Baker took the kickoff and marched the length of the field, scoring another touchdown that narrowed the gap to 19-17 in favor of the home team. USF responded by kicking their third field goal, extending the margin to 5, with 3:44 left in the game. The outcome of the game was uncertain until USF intercepted a Baker pass with 2:33 left in the game. After that, Saint Francis ran out the clock with Baker having only two timeouts to halt the runoff.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, First Round, #11 Baker (KS) at #6 Saint Francis (IN)
On the day, the USF defense captured 4 Baker turnovers, 2 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries. Although the Baker offense outgained the Cougars, the Cougar defense came through with big plays to stop Baker's momentum most of the time. The win was the 17th consecutive home playoff win for USF, who has not lost a home game in their entire playoff history.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, Quarterfinals, #6 Saint Francis (IN) at #5 Marian (IN)
These two teams met earlier in a regular season game at the same field, and the outcome of this one was very similar to the earlier match. Saint Francis played an inspired game; but in the end, the Cougars were no match for the offensive efficiency that was displayed by the Marian Knights.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, Quarterfinals, #6 Saint Francis (IN) at #5 Marian (IN)
Saint Francis received the opening kickoff and sustained a drive that resulted in a score and a 7-0 lead. They kicked the ball to Marian, who lost possession when a downfield bomb was intercepted by the USF defender. At that point the Cougars were in control, but the momentum eventually shifted and stayed with Marian for the remainder of the game. Marian scored with about 3 minutes left on the clock, and the first quarter ended tied, 7-7.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, Quarterfinals, #6 Saint Francis (IN) at #5 Marian (IN)
An efficient passing game and the ability to maintain control of the ball were two of Marian's biggest assets. Marian's offense kept the ball for about 11 minutes in the second quarter, producing a field goal and a late touchdown to bring the halftime score to 17-7 in their favor.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, Quarterfinals, #6 Saint Francis (IN) at #5 Marian (IN)
The third quarter opened with Marian returning to offense. But the Cougars’ defense held, and the Knights kicked the ball. The Cougars misplayed the punt, and Marian recovered. That drive ended with a USF interception. But the Cougars’ offense failed to move the chains in 3 plays, and a USF punt sent the ball to Marian's 11-yard line. Marian went 3-and-out, and USF was set to receive the ball once again. A poor punt never made it to the midfield line, giving USF great field position.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, Quarterfinals, #6 Saint Francis (IN) at #5 Marian (IN)
Unfortunately, a Cougars defensive player ran into the kicker, and that penalty allowed Marian to retain possession of the football. The error proved costly as Marian drove the ball for a touchdown that extended the lead to 24-7. USF took the kick and marched for a touchdown of their own to move the score to 24-14. The Knights immediately countered by returning the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. After a missed extra point, the quarter ended with Marian leading 30-14.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, Quarterfinals, #6 Saint Francis (IN) at #5 Marian (IN)
Early in the 4th quarter, USF drove for a touchdown to bring the lead back to 30-21. The Cougars played good defense, and Marian punted the ball back to the Cougars. But the next possession saw two dropped passes before the third attempt was intercepted by the Knights. Most of the rest of the quarter was burned up by Marian's offense, who held the ball for nearly 12 minutes of the period. Marian marched for a score, and a 2-point conversion extended their lead to 38-21.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, Quarterfinals, #6 Saint Francis (IN) at #5 Marian (IN)
The next kick was immediately returned for a 100-yard touchdown by the Cougars’ Austin Coleman. For Coleman, the touchdown return was the 8th in his career, setting a new NAIA record for most touchdown returns in a career. Marian again took over on offense, and they drove the ball for their final points of the game, making the score 45-28. A late Cougars’ touchdown with 12 seconds left on the clock made the final score 45-34 after the Cougars failed to convert a 2-point pass attempt.


2012 NAIA Football National Championship, Game details, Semifinals
With wins by each of the 4 quarterfinal home teams, the semifinal brackets provided the expected matchups. Two undefeated home teams played host to 2 visitors having 1 loss each.


2012 NAIA football rankings
One human poll made up the 2012 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) football rankings, sometimes called the NAIA Coaches' Poll or the football ratings. Once the regular season was complete, the NAIA sponsored a playoff to determine the year's national champion. A final poll was then taken after completion of the 2012 NAIA Football National Championship.


2012 NAIA football rankings, Leading Vote-Getters
Since the inception of the Coaches' Poll in 1999, the #1 ranking in the various weekly polls has been held by only a select group of teams. Through the end of 2012, the team and the number of times they have held the #1 weekly ranking are shown below. The number of times a team has been ranked #1 in the postseason poll (the national champion) is shown in parentheses.


