| Official Race Results | |||||||||
| Daytona 500 | Daytona International Speedway | |||||||||
| February 26, 2012 = actually ran 2/27/12 | Race 1 of 36 | |||||||||
| Average Speed: 140.256 mph | |||||||||
| Margin of Victory: 0.21 | Time of Race: 03:36:02 | ||||||||
| Lead Changes: 25 | |||||||||
| Cautions: 3-7, 14-16, 65-67, 82-85, 89-91, 130-132, 158-166, 179-182, 189-193, 198-200 | |||||||||
| Fin | St | Car | Driver | Make | Sponsor | Pts / Bonus | Laps | Status | Winnings |
| 1 | 4 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Best Buy | 47/4 | 202 | Running | $1,589,390 |
| 2 | 5 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | Diet Mountain Dew / National Guard | 42/0 | 202 | Running | $1,102,170 |
| 3 | 2 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M | 42/1 | 202 | Running | $804,163 |
| 4 | 31 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Express | 42/2 | 202 | Running | $702,091 |
| 5 | 9 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 40/1 | 202 | Running | $559,550 |
| 6 | 37 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Peak / Menards | 39/1 | 202 | Running | $427,900 |
| 7 | 13 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 37/0 | 202 | Running | $415,261 |
| 8 | 1 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Fastenal | 36/0 | 202 | Running | $403,466 |
| 9 | 12 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 36/1 | 202 | Running | $346,063 |
| 10 | 22 | 55 | Mark Martin | Toyota | Aaron's Dream Machine | 35/1 | 202 | Running | $323,313 |
| 11 | 30 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 5-hour Energy | 33/0 | 202 | Running | $339,002 |
| 12 | 26 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 33/1 | 202 | Running | $535,052 |
| 13 | 7 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Stanley | 31/0 | 202 | Running | $341,858 |
| 14 | 32 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Kroger | 30/0 | 202 | Running | $331,196 |
| 15 | 24 | 36 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | Ollie's Bargain Outlet | 30/1 | 202 | Running | $296,513 |
| 16 | 3 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Mobil 1 | 29/1 | 202 | Running | $379,025 |
| 17 | 14 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M's Brown | 27/0 | 202 | Running | $341,821 |
| 18 | 43 | 32 | Terry Labonte | Ford | C&J Energy | 27/1 | 202 | Running | $292,200 |
| 19 | 41 | 26 | Tony Raines | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 25/0 | 202 | Running | $292,763 |
| 20 | 21 | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | Ford EcoBoost | 0 | 202 | Running | $304,275 |
| 21 | 18 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | U.S. Army / Quicken Loans | 23/0 | 202 | Running | $336,221 |
| 22 | 39 | 83 | Landon Cassill | Toyota | Burger King | 22/0 | 202 | Running | $319,945 |
| 23 | 33 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | MHP Power Pak Pudding | 21/0 | 201 | Running | $309,133 |
| 24 | 6 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / CSX "Play it Safe" | 21/1 | 200 | Running | $332,421 |
| 25 | 36 | 13 | Casey Mears | Ford | GEICO | 19/0 | 199 | Running | $304,746 |
| 26 | 38 | 93 | David Reutimann | Toyota | Burger King | 18/0 | 196 | Accident | $309,335 |
| 27 | 10 | 33 | Elliott Sadler | Chevrolet | General Mills / Kroger | 0 | 196 | Running | $305,788 |
| 28 | 34 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | AMFMEnergy.com / Pellet & Wood Stoves | 0 | 194 | Running | $287,363 |
| 29 | 20 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | Farmers Insurance | 15/0 | 189 | Accident | $297,988 |
| 30 | 11 | 98 | Michael McDowell | Ford | K-Love / Curb Records | 14/0 | 189 | Running | $292,175 |
| 31 | 19 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats | 13/0 | 188 | Accident | $318,608 |
| 32 | 23 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 12/0 | 187 | Accident | $322,295 |
| 33 | 27 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | Smithfield "Helping Hungry Homes" | 11/0 | 187 | Accident | $320,986 |
| 34 | 15 | 22 | A.J. Allmendinger | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil | 10/0 | 177 | Running | $328,325 |
| 35 | 40 | 21 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center | 0 | 164 | Running | $283,200 |
| 36 | 35 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 8/0 | 159 | Accident | $312,391 |
| 37 | 42 | 30 | David Stremme | Toyota | Inception Motorsports | 7/0 | 156 | Engine | $282,075 |
| 38 | 29 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | GoDaddy.com | 0 | 138 | Running | $281,715 |
| 39 | 28 | 51 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | HendrickCars.com | 5/0 | 113 | Running | $277,913 |
| 40 | 16 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger | 5/1 | 81 | Engine | $317,549 |
| 41 | 17 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Dodge | Mapei / Menards / Speed Energy | 3/0 | 25 | Engine | $268,150 |
| 42 | 8 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's | 2/0 | 1 | Accident | $327,149 |
| 43 | 25 | 34 | David Ragan | Ford | Scorpion Truck Bed Liners | 1/0 | 1 | Accident | $267,637 |
| * Denotes Rookie | |||||||||