The 2013 Aaron's 312 was the eighth stock car race of the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series and the 22nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, May 4, 2013, in Lincoln, Alabama, at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66-mile (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race was shortened from 117 laps to 110 due to impending darkness. After a wreck-fest race, Regan Smith, driving for JR Motorsports, would win the race under caution, a controversial win as the caution had been called just barely 200 feet from the finish, as if the drivers had been allowed to race back to the line, eventual-third-place finisher, teammate Kasey Kahne, would have won.[1] The win was Smith's second career NASCAR Nationwide Series win and his first win of the season. To fill out the podium, Joey Logano of Penske Racing would finish second.

2013 Aaron's 312
Race details
Race 8 of 33 of the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series
Date May 4, 2013
Official name 22nd Annual Aaron's 312
Location Lincoln, Alabama, Talladega Superspeedway
Course Permanent racing facility
2.66 mi (4.28 km)
Distance 110 laps, 292.6 mi (470.894 km)
Scheduled Distance 117 laps, 311.22 mi (500.86 km)
Average speed 133.269 miles per hour (214.476 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Roush Fenway Racing
Time 54.255
Most laps led
Driver Joey Logano Penske Racing
Laps 35
Winner
No. 7 Regan Smith JR Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Allen Bestwick, Carl Edwards, Andy Petree
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

Background

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The layout of Talladega Superspeedway, the venue where the race was held.

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5-mile-long (4 km) tri-oval.

Entry list

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# Driver Team Make Sponsor
00 Blake Koch SR² Motorsports Toyota VIP Poker, Headrush
1 Kurt Busch Phoenix Racing Chevrolet Phoenix Racing
01 Mike Wallace JD Motorsports Chevrolet G&K Services
2 Brian Scott Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Armour Vienna Sausage
3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet AdvoCare Spark
4 Landon Cassill JD Motorsports Chevrolet Flex Seal
5 Kasey Kahne JR Motorsports Chevrolet Great Clips
6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford Cargill "Our Certified Ground Beef"
7 Regan Smith JR Motorsports Chevrolet TaxSlayer
10 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Toyota TriStar Motorsports
11 Elliott Sadler Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota OneMain Financial
12 Sam Hornish Jr. Penske Racing Ford Würth
14 Eric McClure TriStar Motorsports Toyota Hefty, Reynolds Wrap
15 Stanton Barrett Rick Ware Racing Ford FAIR Girls
19 Mike Bliss TriStar Motorsports Toyota Dixie Chopper
20 Brian Vickers Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Dollar General
22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford Discount Tire
23 Robert Richardson Jr. R3 Motorsports Chevrolet Stalk It
24 Jason White SR² Motorsports Toyota JW Demolition
25 John Wes Townley Venturini Motorsports Toyota Zaxby's
27 David Green* SR² Motorsports Toyota #teamBOOM!
30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet Worx Yard Tools
31 Justin Allgaier Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet Brandt Professional Agriculture
32 Kyle Larson Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet Cessna
33 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet WESCO
34 Danica Patrick Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet AccuDoc Solutions
40 Josh Wise The Motorsports Group Chevrolet The Motorsports Group
42 J. J. Yeley* The Motorsports Group Chevrolet The Motorsports Group
43 Reed Sorenson Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Pilot Flying J
44 Hal Martin TriStar Motorsports Toyota American Custom Yachts
46 Chase Miller* The Motorsports Group Chevrolet The Motorsports Group
47 Scott Riggs* The Motorsports Group Chevrolet The Motorsports Group
51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet All South Electric, Repairable Vehicles
52 Donnie Neuenberger Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet Eagle Convenience Stores
54 Joey Coulter Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Monster Energy
55 Jamie Dick Viva Motorsports Chevrolet Viva Motorsports
60 Travis Pastrana Roush Fenway Racing Ford Roush Fenway Racing
70 Johanna Long ML Motorsports Chevrolet Foretravel Motorcoach
74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Dodge StoneBridge Construction, Haag Brown
77 Parker Kligerman Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Bandit Chippers, Camp Horsin' Around
79 Jeffrey Earnhardt Go Green Racing Ford Oath Keepers, Fast Wax
85 Bobby Gerhart Gerhart Racing Chevrolet Lucas Oil
87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota Maddie's Place Rocks
89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Dodge Racing with Jesus
92 Tim Andrews KH Motorsports Ford Maddie's Place Rocks
99 Alex Bowman RAB Racing Toyota SchoolTipline
Official entry list