2012 NAIA football rankings, Leading Vote-Getters
In 1999, the results of a postseason poll, if one was conducted, are not known. Therefore, an additional poll was presumed, and the #1 postseason ranking has been credited to the postseason tournament champion, the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers.


2012 NAIA independent football schools football season
The 2012 NAIA Independents football season is made up of seventeen United States college athletic programs that compete without any conference affiliation as NAIA independent football schools under the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) for the 2012 college football season. No conference champion is declared. The team with the best record was the Robert Morris Eagles with eight wins and three losses, followed by Valley City State Vikings at seven wins and three losses.


2012 NAIA independent football schools football season
None of the independent teams advanced to the 2012 NAIA Football National Championship.


2012 NAPA Auto Parts 200
The 2012 NAPA Auto Parts 200 was the sixth running of the NAPA Auto Parts 200 race, a discontinued NASCAR Nationwide Series event that was held on August 18, 2012, at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec.


2012 NAPA Auto Parts 200
This was the final race ever held in Montreal for the NASCAR Nationwide Series and took place on a temporary road course. The scheduled total distance of the racing event was 200.5 miles or 322.7 kilometres. However, NASCAR officials decided to lengthen this race in an attempt to implement two attempts at a green-white-checkered finish. Kyle Busch was the most favored driver at this racing event; with sports gambling websites giving him 5-to-2 odds for winning.


2012 NAPA Auto Parts 200, Race report
More than 27% of this race was contested under a caution flag and green flags only lasted about seven laps on average. While accidents and debris were rare; cars were known to spin into hazardous conditions and the need for full-course cautions were given out alongside the "local" cautions usually found at events that are not considered to be oval tracks. While Alex Tagliani and Sam Hornish, Jr. were the main competitors for the lead in the first seven laps of the race, the final 54 laps of the race would be a five-way struggle to win the race. Notable drivers like Jacques Villeneuve, Elliott Sadler, Alex Tagliani and Justin Allgaier would be the drivers to beat. Daryl Harr ended up scoring his best career finish and only lead lap finish at this race.


2012 NAPA Auto Parts 200, Race report
After three hours and seven minutes of racing, Justin Allgaier defeated Sam Hornish, Jr. by nearly four-thousandths of a second in front of a live audience of sixty thousand people. The pre-race ceremonies began at 2:00 PM Eastern Daylight Saving Time with the invocation in both of Canada's official languages along with the national anthems of Canada (O Canada in a mixture of French and English) and the United States of America (a completely English version of The Star-Spangled Banner). Actual racing began at approximately 2:49 PM Eastern Daylight Saving Time and ended at approximately 5:56 PM EDT.


2012 NAPA Auto Parts 200, Race report
Allgaier allegedly bumped a slower moving Jacques Villeneuve out of the way; extending his winless drought at this race track to 19 years. Villeneuve was running out of gas in the final lap of this racing event and would have needed luck to win the race. Villeneuve said when interviewed that he was not out of gas, but that Justin Allgaier won by shoving him around and said that he should have won the race; Allgaier showed no regrets afterwards, pointing out that Villeneuve had done a similar move on his Turner teammate Alex Tagliani to retake the lead.


2012 NAPA Auto Parts 200, Race report
Danica Patrick was leading a good deal of laps and had a decent chance to win the race. A good finish wasn't in the cards, however, as someone threw a shoe on the track for some reason. Patrick hit the shoe, which came apart on impact, and the rogue footwear broke something under her car causing her to fall back and eventually have to pit for repairs, losing laps and any chance at even scoring a top-20 finish.


2012 NAPA Auto Parts 200, Race report
Jeff Green would be the last-place finisher due to a bad vibration in his vehicle on the second lap of this 81-lap race. Brian Scott, Michael Annett, and Patrick Carpentier were promising drivers that ended up finishing in the middle of the pack. Besides Allgaier and Hornish Jr., the other finishers in the "top ten" were Jacques Villeneuve, Elliot Sadler, Ron Fellows, Michael McDowell, Mike Wallace, Billy Johnson, Austin Dillon, and Kyle Busch. There were 43 drivers on the grid; Ryan Ellis was the only driver who didn't qualify for this race.


