2012 D.C. United season, Review, May
May began with United playing their 5th game in 18 days and with a back line that had one healthy center-back, Brandon McDonald. The other center-backs, Emiliano Dudar, Dejan Jakovic and Ethan White, were all out due to injuries. Playing the hottest team in the league, the San Jose Earthquakes, the defenseless United surrendered 5 goals in a 5–3 defeat. The game started well for United with a goal by Dwayne De Rosario in the eighth minute.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, May
However, the disorganized United defense gave up three goals in a flurry before halftime, on goals by Chris Wondolowski, Steven Lenhart and Justin Morrow. United drew close, when Daniel Woolard scored a diving header in the 64th minute. San Jose soon pulled away as Wondowlowski and Lenhart each scored their second goal of the game. Although the game was out of reach, United fans were buoyed with a late goal by substitute Hamdi Salihi, in the 88th minute. Salihi, United's much-hyped offseason signing, scored for the first time in league play, when he got on the end of a long pass by De Rosario, and neatly chipped it over the diving San Jose goalie, Jon Busch.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, May
Following the loss at San Jose, United had no break in the schedule with another road game 4 days later. The team did catch somewhat of a lucky break as they were playing winless Toronto FC. Head Coach Ben Olsen had a few surprises in store, as he bolstered the defense by putting Andy Najar at right back and moving Woolard to center-back. Bill Hamid was back in goal for the first time since United's season opener.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, May
Hamid's slot as the team's starting goalkeeper had gone to Joe Willis based on Willis' strong performances while Hamid was with the USA's U23 team in that team's failed effort at Olympic qualifying. After a defensive first half, with few chances for either team, United broke through on a long strike by Chris Pontius in the 55th minute. Hamdi Salihi once again came off the bench and closed out the scoring in a 2–0 win with his second goal in two games, this one coming on an acrobatic overhead scissors kick.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, May
Upon the victory at Toronto, United faced the Houston Dynamo in a rematch from April 28, when United won 3–2. The match was a special occasion for the Dynamo, as the club was opening their brand-new soccer-specific stadium, BBVA Compass Stadium. The hosts would earn a 1–0 victory thanks to a 67th-minute strike from Houston's Brad Davis, who volley a 35-yard shot.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, May
The three game road swing ended following the Houston match, where United began a three-match homestand against Colorado Rapids, Toronto FC and New England Revolution, respectively. United are riding on a two-match winning streak, defeating Colorado and Toronto by two-goal score lines. On May 26, United will play host to the Revolution.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, May
Following these league fixtures, United will conclude the month of May with the start of their U.S. Open Cup campaign. Entering in the third round proper, United will travel south on the I-95 corridor to take on USL Pro side, Richmond Kickers. To be played at Richmond's City Stadium, this will mark the first matchup between the two sides since 2010, but the first time since 2008 that the Kickers will host United.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, June
Due to breaks from the FIFA international calendar, D.C. United only played three league matches during June, all of which were in the second half of the month. Aside from their three regular season fixtures, United played a fourth round match of the U.S. Open Cup. Across all competitions, United earned a record of a pair of wins and losses, and zero ties.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, June
Their first match of the month was the Open Cup match on June 5, where United hosted the Philadelphia Union at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Maryland. For the two rivals, this was the first time the sides met one another in the domestic cup competition. Former United midfielder, Brian Carroll of the Union netted the opening goal in stoppage time of the first half, only for United's Josh Wolff to equalize minutes later. The 1–1 gridlock would stand through regulation time. Since the Open Cup does not feature replay matches, the match was decided in extra time.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, June
During extra time, Philadelphia's Antoine Hoppenot netted the eventual match-winning goal just three minutes into extra time, giving the Union a berth into the quarterfinals, and eliminating United's Open Cup odds. It was the second consecutive tournament that United failed to earn a place in the quarterfinals or deeper in the Open Cup.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, June
Eleven days later, the two sides would meet again in MLS league play, but at the Union's PPL Park. In years past, United had failed to defeat the Union in Philadelphia, losing both their outings by 3–2 score lines. The chippy affair saw Philadelphia dominate possession, but in spite of this, United came away with a 1–0 road victory, thanks to a goal from United striker, Chris Pontius in the 78th minute. The win gave United their fourth consecutive win in league play for the first time since 2007, and saw them top the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2009.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, June
The fact United topped the Eastern Conference, while their Atlantic Cup rivals, the New York Red Bulls were second the conference added extra weight to the league meeting between the two sides. In front of a Red Bull Arena sell-out crowd of 25,187; the June 24 match between the Red Bulls and United saw the Black-and-Red score their quickest goal in franchise history, with Pontius scoring 31 seconds into the match off of a Danny Cruz cross.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, June
New York answered in the 20th minute, with ex-United midfielder, Brandon Barklage tallying a goal in the 20th minute, his first with the Red Bulls. Barklage scored his second Red Bulls career goal inside three minutes of the second half, giving the Red Bulls a 2–1 advantage over United. Along with Barklage, New York's Jan Gunnar Solli scored his first career goal with the club, giving the Red Bulls a 3–1 lead in the 55th minute. The two-goal advantage was short-lived, however, as Pontius netted again for United just nine minutes later.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, June
A teasing pass from Maicon Santos saw Pontius dribble around Red Bulls goalie, Ryan Meara and easily slot it into the back of the net. Ultimately, the match would end in New York's favor, winning 3–2, additionally the Red Bulls earned their first victory against United at Red Bull Arena, and won at home against their rivals for the first time since August 10, 2008.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, June
With the loss, D.C. and New York drew level atop the Eastern Conference standings.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, July
July was an otherwise quiet month for D.C. United, as the club only played two regular season fixtures, and a mid-season friendly match. The lack of matches during the span was primarily due to the FIFA International Match Calendar and MLS's desire not to have conflicting dates with the match calendar.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, July
In league play, July was a rather frustrating patch, as D.C. United lost two games by a combined score of 5–0, losing by four to Houston Dynamo and one against Columbus Crew, both matches being on the road. The lopsided result against Houston was largely due to the ejection of starting goalkeeper, Bill Hamid, 20 minutes in, when United and the Dynamo were drawn at zero.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, July
D.C. United also played Paris-Saint Germain of France and drew 1–1.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, August
If July was a down month, then August was an up and down month for D.C. United. An early second half goal by Pontius was enough for a 1–0 home win over Columbus, but United next dropped a road match in Kansas City, despite a first-half goal by DeLeon. With two home games next, United was able to secure a draw against the Union, despite an early goal by former D.C. United regular Brian Carroll.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, August
United scored the tying goal on an own goal that came on a free kick taken by Branko Bošković, but Bošković was ejected 20 minutes later because of a scrum after De Rosario had seemingly earned the win for United with penalty kick goal in the 87th minute. An encroachment call nullified the goal, and De Rosario missed on the second try. The offense was back in gear for a 4–2 win over Chicago Fire, thanks to goals by De Rosario, Pajoy and the unlikely pair of McDonald and Tan.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, August
A trip to Montreal resulted in a 3–0 drubbing, but United seemed in position to close out the month with a win at home, holding a 2–1 lead over New York, thanks to goals by DeLeon and De Rosario. Unfortunately, the  team surrendered a late goal and had to settle for a point.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, September
D.C. United started the month with a disappointing 1–0 loss in Salt Lake. As disappointing as the loss was, the team soon got much worse news, as De Rosario injured his knee on international duty with the Canadian national team. Without his primary attacking threat, Olsen quickly changed his tactics to a much more defensive set and approach, which would come to be known as "Bennyball." In their first match without their captain, the team fell behind at home against New England, but thanks to the heroic efforts of Pontius, the team rallied for a 2–1 win.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, September
Pontius had a goal and assisted on the winning goal, Lewis Neal's first ever for D.C. In their next match, against Philadelphia, D.C. only generated a couple of chances, but they scored on one of them, when Pontius got on the end of a pass, forcing the goalie to challenge him and passed to a wide open Pajoy, who scored the game's only goal in a 1–0 win. The team continued their stingy ways in their return home, eking out a 1–0 win over lowly Chivas USA, on a second half goal by one-time Designated Player Branko Bošković.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, September
The goal was also noteworthy as the one and only regular season goal that Bošković scored in his time with the team. A trip to Portland produced another point, but a penalty goal by Pontius was not enough for the win, as United surrendered the tying goal in the 70th minute. Still United had closed out the month with 3 straight wins followed by a draw, all coming after De Rosario's season-ending injury.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, October
D.C.'s stunning unbeaten streak continued with a 1–0 home win against Toronto FC, setting up  a crucial match against Columbus in United's final regular season home game of the year. A playoff spot was on the line, and a sell-out crowd watched the most exciting match of the season. United fell behind on an early goal by the Crew's Eddie Gaven, but the home team evened the score in the 39th minute, on a goal by DeLeon. Two minutes later, Columbus was back in the lead, on a goal by Jairo Arrieta.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, October
Marcelo Saragosa leveled the score for D.C. in the 59th minute. The score remained 2–2 until the first minute of stoppage time. Hamdi Salihi won a loose ball in the defensive end, and passed the ball back to Chris Korb, who sent a hopeful long ball for Bošković. The Montenegrin Bošković hit a one-time left-footed volley over a defender towards a wide-open Neal, who hit a one-time volley of his own, past the onrushing goalkeeper, and securing United's first playoff spot since 2007. United closed out the regular season and a season-best seven-game unbeaten streak with a 1–1 draw in Chicago, thanks to a goal by Pajoy.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, November
In the Eastern Conference semi-finals round of the 2012 MLS Cup playoffs, D.C. United faced arch-foe New York Red Bulls in what would become one of the most memorable playoff series in league history. The opening match of the home-and-home series was played in Washington, effectively giving New York the home field advantage of hosting the return match, despite the fact that United had finished higher in the standings. The game would have been played at Red Bull Arena, but New Jersey was still struggling to recover from the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Sandy.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, November
In the series opener, the teams drew 1–1, trading own goals midway through the second half. New York defender Roy Miller sent an attempted clearance into New York's net in the 60th minute. New York was awarded the tying goal, when Bill Hamid went up to take a header into the box away from a Red Bull defender who was standing directly in front of United's goalie. Hamid fell back into the goal while holding the ball, though he tried to keep it out.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, November
The ball was ruled across the line and no foul was given, leaving the teams deadlocked heading into the return match. United would also have to play that match without the gifted Andy Najar who received a second yellow card ejection for throwing a ball at a New York player with about 20 minutes remaining.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, November
It was the return match that really indelibly stamped this series into the pages of league history. The weather once-again played havoc with this series. A large contingent of D.C. United fans left the Washington area in a convoy of 11 buses as snowflakes were beginning to fall in the mid-Atlantic region. By the time they reached New Jersey, they were in the midst of a potent nor'easter. Few local fans even turned up for the game, but MLS did not immediately postpone the match.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, November
As grounds crew and even the league's top two executives tried to clear snow from the field, the rival coaches argued with the league officials and the referees about whether to play the match. United's coach Olsen was adamant that they should play, but after a delay of 45 minutes, the league finally decided to postpone the match by a day. Fewer D.C. United supporters were available to make the trip back up the highway the next day, but those who did were rewarded with a victory that would become legend.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, November
The D.C. United goal was under a nearly-constant, withering assault almost the entire match, but Hamid made one spectacular save after another to keep the match scoreless until the 69th minute. That's when referee Mark Geiger showed Hamid a straight red card, after the goalie had come out to defend a breakaway by Red Bulls' striker Kenny Cooper and either did or did not initiate contact with Cooper. An irate Hamid was replaced by back-up 'keeper Joe Willis, who would carve his name into the team's annals and the hearts of United fans forever.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, November
Cooper beat Willis on the spot kick, beat referee Geiger ordered a retake because of encroachment by two Red Bulls players. Willis confidently dove left and blocked Cooper's second attempt. United was forced to play short-handed for a short time, but a reckless tackle against Pontius by the Red Bulls' Rafa Marquez earned a second yellow card and ejection. Shortly before stoppage time, D.C. went ahead, as a deft pass by defender Robbie Russell found Nick DeLeon. who slipped the ball over the sliding New York goalkeeper for what seemed to be the series winning goal.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, November
However, the Red Bulls had an excellent opportunity to force extra-time as they lined up a free kick on the edge of the penalty area during stoppage time. Despite having one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, Thierry Henry, who was also one of the great set-piece takers, the Red Bulls players decided to let Miller take the kick, and he sent it over the net. United left New Jersey with a 2–1 aggregate score series victory.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, November
The Eastern Conference championship series could not match the semi-final for drama, but it was not without its own share of drama. D.C. United traveled to Houston for the opening match. DeLeon gave United a 1–0 lead in the 27th minute. United seemed poised to take control of the series when Raphael Augusto, who was making his first start, was taken down by Dynamo defender André Hainault on a breakaway opportunity. This seemed to be a clear automatic red card situation, but no foul was even called  on the play.