Practice

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First practice

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The first practice session was held on Thursday, May 2, at 3:00 PM CST, and would last for 45 minutes.[2] Trevor Bayne of Roush Fenway Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 50.275 and an average speed of 190.472 miles per hour (306.535 km/h).[3]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.275 190.472
2 5 Kasey Kahne JR Motorsports Chevrolet 50.277 190.465
3 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 50.355 190.170
Full first practice results

Second and final practice

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The second and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Thursday, May 2, at 4:00 PM CST, and would last for 50 minutes.[2] Ty Dillon of Richard Childress Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 49.841 and an average speed of 192.131 miles per hour (309.205 km/h).[3]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 33 Ty Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 49.841 192.131
2 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 49.842 192.127
3 60 Travis Pastrana Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.133 191.012
Full Happy Hour practice results

Qualifying

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Qualifying was held on Friday, May 3, at 11:10 PM CST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.[2]

Travis Pastrana of Roush Fenway Racing would win the pole, setting a time of 54.255 and an average speed of 176.500 miles per hour (284.049 km/h), his first career NASCAR pole and the first for owner Jack Roush at Talladega.[4] Pastrana stated, “It sounds like a dream come true. Bringing the guys to the line at the green flag at Talladega is awesome, so I’m definitely excited."[5]

Two drivers would fail to qualify: Stanton Barrett and John Wes Townley, who despite qualifying in tenth, was disallowed after his car was found to be too low.[6]

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 60 Travis Pastrana Roush Fenway Racing Ford 54.255 176.500
2 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 54.359 176.162
3 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 54.387 176.071
4 34 Danica Patrick Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 54.447 175.877
5 31 Justin Allgaier Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 54.450 175.868
6 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Penske Racing Ford 54.480 175.771
7 11 Elliott Sadler Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 54.492 175.732
8 2 Brian Scott Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 54.537 175.587
9 1 Kurt Busch Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 54.558 175.520
10 54 Joey Coulter Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 54.617 175.330
11 5 Kasey Kahne JR Motorsports Chevrolet 54.619 175.324
12 22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 54.636 175.269
13 10 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Toyota 54.652 175.218
14 99 Alex Bowman RAB Racing Toyota 54.655 175.208
15 43 Reed Sorenson Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 54.657 175.202
16 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 54.660 175.192
17 33 Ty Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 54.685 175.112
18 77 Parker Kligerman Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota 54.729 174.971
19 32 Kyle Larson Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 54.744 174.923
20 7 Regan Smith JR Motorsports Chevrolet 54.750 174.904
21 20 Brian Vickers Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 54.792 174.770
22 4 Landon Cassill JD Motorsports Chevrolet 54.914 174.382
23 14 Eric McClure TriStar Motorsports Toyota 54.920 174.363
24 19 Mike Bliss TriStar Motorsports Toyota 54.984 174.160
25 70 Johanna Long ML Motorsports Chevrolet 54.997 174.119
26 85 Bobby Gerhart Gerhart Racing Chevrolet 55.035 173.998
27 79 Jeffrey Earnhardt Go Green Racing Ford 55.079 173.859
28 74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Dodge 55.091 173.821
29 55 Jamie Dick Viva Motorsports Chevrolet 55.137 173.676
30 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 55.170 173.573
31 24 Jason White SR² Motorsports Toyota 55.229 173.387
32 44 Hal Martin TriStar Motorsports Toyota 55.341 173.036
33 23 Robert Richardson Jr. R3 Motorsports Chevrolet 55.399 172.855
34 00 Blake Koch SR² Motorsports Toyota 55.429 172.762
35 89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Dodge 55.556 172.367
36 52 Donnie Neuenberger Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 55.686 171.964
37 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 55.698 171.927
38 01 Mike Wallace JD Motorsports Chevrolet 55.806 171.594
Qualified by owner's points
39 40 Josh Wise The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 55.992 171.024
Last car to qualify on time
40 92 Tim Andrews KH Motorsports Ford 55.751 171.764
Failed to qualify or withdrew
41 15 Stanton Barrett Rick Ware Racing Ford 56.144 170.561
42 25 John Wes Townley Venturini Motorsports Toyota —* —*
WD 27 David Green SR² Motorsports Toyota
WD 42 J. J. Yeley The Motorsports Group Chevrolet
WD 46 Chase Miller The Motorsports Group Chevrolet
WD 47 Scott Riggs The Motorsports Group Chevrolet
Official starting lineup