2012 NAPA Auto Parts 200, Race report
His inadequate maximum speed of 90.309 miles per hour (145.338 km/h) would be relatively slow even when qualifying for a road course event. Competitors for this race came from three different countries including: Canada, the United States of America, and Australian-born Kenny Habul. Chris Cook switched from Sprint Cup Series to Nationwide (now Xfinity) Series points at this event; earning himself 5 points for qualifying for the race and finishing in 39th place.


2012 NAPA Auto Parts 200, Race report
Notable crew chiefs for this race were Tony Eury, Jr. in addition to Tony Eury, Sr., Mike Beam, Jason Overstreet, Scott Zapadelli among others.


2012 NAPA Auto Parts 200, Race report, Prize summary
While last-place finisher Jeff Green walked away with an insignificant $19,392 in American dollars ($21,860 when adjusted for inflation), Justin Allgaier was justly rewarded for his victory by a payout bonus of $94,318 American dollars ($106,321 when adjusted for inflation).


2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
The 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season was the eighteenth season of the third highest stock car racing in the United States. The season was contested over twenty-two races, beginning with the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the Ford EcoBoost 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. NASCAR announced some changes, including the removal of New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, and Lucas Oil Raceway from the schedule, and moving the Phoenix race back to its traditional fall date. In addition, Rockingham Speedway was added to the schedule, the first time NASCAR has raced at Rockingham since 2004. James Buescher of Turner Motorsports claimed his first championship with a 13th-place finish in the season finale. Chevrolet won the Manufacturer's Championship with 166 points and 12 wins.


2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Teams and drivers, Limited schedule
Note: A driver designated with a (R) next to their name indicates that they are contenders for the 2012 Rookie of the Year award.


2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Teams and drivers, Driver changes
The Rookie of the Year standout would be Ty Dillon, the younger brother of 2011 Champion Austin Dillon. Ty scored a win at Atlanta and was in contention for the championship until a late crash at Homestead knocked him to 4th in the points but easily won him the RoTY title. Former Kevin Harvick, Inc. development driver Cale Gale was runner-up to Dillon, taking a pole at Bristol and a win at Homestead. Ross Chastain finished 3rd in the rookie battle, while John Wes Townley, despite missing Daytona, had two top-10s.


2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Teams and drivers, Driver changes
Contenders Jeb Burton, Dakoda Armstrong, and Daytona winner John King saw their runs for RoTY aborted due to sponsorship issues. K&N Pro Series East Champion Max Gresham struggled with Joe Denette Motorsports and departed the team early on. Duke University graduate Paulie Harraka struggled most of the season with Wauters Motorsport and left before Atlanta.


2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, 2012 calendar, Calendar changes
The Las Vegas race, as a result of issues resulting from the 2011 race weekend, was moved back to late September as a stand-alone race. Originally, the Las Vegas race was set for 13 October at 12 noon PDT as part of the IndyCar weekend, but Indy Racing League LLC faces issues from the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship which the 2011 Truck race was the Saturday feature of the race meet, but that meet was removed as a result of legal issues following the death of Dan Wheldon on Lap 11 of the IZOD IndyCar Series feature.


2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, 2012 calendar, Calendar changes
Speedway Motorsports also removed races from New Hampshire Motor Speedway, while keeping the second Kentucky truck date and having the NASCAR Nationwide Series replace INDYCAR on the fall weekend. Darlington was also removed from the schedule, both Nashville races, and Lucas Oil Motorsports Park. Chicagoland also moved to July. Kansas moved from June to April, along with the Cup series as their spring date was also moved to April to give more time for Kansas's new configuration project. Rockingham Speedway was added to the truck series schedule marking the first time since 2004 NASCAR has had a race at the track. The total of races on the schedule was also reduced from 25 to 22. Iowa Speedway also got a second date that was held in September.


2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Results and standings, Drivers' standings
(key) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings. * – Most laps led.


2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series
The 2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season was the sixth season of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series taking place in the summer of 2012. The season composed of twelve races at eleven different venues. Seven of those events were contested on oval courses.


2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Summary
The sixth season consisted of 12 events spanning across 5 provinces featuring 12 events. New this season were the standardised rule changes for NASCAR's regional series matching that of the national series (green-white-checker finish and points system). All of the races were aired on TSN in one-hour tape-delayed episodes, excluding Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and Trois-Rivières being aired live on the network.


2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Summary
The season started on May 20 at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with J. R. Fitzpatrick winning his first event in almost 2 years, Andrew Ranger also returned to victory lane the following week at Circuit ICAR. D. J. Kennington went to win a NASCAR touring record of 5 consecutive races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Delaware Speedway, Motoplex Speedway, Edmonton Indy and Auto Clearing Motor Speedway. Ranger and Fitzpatrick won the two premier road course events at Circuit Trois-Rivieres and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in August.