2012 D.C. United season, Review, November
Spared the red card ejection, Hainault evened the score in the second half with a goal of his own. Two more goals, one by Will Bruin and the other by Kofi Sarkodie left the Dynamo in a commanding position heading into the return match in Washington. The loss ended United's nine-game unbeaten streak. In the return match, Houston struck first, on a goal by Oscar Boniek Garcia to take an insurmountable lead. A late goal by Bošković made the aggregate score 4–2, but United could draw no closer, ending their remarkable season.


2012 D.C. United season, Allocations, Allocation ranking
D.C. United is in the #7 position in the MLS Allocation Ranking. The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. National Team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the league after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee. A ranking can be traded, provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club's ranking.


2012 D.C. United season, Allocations, International roster slots
D.C. United has six international roster slots. Each club in MLS is allocated eight international roster spots, which can be traded. D.C. United traded one slot to Los Angeles Galaxy on February 7, 2011 for use during the 2011 and 2012 seasons and another slot to Portland Timbers on February 6, 2012 for use during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The remaining roster slots must belong to domestic players. For clubs based in the United States, a domestic player is either a U.S. citizen, a permanent resident (green card holder) or the holder of other special status (e.g., refugee or asylum status).


2012 D.C. United season, Allocations, International roster slots
As of June 28, 2012, United has used all six international roster spots on the following players: Canadian Dejan Jakovic, Montenegrin Branko Bošković, Brazilian Maicon Santos, Argentine Emiliano Dudar, Albanian Hamdi Salihi, and Englishman Lewis Neal.


2012 DEKALB Superspiel
The 2012 DEKALB Superspiel was held from November 22 to 25 at the Morris Curling Club in Morris, Manitoba as part of the 2012–13 World Curling Tour. The event was held in a triple knockout format. The purse for the men's event was CAD$30,000, of which the winner, William Lyburn, received CAD$10,000, while the purse for the women's event was CAD$24,000, of which the winner, Darcy Robertson, received CAD$8,000. In the men's final, Lyburn defeated Alexander Attinger of Switzerland with a score of 8–1 in four ends, while in the women's final, Robertson defeated her sister, defending champion Barb Spencer, with a score of 6–4 in an extra end.


2012 DFB-Pokal Final
The 2011–12 DFB-Pokal, the 62nd season of Germany's premier football cup competition, came to a close on 12 May 2012 when Borussia Dortmund played against Bayern Munich at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.


2012 DFB-Pokal Final
Borussia Dortmund won 5–2, their third DFB-Pokal triumph and the completion of their first Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double.


2012 DFB-Pokal Final, Route to the final
The DFB-Pokal began with 64 teams in a single-elimination knockout cup competition. There were a total of five rounds leading up to the final. Teams were drawn against each other, and the winner after 90 minutes would advance. If still tied, 30 minutes of extra time was played. If the score was still level, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner.


2012 DFB-Pokal Final, Route to the final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).


2012 DFB-Pokal Final, Match, Details
Assistant referees:Matthias Anklam (Buchholz in der Nordheide)Sascha Thielert (Buchholz in der Nordheide)Fourth official:Marco Fritz (Korb)


2012 DFL-Supercup
The 2012 DFL-Supercup was the third DFL-Supercup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal competitions. It took place on 12 August 2012 at the Allianz Arena. The match featured Borussia Dortmund, winners of both the 2011–12 Bundesliga and 2011–12 DFB-Pokal, and Bayern Munich, runners-up in the both the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal.


2012 DFL-Supercup
Bayern Munich won the match 2–1 and captured their then-record fourth title.


2012 DFL-Supercup, Teams
In the following table, matches until 1996 were in the DFB-Supercup era, since 2010 were in the DFL-Supercup era.


2012 DPR Korea Football League
Statistics of DPR Korea Football League in the 2012 season:


2012 DPR Korea Football League, Overview, Group Stage
Seventeen teams took part in the 2012 national championships; in the first stage, they were divided into two groups. Group A consisted of April 25, Sobaeksu, Man'gyŏngbong, Wangjaesan, Sŏnbong, Kyŏnggong'ŏp, Wŏlmido, and Ryongnamsan, whilst Group B was made up of Ponghwasan, Myohyangsan, Maebong, Hwangryongsan, Amrokkang, Rimyŏngsu, P'yŏngyang City, Kigwanch'a, and Taeryŏnggang. April 25 and Sŏnbong finished first and second in Group A, whilst Maebong and Rimyŏngsu finished first and second in Group B.


2012 DPR Korea Football League, Overview, Semi-finals
The top two finishers in each group advanced to the semi-finals, with the first-placed team of each group playing the second-placed team of the other group, the two match-ups being Maebong–Sŏnbong and April 25–Rimyŏngsu. Sŏnbong and April 25 advanced to the final, after Sŏnbong defeated Maebong 1–0 on a drenched pitch in heavy rain, and April 25 won their match against Rimyŏngsu 2–1.


2012 DPR Korea Football League, Overview, Third place match
The losing teams in the semi-finals played for third place. Both teams had been in the same group in the first stage of the competition, with Maebong having finished first in the group and Rimyŏngsu second; in the third place match, Rimyŏngsu handed Maebong a heavy 5–2 defeat in a match which saw Rimyŏngsu dominate from start to finish – making up for having lost 0–2 to Maebong in the group stage.


2012 DPR Korea Football League, Overview, Final
The final featured a rematch between April 25 and Sŏnbong, who had finished first and second respectively in Group A in the first stage of the competition. Like in the group stage, April 25 won by one goal.


2012 DPR Korea Football League, Cup competitions
April 25 won the Man'gyŏngdae Prize, and Rimyŏngsu won the Poch'ŏnbo Torch Prize.


2012 DPR Korea Football League, Cup competitions
Rimyŏngsu also won a Technical Innovation Contest held in P'yŏngyang in June and July, with eleven wins, one draw and two losses for 25 points, with 19 goals for; April 25 finished second, equal in points with Rimyŏngsu but with one goal less, and Kigwancha finished third with 20 points. Twelve teams took part in the competition: April 25, Rimyŏngsu, Sobaeksu, Amrokkang, Maebong, Man'gyŏngbong, Ponghwasan, Myohyangsan, P'yŏngyang City, Kigwancha, Kyŏnggong'ŏp, and Ryongnamsan.


2012 DR30
2012 DR30 is a trans-Neptunian object and centaur from the scattered disk and/or inner Oort cloud, located in the outermost region of the Solar System. The object with a highly eccentric orbit of 0.99 was first observed by astronomers with the Spacewatch program at Steward Observatory on 31 March 2009. It measures approximately 188 kilometers (120 miles) in diameter.


2012 DR30, Description
Using an epoch of February 2017, it has the second-largest heliocentric semi-major axis of a minor planet not detected out-gassing like a comet. (2014 FE72 has a larger heliocentric semi-major axis.) 2012 DR30 does have a barycentric semi-major axis of 1032 AU. For the epoch of July 2018 2012 DR30 will have its largest heliocentric semi-major axis of 1644 AU.


2012 DR30, Description
2012 DR30 passed 5.7 AU from Saturn in February 2009 and came to perihelion in March 2011 at a distance of 14.5 AU from the Sun (inside the orbit of Uranus). In 2018, it will move from 18.2 AU to 19.1 AU from the Sun. It comes to opposition in late March. With an absolute magnitude (H) of 7.1, the object has a published diameter of 185 and 188 kilometers, respectively.