Race

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Pole sitter Travis Pastrana led the first lap of the race. On lap 5, Pastrana and Roush Racing teammate Trevor Bayne decided to swap tandems but fell back as the pack caught up to the 2 cars. Ty Dillon took the lead from Bayne and Pastrana with a push by Kurt Busch. Busch swapped positions with Dillon on the next lap but fell back as Kasey Kahne took the lead after Busch led lap 6. Elliott Sadler took the lead from Kahne on lap 13 and Kahne took it back the next lap. The first caution flew on lap 14 when Danica Patrick crashed in turn 3. Joey Logano won the race off of pit road making him the race leader. Allgaier passed Logano for the lead on lap 19 but soon both began to swap the lead with Logano getting pushed by Sam Hornish Jr. and Allgaier getting pushed by Kurt Busch. Brian Vickers took the lead from Logano on lap 26 but Logano took it back on the next lap of the race. On lap 34, Kasey Kahne passed Logano for the lead but gave it back to Logano on the next lap. On lap 35, the second caution flew for a 2 car crash in turn 3 involving Kyle Larson and Jeffery Earnhardt. Logano won the race off of pit road keeping his lead. On lap 42, Logano got passed by Elliott Sadler giving Sadler the lead. Logano took it back on lap 44 and led the next 11 laps of the race. On lap 55, Logano and his drafting partner Kasey Kahne switched positions to prevent Kahne from overheating and gave the lead to Elliott Sadler. On lap 57, Brian Scott took the lead from Sadler. On lap 58, Reed Sorenson took the lead followed by Trevor Bayne on lap 59. On lap 60, Kasey Kahne took the lead from Bayne. On lap 63, Regan Smith took the lead and both Smith and Kahne began to swap the lead from each other. With 46 laps to go, the third caution flew when Reed Sorenson got turned by Brian Scott on the backstretch and got run into by Travis Pastrana lifting Sorenson's rear end into the air. Joey Logano once again won the race off of pit road to keep his lead. The race restarted with 39 to go. With 37 to go, Parker Kligerman took the lead. Both Kligerman and Kurt Busch began to swap the lead from each other before with 31 laps to go, Kasey Kahne took the lead. With 30 to go, Kurt Busch took the lead back from Kahne. On the same lap, Blake Koch got turned by Justin Allgaier and hit the outside wall coming out of turn 2. The race restarted with 27 laps to go and Kurt Busch leading the race. Justin Allgaier tried to take the lead but failed and Busch led with 26 to go.

Final laps

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With 25 laps to go in turn 3, the big one struck taking out 13 cars. Sam Hornish Jr. moved down trying to avoid Johanna Long but got turned by Eric McClure and both turned down into Brian Scott and Tim Andrews and the 4 cars spun up the racetrack collecting more cars. The cars involved were Johanna Long, Brian Scott, Trevor Bayne, Robert Richardson Jr., Sam Hornish Jr., Bobby Gerhart, Mike Harmon, Tim Andrews, Ty Dillon, Eric McClure, Kyle Larson, Nelson Piquet Jr., and Donnie Neuenberger.[7] During the caution period, NASCAR announced that they were gonna shorten the race to 107 laps due to the darkness that was falling. The race restarted with 7 laps to go on lap 101 with Kurt Busch as the leader. Regan Smith took the lead from Busch on that lap but Busch took it back with 6 laps to go. With 3 laps to go, Austin Dillon took the lead from Busch. But on the same lap, Joey Coulter crashed in the tri-oval bringing out 6th caution and setting up a green-white-checker. On the restart, Dillon took the lead from Busch. On the final lap, Busch took the lead with a push by Justin Allgaier. Joey Logano pulled up to the Busch's outside with a push by Alex Bowman but Logano moved up to block Regan Smith and Smith went to the bottom of the track. Both Smith and Logano went by Busch and Kahne pulled up to the outside of them. Meanwhile, behind the 4 cars, Brian Vickers got turned by Elliott Sadler and collected Alex Bowman, Landon Cassill, Mike Wallace, Jamie Dick, and Josh Wise. Instead of letting them race back since the finish line was about 1,000 feet away, NASCAR threw the caution before they reached the finish line. Kasey Kahne crossed the finish line first but Regan Smith was in front when the caution came out and NASCAR declared him the winner. Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top 5 while Parker Kligerman, Mike Wallace, Jason White, Jeremy Clements, and Austin Dillon rounded out the top 10.[8]