2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Summary
Then at Barrie Speedway, Peter Shepherd III took advantage of an accident involving leaders Steve Matthews and Fitzpatrick, who were involved in an accident on a green-white-checker finish to pick up the Victory. Points leader Kennington suffered a mechanical failure and finished down in the running order but rebounded strong winning the final two events of the year at Kawartha and Riverside capturing 2 championships in 3 years.


2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, Results, Final championship standings
(key) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings. * – Most laps led.


2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series
The 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series season was the thirty-first season of semi-professional stock car racing in the United States. The season included thirty-three races, down from thirty-four, and began with the DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway and ended with the Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Chevrolet won the Manufacturer's Championship. Joe Gibbs won the Owners' Championship with the No. 18 car, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of Roush Fenway Racing won the Drivers' championship with a sixth-place finish at the final race of the season.


2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series, Season summary
The Nationwide Series started its 2012 season at Daytona. The race was dominated by a mix of tandem and pack drafting. On the final lap, Kurt and Kyle Busch attempted to block the tandem of Joey Logano and Trevor Bayne. When the Busch brothers moved up to block, it resulted in a 10 car collision that wrecked most of the top 10. Part-time Nationwide driver James Buescher sailed through the wreck and scored his first series win. Heading to Phoenix, Kevin Harvick dominated the race, leading 90 laps.


2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series, Season summary
On the final pitstop, teammate Sadler got two tires and managed to hold off a charging Brad Keselowski for his first Nationwide win in 14 years. Heading to Las Vegas, defending champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. held off veteran Mark Martin for his first win of the season. The next week at Bristol, polesitter Logano dominated the race, leading 119 laps. But Elliott Sadler, on the advice of crew chief Luke Lambert, stayed out during the final round of pit stops and held off Kasey Kahne for his second win in four races. In California, Logano won back-to-back poles, but held off Stenhouse for his first win of the season.


2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series, Season summary
Following the off week, teams returned to racing at Texas. There, Stenhouse and Paul Menard were the class of the field, with Menard leading 100 laps. However, Stenhouse rallied from a poor early pitstop and held off Menard for his second win of the season. At Richmond, Harvick, Kurt Busch, and Virginia native Denny Hamlin dominated the race, but Busch would hold off Hamlin to take the first Nationwide win for Kyle Busch Motorsports. The following week at Talladega, a multi-car crash on the last lap forced a red flag.


2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series, Season summary
On the restart, Joey Logano edged Cup teammate Kyle Busch by 0.034 seconds to take his second win of the year. At Darlington, Hamlin dominated the race, leading 102 laps. However, a push from Keselowski on a green-white-checkered restart sent Logano to the lead and to his second consecutive win. At Iowa, points leader Stenhouse once again dominated, leading 209 of 250 laps to easily claim his third consecutive Iowa win. At Charlotte, Keselowski stayed out during the final round of pit stops, going 73 laps on a single tank of fuel to claim his first win of the season. At Dover, Logano dominated the race and held off teammates Ryan Truex and Brian Scott to grab the win.


2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series, Season summary
Following the second off weekend, the series returned to action at Michigan, where Logano once again dominated the race, holding off Buescher to grab his second consecutive victory. The following week at Road America, Nelson Piquet Jr. dominated the race from pole, grabbing his first Nationwide win and becoming the first Brazilian to win in one of NASCAR's top three divisions. At Kentucky, Austin Dillon dominated the race, easily holding off the field to take his first career Nationwide win and becoming the first rookie winner since Juan Pablo Montoya.


2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series, Season summary
Dillon took over the points lead, but lost it after failing post-race inspection. When the series returned to Daytona, multiple Big Ones took out most of the contenders. However, Kurt Busch stayed out front and pulled a last lap pass on Joey Logano to take his second win of the season. The series headed to Chicago, where Stenhouse dominated most of the day, but a decision to stay out when the leaders pitted on lap 130 cost him later. On lap 166, Stenhouse pitted, handing the lead to points leader Sadler. Sadler managed to hold off both Stenhouse and Illinois native Justin Allgaier on a green-white-checkered to take his third win of the season and win the Nationwide Dash 4 Cash bonus.