2012 DR30, Description
With an observation arc of 14.7 years, it has a well constrained orbit. It will not be 50 AU from the Sun until 2047. After leaving the planetary region of the Solar System, 2012 DR30 will have a barycentric aphelion of 2049 AU with an orbital period of 33100 years. In a 10 million year integration of the orbit, the nominal (best-fit) orbit and both 3-sigma clones remain outside 12.2 AU (qmin) from the Sun. Summary of barycentric orbital parameters are:


2012 Daegu FC season
The 2012 season was Daegu FC's tenth season in the K-League in South Korea. Daegu FC will be competing in K-League and Korean FA Cup.


2012 Daegu FC season, Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 Daegu FC season, Current squad, Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 Daejeon Citizen FC season
The 2012 season was Daejeon Citizen's sixteenth season in the K-League in South Korea. Daejeon Citizen will be competing in K-League and Korean FA Cup.


2012 Daejeon Citizen FC season, Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 Daejeon Citizen FC season, Current squad, Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 Dahsyatnya Awards
The 2012 Dahsyatnya Awards was an awards show for Indonesian musicians. It was the fourth annual show. The show was held on January 25, 2012, at the Jakarta International Expo in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta. The awards show was hosted by Raffi Ahmad, Olga Syahputra, Olla Ramlan, Jessica Iskandar, Ayu Ting Ting, Boy William and Pak Tarno. The awards ceremonies will held theme for "Sebarkan Kedahsyatan Cintamu".


2012 Dahsyatnya Awards
Mulan Jameela led the nominations with three categories, followed by Agnes Monica, Indah Dewi Pertiwi, Syahrini, Afgan, RAN, etc. with two nominations. Gigi was the biggest winner of the night, taking home two awards for Outstanding Legend and Outstanding Video Clip for "Bye Bye".


2012 Dakar Rally
The 2012 Dakar Rally was the 34th running of the event. It was held in South America for the fourth successive time.


2012 Dakar Rally, Summary
By 17 March 2011, Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announced that the start would be in Mar del Plata, Argentina, the first stage would end in Bahía Blanca. The course would later cross the provinces of La Pampa, Mendoza, San Juan, La Rioja and Catamarca before crossing to Chile and finally ending in Peru.


2012 Dakar Rally, Summary
On 9 January 2011, Peruvian press announced that Peru would host the three final stages of the 2012 Dakar Rally, with Lima, the Peruvian capital, hosting the awards ceremony. The official announcement took place on 18 February in Paris. A map displaying these final stages was also published.


2012 Dakar Rally, Fatal accidents
Near the end of the first stage, motorcycle rider Jorge Andrés Boero died following a crash. It was the 21st death of a competitor in the history of the rally. During stage 2, the ultralight aircraft of a father son duo watching the race crashed. Both died at the scene.


2012 Dakar Rally, Stages
The sixth stage of the rally was cancelled due to heavy rain and snowfalls in the Anden-region near the border of Argentina and Chile.


2012 Dakar Rally, Summary, Bikes
The competition in the category rapidly developed into a two-horse race between KTM riders Cyril Despres and Marc Coma, who between them had won each previous Dakar event since 2005. It was Coma who seized the advantage initially with a victory on stage two, but a navigational error during the third stage dropped him ten minutes behind Despres. The gap between the pair remained close to the ten-minute mark until Despres lost time by getting stuck in mud during the eighth stage, allowing Coma to re-take the lead.


2012 Dakar Rally, Summary, Bikes
The battle remained extremely close for the following stages, with Coma and Despres exchanging the lead on two further occasions before the outcome of the battle was effectively settled during the thirteenth stage – Coma lost almost an hour to his rival, largely through the result of a 45-minute penalty for an engine change but also due to gearbox issues and further navigational trouble.


2012 Dakar Rally, Summary, Bikes
That allowed Despres to take a comfortable victory over Coma by a margin of 53 minutes, with Yamaha rider Hélder Rodrigues, who had held third position since the fourth stage, a further 18 minutes behind the Spaniard having picked up two stage wins during the event. KTM riders Jordi Viladoms and Štefan Svitko completed the top five, with Pål Anders Ullevålseter, who won the final stage of the event, in sixth position. Francisco Lòpez, who won the opening stage, had been running in fourth but was forced to retire after the seventh stage due to a fall which aggravated a previous knee injury.


2012 Dakar Rally, Summary, Quads
Sergio Lafuente took the first two-stage wins before losing an hour during the third stage. That handed the advantage briefly to Alejandro Patronelli, but his countryman Tomas Maffei seized the lead after victory in the fourth stage. However, both Maffei and Marcos Patronelli, brother of Alejandro, both effectively dropped out of contention when both lost considerable ground (54 minutes and 1 hour 20 minutes respectively) during the seventh stage, giving Alejandro Patronelli a lead of almost an hour after winning the stage.


2012 Dakar Rally, Summary, Quads
He took a further two stage wins en route to a comfortable victory in the overall classification by a margin of 1 hour and 20 minutes. Maffei lost second position in the ninth stage, and would finish in third overall despite winning the last two stages, 54 minutes down on the second of the Patronelli brothers. Completing the all-Yamaha, all-South American top five were Ignacio Casale, six hours adrift of the winning time, and Lafuente, who was another two hours further behind.


2012 Dakar Rally, Summary, Cars
With the withdrawal of the Volkswagen Motorsport works team, the first privateer winner since Jean-Louis Schlesser in 2000 was assured. The all-new X-Raid Mini All4 proved immediately competitive, with Leonid Novitskiy winning the first stage, Nani Roma winning the third stage and nine-time Dakar winner Stéphane Peterhansel re-taking the lead of the overall classification after taking victory in the fourth stage. Krzysztof Hołowczyc, also at the wheel of a Mini, held second behind Peterhansel after winning the fifth stage and remained inside the top three until power steering failure during the tenth stage ruled him out of contention.


2012 Dakar Rally, Summary, Cars
Roma then became Peterhansel's closest rival, with 19 minutes separating the pair after the Spaniard's win in the tenth stage. Roma would eventually finish the rally in second position, 40 minutes down on his teammate after getting stuck in sand dunes on the penultimate stage, with Peterhansel taking his tenth Dakar victory after adding to his stage win tally during the penultimate stage. 2009 winner Giniel de Villiers, driving a Toyota Hilux, finished a distant third overall, 32 minutes behind Roma, having failed to win any stages. Novitskiy was classified in fourth position after winning stage twelve, albeit over two hours behind Peterhansel.


2012 Dakar Rally, Summary, Cars
It was an event to forget for defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah. He lost nine minutes during the first stage after his Hummer's engine lost oil pressure. The Qatari went on to win the second stage, but lost over half an hour to Peterhansel in the fourth stage; winning the seventh stage had seen Al-Attiyah recover to sixth place before engine and alternator problems during the ninth stage warranted his retirement.


2012 Dakar Rally, Summary, Cars
Teammate Robby Gordon was at this stage just five minutes behind Peterhansel with a win on the ninth stage, but the gap increased to 20 minutes when the American hit a rock on the tenth stage. An illegal modification to his Hummer's engine then saw Gordon disqualified, though he continued to compete under appeal for the remainder of the rally. He would have finished fifth in the overall classification with three further stage wins, Toyota driver Lucio Alvarez inheriting the position as a result of Gordon losing the appeal.


2012 Dakar Rally, Summary, Trucks
Never outside the top two of the overall classification, the event was dominated by Iveco driver Gérard de Rooy. After finishing second to fellow Dutch competitor Marcel van Vliet in the opening stage, de Rooy won the second to lead the overall classification and re-took the lead after victory in the fourth stage. He consolidated his lead with two more successive stage victories, opening a 15-minute advantage over Aleš Loprais before the Tatra driver was forced to retire after an accident in the non-timed section of the ninth stage.


2012 Dakar Rally, Summary, Trucks
De Rooy then held a 47-minute advantage over teammate Hans Stacey, a gap he extended to 51 minutes by the end of the event with a final stage victory in the twelfth stage. Stacey secured second in the overall standings despite not having won any stages, with Artur Ardavichus the best of the Kamaz entries in third position – 1 hour and 47 minutes down on de Rooy with victory in the tenth stage to his credit.


2012 Dakar Rally, Summary, Trucks
Eduard Nikolaev, taking over as de facto Kamaz team leader after the retirement of Vladimir Chagin and Firdaus Kabirov, was excluded for an incident with a competitor in the car category during the fourth stage. Kamaz drivers Andrey Karginov, who won the eleventh stage, and Ilgizar Mardeev completed the top five. Former World Rally champion Miki Biasion was running third before losing over six hours during a torrid seventh stage, though the Italian won two more stages (to add to his victory on the third stage) en route to recovering to sixth place overall.


2012 Dalian Aerbin F.C. season
The 2012 Dalian Aerbin F.C. season is the third season in club history, and the first season in the Chinese Super League, promoted after finishing 1st in the 2011 China League One.


2012 Dalian Aerbin F.C. season, Overview
Before the season started, Aerbin signed Korean manager Chang Woe-Ryong for 3 years, hoping to improve the team with his counter attack tactics, but announced his resignation in April, and replaced him with Aleksandar Stanojević. The team ended 5th in the league, failed to enter AFC Champions League.


2012 Dalian Aerbin F.C. season, Players
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 Dalian Shide F.C. season
The 2012 Dalian Shide F.C. season is Dalian's 23rd consecutive season in the top division of Chinese football, and the last season before the team disbanded. Shide also competed in the Chinese FA Cup.