Race results

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Fin[9] St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 20 7 Regan Smith JR Motorsports Chevrolet 110 7 running 47 $53,445
2 12 22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 110 35 running 0 $39,725
3 11 5 Kasey Kahne JR Motorsports Chevrolet 110 16 running 0 $30,500
4 9 1 Kurt Busch Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 110 19 running 0 $29,275
5 5 31 Justin Allgaier Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 110 4 running 40 $32,550
6 18 77 Parker Kligerman Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota 110 4 running 39 $28,100
7 38 01 Mike Wallace JD Motorsports Chevrolet 110 0 running 37 $26,500
8 31 24 Jason White SR² Motorsports Toyota 110 0 running 36 $25,850
9 37 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 110 0 running 35 $25,225
10 2 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 110 5 running 35 $26,825
11 7 11 Elliott Sadler Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 110 5 running 34 $25,975
12 29 55 Jamie Dick Viva Motorsports Chevrolet 110 0 running 32 $18,850
13 14 99 Alex Bowman RAB Racing Toyota 110 0 running 31 $25,675
14 24 19 Mike Bliss TriStar Motorsports Toyota 110 0 running 30 $24,500
15 21 20 Brian Vickers Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 110 1 running 30 $25,050
16 27 79 Jeffrey Earnhardt Go Green Racing Ford 110 0 running 28 $24,350
17 22 4 Landon Cassill JD Motorsports Chevrolet 109 1 crash 0 $18,525
18 39 40 Josh Wise The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 109 0 crash 26 $23,975
19 36 52 Donnie Neuenberger Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 108 0 running 25 $17,850
20 33 23 Robert Richardson Jr. R3 Motorsports Chevrolet 107 0 running 24 $24,400
21 10 54 Joey Coulter Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 104 3 crash 0 $23,550
22 15 43 Reed Sorenson Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 103 1 running 23 $23,400
23 23 14 Eric McClure TriStar Motorsports Toyota 94 0 crash 21 $23,250
24 17 33 Ty Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 93 1 crash 0 $23,100
25 6 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Penske Racing Ford 93 0 running 19 $23,275
26 25 70 Johanna Long ML Motorsports Chevrolet 92 0 crash 18 $23,000
27 8 2 Brian Scott Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 92 2 crash 18 $22,800
28 3 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 92 2 crash 17 $22,900
29 16 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 92 0 crash 15 $22,400
30 40 92 Tim Andrews KH Motorsports Ford 91 0 crash 14 $22,475
31 26 85 Bobby Gerhart Gerhart Racing Chevrolet 91 0 crash 13 $16,125
32 28 74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Dodge 91 0 crash 12 $22,050
33 34 00 Blake Koch SR² Motorsports Toyota 87 0 crash 11 $22,015
34 32 44 Hal Martin TriStar Motorsports Toyota 84 0 running 10 $21,980
35 35 89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Dodge 72 0 fuel pressure 9 $15,940
36 1 60 Travis Pastrana Roush Fenway Racing Ford 71 4 crash 9 $24,580
37 30 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 64 0 running 7 $20,695
38 19 32 Kyle Larson Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 52 0 crash 6 $20,661
39 4 34 Danica Patrick Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 16 0 crash 0 $14,775
40 13 10 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Toyota 3 0 vibration 4 $14,425
Failed to qualify or withdrew
41 15 Stanton Barrett Rick Ware Racing Ford
42 25 John Wes Townley Venturini Motorsports Toyota
WD 27 David Green SR² Motorsports Toyota
WD 42 J. J. Yeley The Motorsports Group Chevrolet
WD 46 Chase Miller The Motorsports Group Chevrolet
WD 47 Scott Riggs The Motorsports Group Chevrolet
Official race results

References

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  1. ^ Gluck, Jeff. "Regan Smith takes Nationwide at Talladega after review". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  2. ^ a b c "Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site – 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Talladega Race Info Page". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2013-05-07. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
  3. ^ a b "Dillon, Bayne lead practiceS at Talladega". Official Site Of NASCAR. 2013-05-02. Archived from the original on 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  4. ^ "Travis Pastrana captures first NASCAR Nationwide pole with strong lap at Talladega". Autoweek. May 3, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-05-08. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  5. ^ Loumenta, Dan (May 3, 2013). "Travis Pastrana takes Nationwide Series pole at Talladega". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2015-09-13. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  6. ^ "THE RACE: AARON'S 312". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2013-04-28. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  7. ^ "Nationwide Breakdown: Aaron's 312". Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  8. ^ "Smith avoids last-lap wreck to win". Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  9. ^ "2013 Aaron's 312 – The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Archived from the original on 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
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