2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series, Season summary
The series made its inaugural trip to the Brickyard, where points leader Sadler led after Kyle Busch was involved in a late wreck. However, NASCAR officials penalized Sadler for allegedly jumping the final restart, sending him back to 16th. Cup regular Keselowski took the lead and held off teammate Sam Hornish Jr. to give owner Roger Penske his first stock car win at Indy. At the second race in Iowa, polesitter Elliott Sadler rebounded from the disappointment at Indy and held off Justin Allgaier to grab his fourth win of the season.


2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series, Season summary
Heading up north to Watkins Glen, Keselowski dominated the race, but Carl Edwards, making a one-off appearance, passed Keselowski with 10 to go and held on for his first win of the season. The series headed north of the border for its final road course race at Montreal. Jacques Villeneuve dominated the race, but was forced to conserve fuel over two green-white-checkered finishes. On the second attempt, Justin Allgaier pulled a bump and run on Villeneuve on the final lap to take his first win of the year.


2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series, Season summary
Action resumed at the newly reconfigured Bristol. Harvick led the race for 98 laps, seeking the No. 33 team's first win of the year. However, he ran out of fuel during a caution on lap 238, handing the lead to Joey Logano. Logano would then hold off Stenhouse for the victory. At Atlanta, Harvick dominated the race, leading 157 laps. However, a late caution for a crash by Mike Bliss, Buescher, and Kyle Fowler bunched up the field. On the ensuing restart, Stenhouse made a last lap pass on Harvick to take the win.


2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series, Season summary
The following week at Richmond, Harvick would make up for the losses and dominated the race, leading 141 laps en route to his first win of the season. Returning to Chicagoland, Stenhouse rallied from an incorrect adjustment on the final pit stop to pass Kyle Busch with 20 to go to take his fifth win of the season as well as the points lead. At Kentucky, polesitter Austin Dillon took advantage of a fast final pitstop to get in front of the field, holding off Hornish to sweep the Kentucky races and put himself back in the championship hunt.


2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series, Season summary
The series returned to Dover, where Logano once again dominated the race, leading 184 of 200 laps en route to his 7th win of the year and the season sweep at the "Monster Mile". Returning to Charlotte, the race was dominated by Cup regulars Keselowski, Logano, and Harvick. The final 30 laps were a fuel mileage race, where Logano, who pitted with 14 to go, retook the lead with 6 to go, rolling to his series high 8th win of the season.


2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series, Season summary
At a repaved Kansas, Stenhouse rallied from 2 laps down as well as mid-race contact with Logano to beat Kyle Busch on a green-white-checkered restart to grab his sixth win of the year. At the penultimate race in Phoenix, Logano dominated the race, holding off teammate Brian Vickers on a green-white-checkered finish to score his 9th win of the season while Stenhouse extended his points lead after Sadler crashed late in the race. At the season finale at Homestead, Regan Smith held off a dominant Kyle Busch to score his first Nationwide victory, while Stenhouse finished off his Nationwide Series career with a 6th-place finish and a second consecutive Championship.


2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series, Results and standings, Drivers' standings
(key) Bold - Pole position awarded by time. Italics - Pole position set by final practice results or rainout. * – Most laps led.


2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
The 2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on May 19, 2012, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 90 laps, the it was the second exhibition race of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports took his third All-Star Race victory, while Brad Keselowski finished second and Matt Kenseth finished third.


2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Report, Background
Charlotte Motor Speedway is one of ten intermediate to hold NASCAR races, the others are Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway. The standard track at Charlotte Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is five degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also had a five degree banking.


2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Report, Background
A total of 22 drivers were entered for the Sprint Showdown, while 21 different drivers were eligible to participate in the All-Star Race, including race winners from last season through the 2012 Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and previous All-Star race winners from the past 10 years. The drivers who finish first and second in the Sprint Showdown, a 40-lap  preliminary race, was also eligible to compete in the race, as well as the Sprint fan vote winner.


2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Report, Background
The race was 90 laps long, separated into five segments: four segments of 20 laps and a final segment of 10 laps. A mandatory pit stop was between the final two segments, while pitting between the 20 lap segments was optional. Each segment winner moved to the front of the grid before the pit stops, but drivers lined-up for the restart how they left pit road. Since the inaugural race in 1985, the format has changed eight times.


2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Report, Pit crew challenge
The top-24 pit crews chose their pit stall by how they finished in the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge on May 17, 2012. The winner of the event was the No. 48 team from Hendrick Motorsports, which is driven on track by Jimmie Johnson. They beat the No. 11 team from Joe Gibbs Racing, driven on track by Denny Hamlin, by 0.294 seconds. Following the challenge, Johnson stated, "In this discipline, the athleticism and training really pays off. We made a big effort to get full-fledged athletes who did nothing but work on their pit stops and disciplines. And then they focused on this — the distance to run, the car push and all that — and I think it just shows how strong they are, how physically able they are to get the job done."