2012 Dalian Shide F.C. season, Players, First team
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 Dalian Shide F.C. season, Players, Reserve squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 Dalian Shide F.C. season, Players, On loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season
The 2012 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 53rd season National Football League, the fourth playing their home games at Cowboys Stadium and the second full season under head coach Jason Garrett. The Cowboys matched their win total from 2011, but missed the playoffs for a third consecutive season after losing their final game for the second straight season, this time to the Washington Redskins. Their 8–8 record was remarkable because the Cowboys trailed at some point during every game.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 1: at New York Giants
The Cowboys opened its 2012 campaign at MetLife Stadium in the Annual Kickoff Game against their NFC East foe, the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants. After a scoreless first quarter, the Giants picked up the season's first points as kicker Lawrence Tynes kicked a 22-yard field goal in the second quarter. Dallas would close out the half with quarterback Tony Romo finding wide receiver Kevin Ogletree on a 10-yard touchdown pass.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 1: at New York Giants
In the third quarter, the Cowboys added onto its lead Romo hooked up with Ogletree again with a 40-yard touchdown pass. New York answered with a 10-yard run from running back Ahmad Bradshaw, yet Dallas responded in kind with a 33-yard field goal from kicker Dan Bailey. The Cowboys pulled away for good in the fourth quarter with Romo connecting with wide receiver Miles Austin on a 34-yard touchdown pass. The Giants closed out the game with quarterback Eli Manning completing a 9-yard touchdown pass to former Dallas tight end Martellus Bennett.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 1: at New York Giants
With the win, the Cowboys began the season at 1–0.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 3: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Hoping to rebound from their tough road loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the Cowboys returned to Arlington to host their home opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that they had blown out a year before. This game, however, was a close one throughout. In the first quarter, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo tossed an interception to Aqib Talib, which set up for a 1-yard touchdown pass from Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman to tight end Luke Stocker for Tampa Bay to take the first lead.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 3: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Dallas would immediately respond after a Sean Lee interception set up Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray for an 11-yard touchdown run to tie the game. Shortly before the half, kicker Dan Bailey booted a 32-yard field goal for Dallas to take the lead, 10–7. After a scoreless third quarter, Dallas pulled away with Dan Bailey knocking in a pair of field goals, one from 26 yards and another from 22 yards to make the game 16–7. Tampa Bay attempted a furious rally to take the game back after a 28-yard field goal by Connor Barth, but Dallas would recover the following onside kick and effectively took a knee to end the game.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 4: vs. Chicago Bears
With the loss, the Cowboys enter their bye week with 2–2. Dallas quarterback Tony Romo had a horrifically forgettable game, tossing 5 interceptions, including 2 that were run back for touchdowns by the ferocious Bears defense.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 6: at Baltimore Ravens
With the loss, the Cowboys fell into 2–3 and dropped to 0–4 all-time against the Ravens. Horrible clock management by head coach Jason Garrett on the final drive left Dallas' kicker with a 50+ yard field goal attempt that he pushed wide as time expired.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 7: at Carolina Panthers
The Cowboys beat the Panthers to improve to a .500 record.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 8: vs. New York Giants
With the loss, the Cowboys fell to 3–4 on the season and 0–4 at Cowboys Stadium against the Giants. A late go-ahead touchdown catch by Dez Bryant was overturned on review as it showed that as Bryant's hand came down to brace his landing, barely a tip of one finger came down on the end line, thus ruling him out of bounds.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 9: at Atlanta Falcons
During this game, Jason Witten's 7 receptions brought him to a franchise record of 754, surpassing Michael Irvin's previous record of 750.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 11: vs. Cleveland Browns
After being down 13–0 against the Browns in the first half, the Cowboys outscored the Browns 20–7 to send the game into overtime. The Cowboys kicked the game-winning field goal and improved to 5–5 on the season and 2nd place in the NFC East.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 12: vs. Washington Redskins
With the loss to their long-time rival the Washington Redskins during a Thanksgiving Day showdown, the Cowboys dropped to 5–6 on the season and 6–1 against the Redskins on Thanksgiving. Along with the loss, the Cowboys also lost 2 key defensive players for an extended period of time. Cornerback Orlando Scandrick broke his left hand, but the team was still hopeful that he would be able to return before the end of the season. But of the three injuries suffered during the game, Bruce Carter's was probably the most devastating.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 12: vs. Washington Redskins
Carter dislocated his left elbow during the game and was out for the rest of the season after having surgery. At that point, the Cowboys had lost 4 starters on defense due to injuries, and were on their 3rd and 4th string middle linebackers after losing both Carter and Sean Lee for the season. Also the Cowboys lost starting receiver Miles Austin to a hip strain caused by linebacker London Fletcher in the back of the end zone. Although he did not return to the game, he was cleared to play for the Cowboys' week 13 game.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 16: vs. New Orleans Saints
The loss dropped Dallas to 8–7 and mathematically eliminated them from gaining a wild card spot. However, if they were to beat the Washington Redskins in week 17, Dallas would win the NFC East.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Week 17: at Washington Redskins
With the loss, Dallas ended the season with an 8–8 record, and missed the playoffs for the third straight season. The Cowboys loss marks their third season finale loss in the last five seasons where they faced a win-or-go-home situation for the playoffs. All those season finale games came against NFC East opponents. In 2008, they lost 44–6 to the Philadelphia Eagles failing to clinch a wild card spot. In 2011, they lost 31–14 to the New York Giants failing to win the NFC East title. The loss also brought their record in Week 17 games to 2–11 since 2000.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Season recap
The Cowboys started the season on September 5, playing a Wednesday game for the first time in franchise history.


2012 Dallas Cowboys season, Schedule, Game summaries, Season recap
Against the Philadelphia Eagles on November 11 during the fourth quarter, the Cowboys became the second team in NFL history to score touchdowns via interception, fumble return and punt return in the same quarter. The first one was the San Francisco 49ers in 1966.


2012 Dallas Cup
The 2012 Dallas Cup was the 33rd since its establishment. 12 teams participated in the tournament. The competition was sponsored by Dr Pepper.


2012 Dallas Tennis Classic
The 2012 Dallas Tennis Classic was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the first edition of the tournament, which was part of the 2012 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Irving, United States between 12 and 18 March 2012.


2012 Dallas Tennis Classic, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2012 Dallas Tennis Classic, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2012 Dallas Tennis Classic, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received entry as alternates into the doubles main draw:


2012 Dallas Tennis Classic – Doubles
Santiago González and Scott Lipsky won the first edition of the tournament by defeating Bobby Reynolds and Michael Russell 6–4, 6–3 in the final.


2012 Dallas Tennis Classic – Singles
Frank Dancevic won first edition of the tournament by defeating Igor Andreev 7–6(7–4), 6–3 in the final.


2012 Dally M Awards
The 2012 Dally M Awards were presented on Tuesday 4 September 2012 at the Sydney Town Hall and broadcast on Fox Sports. They are the official annual awards of the 2012 NRL season.


2012 Dally M Awards, Dally M Awards
The Dally M Awards were, as usual, conducted at the close of the regular season and hence do not take games played in the finals series into account. The Dally M Medal is for the official player of the year while the Provan-Summons Medal is for the fans' of "people's choice" player of the year.


2012 Damallsvenskan
The 2012 Damallsvenskan, part of the 2012 Swedish football season, was the 25th season of Damallsvenskan since its establishment in 1988. The 2012 fixtures were released on 8 December 2011. The season began on 9 April 2012 and ended on 3 November 2012. LdB FC Malmö were the defending champions, having won their 7th title the previous season. In an interesting season finish Malmö had a five points advantage over Tyresö two days before the end. On the second last matchday though Malmö only drew, while Tyresö won and the teams then met on the final matchday to play for the championship. Due to a better goal difference Tyresö won its first title after a late goal for a 1–0 win.


2012 Damallsvenskan
A total of twelve teams contested the league, 10 returning from the 2011 season and two promoted from Division 1.


2012 Damallsvenskan, Teams
Hammarby IF DFF and Dalsjöfors GoIF were relegated at the end of the 2011 season after finishing in the bottom two places of the table. They were replaced by Division 1 division champions AIK and Vittsjö GIK.


2012 Danish Cup Final
The 2012 Danish Cup Final was a football match that decided the winner of the 2011–12 Danish Cup. It was played on 17 May 2012 at 18:00 CEST.


2012 Danish Cup Final, Road to the Final
As decided by the results of last season's Superliga, Horsens entered the Cup in the second round, Copenhagen in the third round.


2012 Danish Figure Skating Championships
The 2012 Danish Figure Skating Championships (Danish: Danske Mesterskaber 2012) was held in Hvidovre from December 1 through 4, 2011. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pairs skating, and ice dancing on the levels of senior, junior, novice, and the pre-novice levels of debs, springs, and cubs. The results were used to choose the teams to the 2012 World Championships, the 2012 European Championships, the 2012 Nordic Championships, and the 2012 World Junior Championships.


2012 Danish Individual Speedway Championship
The 2012 Danish Individual Speedway Championship was the 2012 edition of the Danish Individual Speedway Championship. The final was staged over two rounds, at Holsted and Outrup, and was won by Niels Kristian Iversen. It was the first time Iversen had won the national title.


2012 Danish Individual Speedway Championship, Event format
The competition started with two semi finals, with five progressing to the final series from each. The final series was held over two rounds, with the top four scorers from the two rounds then competing in a Grand Final. The points from the Grand Final were then added to the total score and the overall winner was the rider with the most total points.


2012 Danish Thundersport Championship
The 2012 Auto-G Danish Thundersport Championship season was the first season of the Danish Thundersport Championship, it began at Jyllandsringen in May and concluded at the same venue in September.


2012 Danish Thundersport Championship
The championship succeeded the Danish Touringcar Championship, with the Super 2000 cars being replaced with the Camaro Cup/Trans Am cars.


2012 Danish Thundersport Championship, Teams and drivers
Drivers with an asterisk on their "Rounds" column took part in the non-championship round held at the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix.


2012 Danish Thundersport Championship, Championship standings
Points are awarded to the top 15 classified finishers in each race. No points are awarded for pole position or fastest lap.


2012 Danmark Rundt
The 2012 Danmark Rundt was a men's road bicycle race held from 22 to 26 August 2012. It was the 22nd edition of the men's stage race, which was established in 1985. The race was rated as a 2.HC event and formed part of the 2012 UCI Europe Tour.


2012 Danmark Rundt
The race was won by Dutch rider Lieuwe Westra of the Vacansoleil-DCM team, with Ramunas Navardauskas of Garmin-Sharp second and Manuele Boaro of Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank third.


2012 Danmark Rundt
The 2012 race was moved to the end of August from its usual start date at the beginning of the month because of a clash with the 2012 Olympic Games. Organisers believe that this led to less spectators viewing the race than in the past and plan for the 2013 edition to start following the 2013 Tour de France.


2012 Danmark Rundt, Teams
17 teams were invited to the 2012 Danmark Rundt: 8 teams from the UCI ProTeams, 4 UCI Professional Continental Teams, 4 UCI Continental Teams along with a Danish national team under the Team Post Danmark name.


2012 Danmark Rundt, Stages, Stage 1
22 August 2012 – Randers to Randers, 191 km (119 mi)


2012 Danmark Rundt, Stages, Stage 1
The stage started and ended in Randers, taking in a tour of the Djursland peninsula and passing through the town of Grenaa. A crash involving around half of the field occurred 3½km before the finish before being won by German rider André Greipel of the Lotto-Belisol team. Alexander Kristoff of Team Katusha finished second, with Theo Bos of Rabobank finishing third.


2012 Danmark Rundt, Stages, Stage 1
Organisers decided to award every rider the same time following the mass crash as the riders involved were part of the peloton at the time. This is usually only done if riders are within the 3 km mark at the end of the stage, a decision which attracted some criticism from Michael Rasmussen.


2012 Danmark Rundt, Stages, Stage 2
23 August 2012 – Løgstør to Aarhus, 211 km (131 mi)


2012 Danmark Rundt, Stages, Stage 2
Stage two was the longest stage of the 2012 race, starting in Løgstør on the Limfjord and travelling generally south through Jutland. It passed through the town of Viborg before ending in Aarhus. It was described as a key stage with a possibly critical impact on the overall standings. The stage was won by André Greipel following a bunch sprint at the finish. Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator rider Michael Van Staeyen finished second with Steele Von Hoff of Garmin-Sharp third.


2012 Danmark Rundt, Stages, Stage 3
24 August 2012 – Silkeborg to Vejle, 185 km (115 mi)


2012 Danmark Rundt, Stages, Stage 3
Stage three has been described as the toughest stage in the race and contained the most climbs. The route initially ran north from Silkeborg through Kjellerup, before turning southwards through Silkeborg again before heading towards Vejle. It finished after the traditional climb of Kiddesvej, a 350-metre climb with an average gradient of 12.5% and a maximum gradient of 21%. This climb has been included in the Danmark Rundt each year since 2004.


2012 Danmark Rundt, Stages, Stage 3
After a breakaway, which at one point reached eight minutes, most riders rejoined the peloton before the final climb of Kiddesvej led to a small group being able to complete the stage ahead of the main bunch. The stage winner was Lars Petter Nordhaug of Team Sky who took over the general classification lead from André Greipel. Wilco Kelderman of Rabobank came second with Ramunas Navardauskas of Garmin-Sharp third.


2012 Danmark Rundt, Stages, Stage 4
25 August 2012 – Ringe to Odense, 90 km (56 mi)


2012 Danmark Rundt, Stages, Stage 4
A short stage to allow for an individual time trial later in the same day, stage four saw the race move to Funen. Starting in Ringe, the route traveled south to Faaborg on the south coast, before passing north to Odense. Much of the route was wet and, again, produced a sprint finish which was won by Alexander Kristoff of Team Katusha ahead of Andrew Fenn of Omega Pharma-Quick Step and Theo Bos of Rabobank. Lars Petter Nordhaug retained the yellow jersey with just a one-second lead over Kristoff ahead of the evening individual time trial around Kerteminde.


2012 Danmark Rundt, Stages, Stage 5
25 August 2012 – Kerteminde to Kerteminde, 14.5 km (9.0 mi) individual time trial (ITT)


2012 Danmark Rundt, Stages, Stage 5
Stage five was a 14½km individual time trial around Kerteminde on Funen. The stage was identical to the time trial used in the 2002 and 2008 races. It was won by Lieuwe Westra of the Vacansoleil-DCM team who took the yellow jersey, leading the race by ten seconds from Ramunas Navardauskas.


2012 Danmark Rundt, Stages, Stage 6
26 August 2012 – Slagelse to Frederiksberg, 165 km (103 mi)


2012 Danmark Rundt, Stages, Stage 6
Stage six started in Slagelse on Sjælland and passed through Sorø and Roskilde before arriving in Frederiksberg. Ten laps of 6 km each led to the traditional race finish on Frederiksberg Allé. The stage was won by Team Sky rider Mark Cavendish in a bunch sprint, with Lieuwe Westra retaining the overall lead.


2012 Danmark Rundt, Final standings
The general classification was won by Lieuwe Westra of Vacansoleil-DCM by ten seconds from Ramunas Navardauskas of Garmin-Sharp with Manuele Boaro of Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank another four seconds back in third place. Team Katusha rider Alexander Kristoff won the points trophy by one point from Lotto-Belisol rider André Greipel.


2012 Danmark Rundt, Final standings
The mountain classification was won by Danish rider Nikola Aistrup of Team Concordia Forsikring-Himmerland with Dutch rider Wilco Kelderman of Team Rabobank winning the young riders award. Glud & Marstrand-LRØ rider Sebastian Lander won the fighters award. The team race was won by Team Sky.


2012 Dartmouth Big Green football team
The 2012 Dartmouth Big Green football team represented Dartmouth College in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Big Green were led by head coach Buddy Teevens in his eighth straight year and 13th overall and played their home games at Memorial Field. They are a member of the Ivy League. They finished the season 6–4 overall and 4–3 in Ivy League play to place in a three-way tie for third.


2012 Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy Classic
The 2012 Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy Classic was held from November 16 to 19 at the Dauphin Curling Club in Dauphin, Manitoba as part of the 2012–13 World Curling Tour. The event was held in a triple knockout format, and the purse for the event was CAD$32,000, of which the winner, Randy Bryden, received CAD$10,000. Bryden defeated Scott Bitz in the final with a score of 5–3.


2012 Daventry District Council election
The 2012 Daventry District Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of Daventry District Council in England. This was on the same day as other 2012 United Kingdom local elections.


2012 Daventry District Council election
As there were boundary changes which created new wards and reduced councillors from 38 to 36 all seats were up for election rather than a third as normal. After the election the council was made up as follows; 29 Conservative councillors, 6 Labour councillors and 1 Liberal Democrat councillor.


2012 Davidson Wildcats football team
The 2012 Davidson Wildcats football team represented Davidson College in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by eighth-year head coach Tripp Merritt and played their home games at Richardson Stadium. They were a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL). Merritt was fired on November 5 after a 1–8 start and 31–51 mark in eight seasons. Associate head coach Brett Hayford was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. They finished the season 2–9 overall  2–6 in PFL play to finish in eighth place.


2012 Davis Cup
The 2012 Davis Cup (also known as the 2012 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas for sponsorship purposes) was the 101st edition of the tournament between national teams in men's tennis. The Czech Republic won the championship, beating Spain in the final, 3–2.


2012 Davis Cup
Czech Republic is the only country except United States and Australia to hold both Davis Cup and Fed Cup at the same time. The Czechs did the same in 2012, and they have also won the Hopman Cup.


2012 Davis Cup
The draw took place on 21 September 2011 in Bangkok, Thailand.


2012 Davis Cup, World Group Play-offs
The eight losing teams in the World Group first round ties and eight winners of the Zonal Group I final round ties will compete in the World Group Play-offs for spots in the 2013 World Group.


2012 Davis Cup Africa Zone Group III
The Europe and Africa Zone is one of the three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2012.


2012 Davis Cup Africa Zone Group III
In the Europe and Africa Zone there are four different groups in which teams compete against each other to advance to the next group.


2012 Davis Cup Africa Zone Group III, Format
The nine teams will be split into two pools. The winner of Pool A plays against the runner-up of Pool B and the winner of Pool B against the runner-up of Pool A. The two winning teams will be promoted.


2012 Davis Cup Africa Zone Group III, Format
It will played on the week commencing 2 July 2012 at Tunis, Tunisia and it will be played on outdoor hard court.


2012 Davis Cup Americas Zone
There are four groups in the American Zone of the Davis Cup. The two winners of Group I advances to the World Group play-offs while the last placed team will be relegated to Group II the following year. The winner of Group II gets promoted to Group I next year, the two last placed teams get relegated to Group III. The top two teams of Group III gets promoted to Group II while the two weakest teams gets relegated to Group IV. In Group IV no team can get relegated, the best two will get promoted to Group III.


2012 Davis Cup Americas Zone Group I
The Americas Zone is one of the three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2012.


2012 Davis Cup Americas Zone Group I
In the Americas Zone there are three different groups in which teams compete against each other to advance to the next group.


2012 Davis Cup Americas Zone Group II
The Americas Zone is one of the three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2012.


2012 Davis Cup Americas Zone Group II
In the Americas Zone there are three different groups in which teams compete against each other to advance to the next group.


2012 Davis Cup Americas Zone Group III
The Americas Zone is one of the three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2012.


2012 Davis Cup Americas Zone Group III
In the Americas Zone in 2012 there are three different groups in which teams compete against each other to advance to the next group, as Groups III and IV have been merged.


2012 Davis Cup Americas Zone Group III, Format
The teams will be split into two groups, playing a round-robin, with the winner of each group playing the runner-up of the other group for promotion to Division II in 2013.


2012 Davis Cup Americas Zone Group III, Format
It will played on the week commencing 18 June 2012 at Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago and it will be played on outdoor hard court.


2012 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone
There are four groups in the Asia/Oceania Zone of the Davis Cup. The two winners of Group I advances to the World Group play-offs while the last placed team will be relegated to Group II the following year. The winner of Group II gets promoted to Group I next year, the two last placed teams get relegated to Group III. The top two teams of Group III gets promoted to Group II while the two weakest teams gets relegated to Group IV. In Group IV no team can get relegated, the best two will get promoted to Group III.


2012 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I
The Asia/Oceania Zone is one of the three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2012.


2012 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I
In the Asia/Oceania Zone there are four different groups in which teams compete against each other to advance to the next group.


2012 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II
The Asia/Oceania Zone is one of the three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2012.


2012 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II
In the Asia/Oceania Zone there are four different groups in which teams compete against each other to advance to the next group.


2012 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group III
The Asia/Oceania Zone is one of the three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2012.


2012 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group III
In the Asia/Oceania Zone there are four different groups in which teams compete against each other to advance to the next group.


2012 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group III, Format
The eight teams will be split into two pools of four, the top two nations will advance to the promotion pool. The two best teams from there will be promoted. The bottom two teams will play in a relegation pool, where the two last teams will be relegated.


2012 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group III, Format
It will played on the week commencing 25 April 2012 at Tehran, Iran and it will be played on outdoor hard court.


2012 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group IV
The Asia/Oceania Zone is one of the three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2012.


2012 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group IV
In the Asia/Oceania Zone there are four different groups in which teams compete against each other to advance to the next group.


2012 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group IV, Format
The ten teams will be split into two pools of five, the top nation from each pool will play against the runner-up from the other pool. The two winners will be promoted.