2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Report, Pit crew challenge
In addition, the event had individual winners who were the best in each category: jack man, gas man, front tire changers, and rear tire changers with the addition of two tire carriers. The jack man competition was won by Jeff Keer, from Kasey Kahne's Hendrick Motorsports' No. 5 team, while the gas man competition was won by Tom Lampe, who was from Kyle Busch's Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 team. Jeff Burton's Richard Childress Racing No. 31 team's front tire changer, Tim Sheets, and tire carrier JD Holcomb, who performed a record time of 13.615 seconds. The rear tire changer and tire carrier competition was won be Jake Seminara and Kenny Barber from the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team.


2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Report, Practice and qualifying
Two practice sessions were held on May 18, 2012; one for both the Sprint Showdown and the other for the All-Star Race. The Sprint Showdown practice was 85 minutes, while the All-Star Race practice session lasted 145 minutes. Qualifying for both events were held following the practice sessions.


2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Report, Practice and qualifying
During the Sprint Showdown practice session, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was quickest with a time of 28.706 seconds, eight one-thousandths of a second faster than A. J. Allmendinger in the second position. Landon Cassill followed in third, ahead of Bobby Labonte, Martin Truex, Jr. and Burton. Casey Mears was scored seventh fastest, while Aric Almirola, Travis Kvapil and Juan Pablo Montoya completed the first ten positions. Kyle Busch was quickest in the All-Star Race practice session with a time of 28.672.


2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Report, Practice and qualifying
Greg Biffle followed Kyle Busch in the second position by 0.095 seconds. Marcos Ambrose was third quickest, ahead of Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski. Mark Martin was scored seventh fastest with a time of 28.986, 0.314 behind Kyle Busch. Matt Kenseth, Paul Menard and Kurt Busch completed the first ten drivers in the session.


2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Report, Practice and qualifying
Allmendinger clinched the Sprint Showdown pole position a time of 28.057 seconds. Truex, Jr. qualified 0.208 seconds behind and will Allmendinger on the front row of the grid. Earnhardt, Jr. took third place, ahead of Burton and Almirola in the fourth and fifth positions. Cassill qualified sixth, while Montoya followed in seventh. Labonte, Kvapil and David Stremme completed the first ten positions.


2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Report, Practice and qualifying
Unlike the two-lap qualifying sessions in the season, the Sprint All-Star Race qualifying session consists of three laps and four-tire pit stop, which is during the second lap. Kyle Busch won the pole position for the All-Star Race with a time of 1:59.112 for the three laps with pit stop. Ryan Newman qualified second, ahead of Hamlin, Biffle, and Harvick. Johnson, with a time of 2:01.076, was seventh quickest, less than one-tenth of a second quicker than Menard in eighth. Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Regan Smith completed the first ten positions of the grid.


2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Report, Practice and qualifying
Also in the All-Star Race qualifying session, Kasey Kahne collided into the fourth turn wall while trying to finish his qualifying attempt, forcing him to change to a back-up car. "We unloaded with a really fast race car [Friday]," Busch commented after the session, "The guys made some minor changes to it to kind of feel it out and make it better where we could. The guys did a great job there with the pit stop, coming down pit road and changing four [tires] and then getting back out there and coming back to the line pretty quick."


2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Report, Sprint Showdown
A. J. Allmendinger won the pole for the Sprint Showdown, but would have to go to pit road during the pace laps to change a flat tire. Dale Earnhardt Jr. dominated the showdown leading every lap to cruise to victory. A.J Allmendinger would finish second in the final transfer spot after a hard battle with Jamie McMurray.


2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Report, NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
The 2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star race was the second exhibition race of the season, and was televised live in the United States on Speed, which began at 7:30 p.m. local time. Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, began pre-race ceremonies with an invocation. Singer Tony Lucca, finalist on the singing talent show The Voice, performed the national anthem, and Sprint customer Travis Rosia commanded the drivers to start their engines.


2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 64th season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 41st modern-era Cup season. The season started on February 18, 2012, at Daytona International Speedway, with the Budweiser Shootout, followed by the Daytona 500 on February 27. The season continued with the Chase for the Sprint Cup beginning on September 16 at Chicagoland Speedway and concluded with the Ford EcoBoost 400 on November 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.