2012 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group IV, Format
It will played on the week commencing 16 April 2012 at Doha, Qatar and it will be played on outdoor hard court.


2012 Davis Cup Europe Zone Group III
The Europe and Africa Zone is one of the three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2012.


2012 Davis Cup Europe Zone Group III
In the Europe and Africa Zone there are four different groups in which teams compete against each other to advance to the next group.


2012 Davis Cup Europe Zone Group III
The Europe Zone third group tournament was held between 2 and 5 May 2012 in Sofia, Bulgaria.


2012 Davis Cup Europe Zone Group III
Lithuania and Bulgaria were promoted to the second group of Davis Cup for the following year.


2012 Davis Cup Europe Zone Group III, Format
The 13 teams will be split into four pools. The winners of pool A and pool B will be drawn to play against the winners of pool C and pool D. Two winning nations will be promoted to Europe/Africa Zone of Group II for 2013.


2012 Davis Cup Europe Zone Group III, Format
All matches of this group were played on 2–5 May 2012 in Sofia, Bulgaria and they were played on outdoor clay court.


2012 Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone
There are four groups in the Europe/Africa Zone of the Davis Cup. The four winners of Group I advances to the World Group play-offs while the last placed teams will be relegated to Group II the following year. The winners of Group II gets promoted to Group I next year, the four last placed teams get relegated to Group III. The top two teams of the Europe Group III gets promoted to Group II. The top two teams of the Africa Group III gets promoted to Group II.


2012 Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I
The Europe and Africa Zone is one of the three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2012.


2012 Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I
In the Europe and Africa Zone there are four different groups in which teams compete against each other to advance to the next group.


2012 Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II
The Europe and Africa Zone is one of the three zones of regional Davis Cup competition in 2012.


2012 Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II
In the Europe and Africa Zone there are four different groups in which teams compete against each other to advance to the next group.


2012 Davis Cup World Group
The World Group was the highest level of Davis Cup competition in 2012. The first round losers went into the Davis Cup World Group Play-offs and the winners progress to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinalists were guaranteed a World Group spot for 2013.


2012 Davis Cup World Group
The competition was won by the Czech Republic who defeated Spain in the final.


2012 Davis Cup World Group Play-offs
The 2012 Davis Cup World Group Play-offs were held from September 14 to 16. They were the main play-offs of the 2012 Davis Cup. Winners of the playoffs advanced to the 2013 World Group, and losers were relegated to their respective Zonal Regions I.


2012 Davis Cup World Group Play-offs, Teams
Bold indicates team has qualified for the 2013 Davis Cup World Group.


2012 Dayton Dutch Lions season
The 2012 Dayton Dutch Lions season was the club's third season of existence, as well as their second season of playing professional soccer. The Dutch Lions played in the USL Professional Division, the third-tier of American soccer.


2012 Dayton Dutch Lions season
Outside the USL Pro the Dutch Lions entered the U.S. Open Cup in the second round proper of the tournament.


2012 Dayton Flyers football team
The 2012 Dayton Flyers football team represented the University of Dayton in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Rick Chamberlin and played their home games at Welcome Stadium. They are a member of the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 6–5, 5–3 in Pioneer League play to finish in a tie for fourth place.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season
The 2012 Dayton Silverbacks season is the seventh season for the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) franchise.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season
After much speculation about whether or not the Silverbacks would leave the CIFL and join the Ultimate Indoor Football League, the Silverbacks management made an announcement that they would be staying in the CIFL and helping the league rebuild after losing its top two teams from the 2011 season. Coach Derrick Shepad resigned at the end of the 2011 season. On September 8, 2011, Mister Askew was named the 6th coach in Silverbacks history.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season
On February 9, 2012, it was announced that Silverbacks Football LLC, in which Jeff Kolaczkowski of Dayton acted as president of that organization, decided they would be stepping out of the world of football and selling the team to an ownership group. The Dayton Silverbacks were sold to MRL Sports Entertainment LLC. There are currently three members on the ownership board for MRL Sports Entertainment LLC and all three board members were current members of the Dayton Silverbacks front office staff. Those members were Michael Lause, April Shellenberger and Tyree Fields.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season
On March 1, just ten days before the season started, the Silverback fired Head Coach Mister Askew. The reasons for his termination have yet to be determined. Before the season started, Fields left the team in all capacities, leaving only Lause and Shellenberger. Then after one week of the season, Lause left the team as well for reasons that are unknown. With Shelleberger the lone person in charge, there is doubt that the team will survive past the 2012 season.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season
The Silverbacks finished with a team record 8 wins (the previous team record was 5) as they finished the season 8-1.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season
They were defeated by the Saginaw Sting, 7-35, in the 2012 CIFL Championship Game.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season, Players, Final roster
Rookies in italics updated June 2, 201220 Active, 5 Inactive, 0 PS


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season, Regular season, Week 1: vs Indianapolis Enforcers
The first quarter opened with Dayton scoring in the first two minutes into the game on a seven-yard run by Marcus Fails. The extra point by Jeff Hubbard failed and Dayton led 6–0. With a minute left in the first quarter, Bruce Peters ran in from four yards out and Dayton was up 12-0. The Enforcers scored with 55 seconds left in the quarter when Jamie Barnes caught a 23-yard pass from quarterback Anthony Duckett. The PAT was good by Pavel Polochanin.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season, Regular season, Week 1: vs Indianapolis Enforcers
Dayton continued with a second quarter. Halfway through the quarter, Evan Sawyer scored on a 1-yard run. Jeff Hubbard added the PAT and Dayton led 19-7. With 5:18 to play in the half, Trey Jackson recorded a safety and the Silverbacks were up 21-7. The first-half scoring closed with 4:07 remaining on Sawyer's 23-yard run. Peters ran in for the two-point conversion and Dayton led 29-7 at halftime.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season, Regular season, Week 1: vs Indianapolis Enforcers
The second half belonged to the Silverbacks as well. Dayton scored six points in the third to lead 35-7 after three and added two more scores in the fourth to win going away 48-7. Sawyer had a memorable CIFL debut as he recorded 5 touchdowns (4 rushing and one passing). Duckett on the other had one to forget, as he set an Enforcers, and CIFL, record with 7 interceptions. The 7 interceptions by the Silverbacks set a CIFL record for a single game. The previous record had been 6, held by the Cincinnati Commandos who set the mark in 2011 against Indianapolis.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season, Regular season, Week 2: vs Port Huron Patriots
Dayton opened the scoring first with Evan Sawyer taking the ball in from 1 yard out. The PAT was kicked by Zack VanZant and the Silverbacks led 7-0. The Patriots came right back down the field and scored on 4-yard run by Tracey McIntyre with 5:52 left in the opening stanza. Mark Carter ran in the two-point conversion and the host led 8-7. Dayton took the next possession and moved down the field and answered the call with touchdown with 1:47 left in the quarter. Sawyer passed the ball to Bruce Peters from seven yards out, and VanZant added the PAT. At the end of the first quarter, Dayton led 14-8.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season, Regular season, Week 2: vs Port Huron Patriots
With 9:59 left in the first half, VanZant kicked a 16-yard field goal. With 5:45 left in the half, Sawyer threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Antwain Weeden. The extra point was good and they led 24-8. Port Huron answered the bell when Terry Michell caught a 6-yard pass from Michael McKinley, but Carson Nowakowski's kick was no good. Weeden took the ensuing kickoff and ran 52 yards for a touchdown to close the half, but the PAT failed. At halftime, Dayton led 30-14.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season, Regular season, Week 2: vs Port Huron Patriots
Darryl Johnson threw a 14-yard pass to Jose Morris to open up the second half scoring. Port Huron went for two points and failed. Dayton then came back and scored with 4 minutes left in the quarter when Sawyer threw a 44 yards pass to Tyler Waller. The third quarter ended and the Silverbacks led 36-22.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season, Regular season, Week 2: vs Port Huron Patriots
In the fourth quarter, Dayton added two touchdowns to close out the scoring and win the game 50-22.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season, Regular season, Week 3: vs Chicago Vipers
In the first quarter Sawyer hit a wide open Tyler Waller on a 26-yard pass play and it was quickly 6-0 the extra point was blocked. After a safety it was 8 - 0 Dayton after the first quarter.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season, Regular season, Week 3: vs Chicago Vipers
In the 2nd quarter after Chicago kicker Julie Harshbarger missed a 27-yard field goal Evan sawyer capped off an eight play drive, with a six-yard run and with the extra point made it 15 - 0 Silverbacks, but the Vipers came right back and scored with less than a minute to go in the first half, Anthony Kropp connected with Dan Carter, who made a great one handed catch in the end zone and it was 15-6 Silverbacks. Just seconds later the Silverbacks would answer with a six-yard pass from Evan Sawyer to Bruce Peters and it was 21-6 at the half.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season, Regular season, Week 3: vs Chicago Vipers
After the Silverback defense stopped the Vipers at their own 14, just two plays later Evan sawyer scored on an eight-yard run and a Zach VanZant extra point made it a 27-6 Dayton lead. Chicago came back with a score of their own on an Anthony Kropp nine-yard pass to Dan Carter, the extra point was good and it was 27 - 13 Dayton. Dayton would put it away after Sawyer scampered in on a one-yard run with 1:19 left in the third quarter and it was 34-13 Silverbacks after the 3rd quarter.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season, Regular season, Week 3: vs Chicago Vipers
In the final quarter, Dayton's Chris Stanford hit Lawrence Green on a four-yard pass and Marcus Fails intercepted a pass and ran it in from 25 yards out and it was a 48-13.


2012 Dayton Silverbacks season, Regular season, Week 4: vs Port Huron Patriots
After the Port Huron Patriots saw their entire coaching staff, quarterback and a kicker change, the Patriots went on the road for their first road game in franchise history against the undefeated Silverbacks. New Patriot quarterback Torrance Webster threw a pair of touchdowns to Jose' Cannon, and ran in another score. New Patriot kicker Chris Kolias was 1 for 2 on field goal attempts, and 3 for 3 in extra point attempts. In the end, it was Webster's three interceptions that cost the Patriots the game, as the final one was taken back 40 yards by Melvin Thomas to ultimately seal the win for the Silverbacks. Evan Sawyer continued his good play contributing 3 touchdowns, two passing and running another score in.


2012 Daytona 500
The 2012 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The 54th iteration of the event, it was held between February 27–28, 2012 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, before a crowd of 140,000. Matt Kenseth driving for Roush Fenway Racing took the 202-lap race for his first win of the season and his second Daytona 500 victory. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished second and Greg Biffle was third.


2012 Daytona 500
The race was scheduled for February 26 but heavy rain forced NASCAR officials to delay it until February 27 at 7:02 p.m. EST. Carl Edwards, who won the pole position by posting the fastest lap in qualifying, was immediately passed by Biffle before the first turn. Biffle maintained this position until he was passed by Regan Smith on lap eleven. Denny Hamlin took over the lead after a second caution period and led the race for 57 laps, during which Biffle also led.


2012 Daytona 500
Matt Kenseth assumed the first place on lap 146 and maintained it until a seventh caution period twelve laps later. The race was stopped for two hours and five minutes after Juan Pablo Montoya hit a jet dryer on lap 160, causing fuel to seep onto the track and catch fire. Kenseth regained the first position at the lap 166 restart, and maintained it during the remaining thirty-four laps to win the race.


2012 Daytona 500
The race had ten cautions and saw twenty-five lead changes by ten different drivers. The result gave Kenseth the Drivers' Championship lead with 47 points, five ahead of Earnhardt, Biffle, and Hamlin. Jeff Burton followed in fifth place on 41 points. Ford led the Manufacturers' Championship with nine points, three ahead of Chevrolet in second. Toyota was third with four, and Dodge was in fourth. The race attracted on average 13.69 million television viewers, with 36.5 million watching part or all of the race, making it the second most-watched 500 in history.


2012 Daytona 500, Background
Daytona International Speedway is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races. The layout used for the Daytona 500 is a four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.0 km) superspeedway. Daytona's turns are banked at 31 degrees, and the front stretch—the location of the finish line—is banked at 18 degrees. Trevor Bayne was the race's defending winner.


2012 Daytona 500, Background
The Daytona 500 was conceived by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., who owned the Daytona International Speedway. The race was first held in 1959; it is the successor to shorter races held on beaches around Daytona Beach, Florida. The race has been the opening round of the NASCAR season since 1982. Since 1988 it has been one of four events that require cars to run restrictor plates; alongside the 400-mile (640 km) summer Daytona race and the two races at Talladega Superspeedway. The Daytona 500 offers the most prize money of any auto race held in the United States.


2012 Daytona 500, Background
On February 20, 2011, NASCAR's vice president of operations Steve O'Donnell announced that the 2012 Daytona 500 would be moved from its traditional President's Day weekend slot to the final Sunday of February. The decision was based on the possibility of an extended National Football League schedule; the Daytona 500 was moved to avoid a potential clash with the Super Bowl. This shortened the NASCAR season by one week; the company planned to maintain momentum during the early part of the year.


2012 Daytona 500, Background
After the two-car style draft—also called tandem racing—dominated races held on restrictor plate tracks during 2011, NASCAR reduced the size of the radiators from five liters to two and the air intakes were moved towards the cars' fascia section. The size of the restrictor plate was reduced by 1⁄64 inch (0.4 mm) and the cars were required to run with softer springs and a smaller rear spoiler. These changes were intended to reduce the effectiveness of two-car style drafting and to make the cars more challenging to turn.


2012 Daytona 500, Background
Sprint Cup Series director John Darby stated, "We want to be able to give the teams more options when it comes to drafting and we want to be able to reduce the difference in the speeds between the tandem style of racing and more of the pack style of racing that the fans are accustomed to seeing".


2012 Daytona 500, Background
In preparation for the race and to test the new car package, NASCAR held several test sessions on January 12–14, 2012. Test sessions began at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) (UTC-05:00), and were paused at midday for a lunch break. They then resumed at 1:00 p.m. EST, before concluding at 5:00 p.m. 31 drivers participated in the first session on the morning of January 12; Jeff Gordon was quickest with a speed of 192.773 mph (310.238 km/h), while Kyle Busch had the highest speed of 202.402 mph (325.734 km/h) during the second session in the afternoon. At the end of the second session, NASCAR announced that the opening of the restrictor plate would be increased by 1⁄32 inch (0.79 mm) to be 15⁄16 inch (2.4 cm) wide and the pressure release valve settings were reduced from 30 psi (2.1 bar) to 25 psi (1.7 bar).


2012 Daytona 500, Background
On the second day, NASCAR allowed drivers to draft in packs to check the cars' responses. During the third session on the morning of January 13, in which 32 drivers took part, Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer were both quickest with a speed of 204.722 mph (329.468 km/h), and Kurt Busch recorded the fastest speed of 206.058 mph (331.618 km/h) in the fourth session held in the afternoon. Ryan Newman and Casey Mears decided to leave after the session.


2012 Daytona 500, Background
During the fifth session, held on the morning on January 14, 30 drivers took part; Kasey Kahne and Gordon were both quickest with a speed of 201.545 mph (324.355 km/h). After the session, Danica Patrick, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. left the circuit and NASCAR increased the pressure value from 20 psi (1.4 bar) to 25 psi (1.7 bar). Gordon was fastest in the sixth and final session held in the afternoon, with a speed of 200.562 mph (322.773 km/h).


2012 Daytona 500, Background
During the 2012 Budweiser Shootout, some of the cars' engines overheated while driving in packs; NASCAR increased the engines' pressure release values from  25 psi (1.7 bar) to 28 psi (1.9 bar) to help reduce overheating and alleviate the effects of driving at high temperatures.


2012 Daytona 500, Practice and qualification
Seven practice sessions were held before the race. The first two were held on February 18 and ran for 120 and 105 minutes each. The next two on February 22 were shortened to 90 minutes each. Two days later, two more practice sessions were scheduled, which both ran for 60 minutes. The final practice session was held on February 25 and lasted 60 minutes. Greg Biffle lapped fastest at 46.537 seconds in the first session, 0.011 seconds quicker than Marcos Ambrose. Jeff Gordon was third, with Bayne, Paul Menard and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the next three positions.


2012 Daytona 500, Practice and qualification
Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Aric Almirola and Carl Edwards rounded out the session's top ten drivers. In the second practice session, Biffle remained fastest with a time of 46.574 seconds, with Bayne 0.021 seconds slower than Biffle's lap time. Truex was third quickest, ahead of Stewart and Mark Martin. Menard, Edwards, Ambrose, Gordon and A. J. Allmendinger completed the top ten ahead of qualifying.


2012 Daytona 500, Practice and qualification
There were forty-nine cars entered in the qualifier, according to NASCAR's qualifying procedure forty-three were allowed to race. Each driver ran two laps, and unlike most races during the season, the qualifying session determined the first two positions, while the rest of the drivers qualified by the 2012 Gatorade Duels. Edwards clinched his eleventh pole position of his career, his first in the Daytona 500, with a time of 46.216 seconds. The time had the fastest recorded average speed since Jeff Gordon's pole lap in the 1999 race.


2012 Daytona 500, Practice and qualification
He was joined on the front row of the grid by teammate Biffle. It was the first time since the 2007 race that Ford cars had the top two starting positions. Bowyer who recorded the 22nd fastest time, had his car twice fail the post-race inspection for height sticks and was required to start at the rear of the field in the second Gatorade Duel race. After the qualifier, Edwards commented, "It's huge to start this year for us and this company with the run today. This is the result of a lot of hard work this offseason and we are now ready to focus on how to win this Daytona 500."


2012 Daytona 500, Practice and qualification
Kenseth was quickest in the third practice session, with a time of 44.809 seconds. Bayne was second quickest with a lap 0.009 seconds slower. Stenhouse was third fastest, ahead of Ambrose and Martin. Bowyer, Michael McDowell, Kevin Harvick were in the next three positions. Menard and Kahne followed in the top ten. Brad Keselowski slowed to avoid Newman which caused Bowyer to turn into Keselowski, sending him spinning into the grass on the backstretch. Keselowski's car had sustained minor damage which meant he was not required to use his back-up car as mechanics were able to repair the damage.


2012 Daytona 500, Practice and qualification
Almirola led fourth practice (where twenty-five drivers took part) with a lap of 45.065 seconds, nearly one-tenth of a second faster than David Stremme. David Ragan was third ahead of Robert Richardson Jr. and Biffle. During the session (where drivers ran in packs and drafted off each other), Juan Pablo Montoya made contact with Kahne, who was sent spinning into the grass on the frontstretch which caused parts of his car's nose to be torn off. Kahne was required to use his back-up car for the rest of Speedweeks. Stewart and Kenseth were the winners of the Gatorade Duels.


2012 Daytona 500, Practice and qualification
The qualifying grid was finalized with Stewart in third and Kenseth in fourth. Earnhardt, Regan Smith, Ambrose, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton and Elliott Sadler completed the top ten. The drivers that failed to qualify were Michael Waltrip, Richardson, Bill Elliott, Mike Wallace, Kenny Wallace and J.J. Yeley. After the duels, Patrick, David Gilliland, Montoya and Menard went to back-up cars because they were involved in wrecks during the first duel.


2012 Daytona 500, Practice and qualification
Edwards was fastest in fifth practice with a 45.301 seconds lap, one-thousand of a second in front of Almirola. Ambrose was third quickest, ahead of Montoya and Biffle. Kahne and Gordon were sixth and seventh quickest, within one second of Edwards' time. Kyle Busch (with a time of 45.026) led the sixth session ahead of Joey Logano who set an identical time to Kyle Busch. Kurt Busch had the third-fastest time. Denny Hamlin was next ahead of Stewart. Truex, Stenhouse, Allmendinger, Kesleowski and Gordon followed in the top ten.


2012 Daytona 500, Practice and qualification
Gilliland's lap of 44.969 seconds topped the final practice session (where thirty-seven drivers participated), followed by Bayne and Stenhouse. Almirola and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top five drivers, claiming the fourth and fifth positions respectively. During the final practice session, Kurt Busch hit a bird which tore a small hole in the bottom of his radiator causing water to be drained from his car. He changed his car's engine because the damage could not be repaired.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
The 2012 Daytona 500 was the first race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and was televised live in the United States by Fox. The race was due to start at 1:00 p.m. EST, but heavy rain  prompted NASCAR officials to delay it until the afternoon of February 27, making it the first Daytona 500 to be postponed; because of this, wrestler John Cena, who was supposed to drop the green flag, was in Portland for a WWE commitment.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
Further rain fell during February 27, delaying the race until 7:02 p.m. EST, making it the first race to start in primetime. Pastor Sonny Gallman of Central Baptist Church, Daytona, began the pre-race ceremonies with the invocation. Daytona Beach resident Melisa TenBroeck performed the U.S. national anthem, and Wood Brothers Racing co-founder Leonard Wood gave the command for the drivers to start their engines. During the pace laps, Patrick, Menard, Montoya and Gilliland moved to the back of the grid because they had switched to their backup cars; Kurt Busch did the same because he had changed his car's engine. Kahne did not move to the rear because he changed to his backup car before the Gatorade Duels.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
Weather conditions at the start of the race were cloudy with the air temperature at 69 °F (21 °C). Biffle accelerated from the start line quicker than his teammate Edwards, leading him at the first turn. At the start of lap two a five car crash was triggered by Sadler making contact with Johnson in the tri-oval; Johnson's car spun sideways and caught those of Patrick, Kurt Busch, Ragan and Bayne. The incident triggered the first caution of the race and the pace car.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
Johnson and Ragan were forced to retire but Patrick, Bayne and Kurt Busch drove back to their garages for repairs. The race restarted on lap seven with Biffle leading Kenseth. On the eleventh lap, Smith had moved into the lead position; one lap later Biffle moved back into the lead in turn three with aid from teammate Edwards. On lap 13, Newman looped his car on the backstretch without making contact with the wall; a second caution was issued, during which the leaders, including Biffle, made pit stops.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
Menard and Hamlin—both of whom chose not to pit—led the field back to speed at the restart; by the end of the lap Hamiln had the lead. Hamlin began to pull away from the rest of the field, with Menard in his tow as the leaders began to run in single file. After starting the race in 26th, Truex had moved up 18 positions to eighth by lap 21, and Bowyer had moved up 20 positions to be running in tenth.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
Biffle tried to pass Truex for seventh on the 23rd lap but Truex kept the position. Both drivers continued to battle for the next two laps. By lap 25, Hamlin was still leading with Menard, Ragan, Logano, Jeff Burton, Ambrose and Truex in the top seven positions. Bayne rejoined the race on lap 37. On lap 44, Burton, with assistance from Biffle, moved into the lead on the outside of the exit of turn two. Hamlin, who had dropped to third, attempted a passing manoeuvre around the outside for the lead one lap later but dropped to sixth.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
Green flag pit stops began on lap 56; most of the leaders, including Burton, made pit stops on lap 59. Gordon moved into the lead on lap 61 and began to pull away from Burton. Three laps later, debris was reported in turn two, triggering the third caution. Some drivers, including Gordon, made pit stops for fuel during the caution. During Kenseth's pit stop on lap 66, his team made repairs to his car, which had a water pressure problem. His mechanics changed the car's water and Kenseth rejoined the race in 33rd.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
Burton led the field at the restart, followed by Biffle, Ambrose, Truex and Kyle Busch. Biffle passed Burton to gain the lead in turn one, with Ambrose moving into second by turn three. Burton had dropped to sixth position by lap 76; Truex had moved ahead of Biffle around the outside for the lead on the same lap. Biffle reclaimed the lead momentarily on lap 78 but Truex overtook him. Three laps later, the fourth caution of the race was prompted when Jeff Gordon's engine exploded and flames appeared from his car going into turn three. Most of the drivers, including Truex, made pit stops under caution.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
Terry Labonte chose not to stop and led the field at the lap 86 restart, followed by Biffle, who reclaimed the lead one lap later. Ambrose made contact with Terry Labonte coming off the fourth turn on lap 88 and rested at the side of the pit road; the race's fifth caution was issued. Some drivers chose to pit under caution. The race restarted on lap 92 with Biffle leading from Ambrose and Truex.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
Eight laps later, Truex, assisted by Hamlin, passed Biffle going into the third turn to take the lead and earned $200,000 for leading at the halfway point. On the 102nd lap, Stewart took over the lead on the backstretch before Hamlin went underneath him betweens turns three and four to reclaim the first position. Two laps later, Truex had moved back into second place. By lap 110, pole position driver Edwards was running in 21st and was reporting fluctuations in his car's fuel pressure.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
Bowyer started to slow on lap 127, running out of fuel. He could not go to pit road because two faster cars blocked his entry. He coasted on the side of the track before stopping at turn two, triggering the sixth caution on the 129th lap. Most of the leaders, including Hamlin, made pit stops under caution. Martin led the field up to speed at the restart on lap 132; he was followed by Smith and Biffle. On the next lap, Biffle, with aid from Hamlin, passed Martin for the lead going into the third turn.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
Biffle lost the lead when Hamlin passed him on lap 138; five laps later his teammate Logano took over first place. Kenseth carried extra momentum and drove to the high side of the fourth turn to take the lead from Logano on the 145th lap. Two laps later, Earnhardt moved into second after passing Logano. The top fifteen drivers were separated by less than a second by lap 154.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
Stremme's engine failed on lap 157 and his car spun in front of a small pack of traffic after his car dropped oil on the track, causing the seventh caution. The leaders, which included Kenseth, made pit stops and some for two tires. Under caution, Montoya reported to his team that he felt a vibration on his car after leaving pit road; he returned to his pit box on lap 159 where his pit crew checked underneath his car for the vibration which they could not find.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
He then drove at racing speed after rejoining the track at turn two to catch up with the pace car when a rear trailing arm on his car broke at turn three where two jet dryers were clearing debris. He lost control, skidded up the banking and collided with a trailer-mounted jet engine filled with 200 US gallons (760 l; 170 imp gal) of jet kerosene, destroying it and rupturing the fuel tank, which started leaking fuel onto the track. Montoya drifted down the track onto the infield grass. Seconds later, Terry Labonte drove over the stream; a spark caused the fuel to ignite, creating a wall of fire across the track. The conflagration caused a red flag to be shown.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
Over the course of two hours and five minutes, NASCAR officials extinguished the fire and cleaned and repatched the track. Montoya climbed out of his car on his own, but the driver of the safety truck, 52-year-old Duane Barnes, had to be assisted down the banking. Montoya and Barnes were taken to the nearby Halifax Medical Center for examination. The jet dryer and the truck it was attached to was removed from the track by two forklifts. Light rain hit at the track and later broke up.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
Keselowski gained a large amount of attention during the red flag when he used an iPhone to photograph the accident scene and post it to Twitter. Dave Blaney, Landon Cassill, Tony Raines and Gilliland were the leaders prior to the red flag, having not made pit stops under caution. Edwards and Kyle Busch removed tear-offs from their windshields and were required to go to the back of the field.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
The race resumed under caution at 11:57 p.m. EST. Mears ran out of fuel at turn two and had to be pushed to pit road by the recovery truck. Blaney, Cassill, Raines and Gilliland made pit stops for fuel, allowing Kenseth to take the lead for the lap 166 restart, ahead of teammate Biffle and Earnhardt in third, and maintained the lead for the next ten laps. On lap 176, the eighth caution was issued after Mears made contact with Almirola, who regained control of his car, but Mears went into the side of Ambrose in the first turn. The restart was delayed for one lap because Logano was moved to the back of the field for failing to maintain car speed. Kenseth led the field at the lap 182 restart, followed by Biffle.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
Five laps later, however, a multi-car collision occurred on the frontstretch after Jamie McMurray cut a tire, veered off and collided with Kahne, triggering an eleven car chain-reaction accident involving Edwards, Stewart, Almirola, Keselowski and Smith. Earnhardt's and Stewart's cars sustained minor damage; the ninth caution of the race was issued. The race restarted on lap 194, with Kenseth again leading.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
As the cars were running single file, A second multi-car collision occurred on lap 197 the entry to turn one, collecting a total of 18 cars including Stewart, Blaney, Stenhouse, Cassill, Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman, triggered the final caution of the race. At the lap 201 restart, a green–white–checker finish extended the race to 202 laps, with Kenseth leading Biffle, Hamlin, Earnhardt and Burton. Kenseth withstood pressure from Biffle and Earnhardt over the final two laps and crossed the finish line on lap 202 to win his second Daytona 500.


2012 Daytona 500, Race
Biffle weaved on the backstretch to block Earnhardt  but the Hendrick Motorsports driver passed Biffle at the finish for second. Hamlin finished fourth, and Burton was fifth. Menard, Harvick, Edwards, Logano and Martin completed the top ten finishers. The race had a total of ten cautions and twenty-five lead changes among ten different drivers.


2012 Daytona 500, Race, After the race
I have to give a lot of credit to Doug Yates and the guys at the engine shop. We had great horsepower. I could get a pretty good start on the bottom and either Denny or Dale Jr. could push me for awhile and then they just couldn’t stay attached and I would get away from them just in time to get in front of Greg and the two of us together could make some unbelievable speed. I have to thank Greg. We worked together really good all day long. He had a really fast car all day as well.


2012 Daytona 500, Race, After the race
Kenseth, speaking in victory line about his second Daytona 500 win.


2012 Daytona 500, Race, After the race
Kenseth appeared in the victory lane to celebrate his first victory of the season; earning $1,589,390 for the victory. Kenseth's victory was the 300th for his team Roush Fenway Racing in all three major series of NASCAR. Following his win, Kenseth said, "It feels great. I wasn’t expecting to win when I woke up this morning. It feels good to be sitting here", and, "I think the 16 [Biffle] had one of the strongest cars all week, and ours was right there as well.


2012 Daytona 500, Race, After the race
It took a long time to get to the front, but like Thursday, once we were in the front it was hard for anyone to get locked on to you." Earnhardt, who finished in second place, said, "We couldn't ever get to Matt. I kind of waited until the last minute. I thought it was a great race. I want to thank the fans for sticking around on a Monday night and everyone who tuned in at home. Sorry about the delay and everything." Biffle, who took third, said, "We had a great speed weeks. Coming out of here with a third place finish is really exciting for us."


2012 Daytona 500, Race, After the race
Montoya expressed his surprise over the crash where he hit a jet dryer under the race's seventh caution, "I've hit a lot of things—but a jet dryer?". He also said his helmet was singed in the fire and he suffered from an aching foot. NASCAR President Mike Helton was also surprised over the incident, "You would think after 65 years and running all the races that NASCAR has run ... that you've seen about everything.