2012 MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Race 15 of 15 in the 2012 IndyCar Series season
| |||
Layout of Auto Club Speedway | |||
| Date | September 15, 2012 | ||
| Official name | MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships Presented by Lucas Oil | ||
| Location | Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, California | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.000 mi / 3.219 km | ||
| Distance | 250 laps 500.000 mi / 804.672 km | ||
| Weather | 98 °F (37 °C), fair skies | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Marco Andretti (Andretti Autosport) | ||
| Time | 1:06.6455 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Dario Franchitti (Chip Ganassi Racing) | ||
| Time | 33.2470 (on lap 228 of 250) | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Ed Carpenter (Ed Carpenter Racing) | ||
| Second | Dario Franchitti (Chip Ganassi Racing) | ||
| Third | Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing) | ||
The 2012 MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships was an IndyCar Series motor race held on September 15, 2012, in Fontana, California at Auto Club Speedway. Contested over 250 laps, it was the 15th and final round of the 2012 IndyCar Series. Ed Carpenter Racing driver Ed Carpenter won the race; Dario Franchitti of Chip Ganassi Racing finished second and Franchitti's teammate Scott Dixon came in third.
Marco Andretti earned his first pole position since 2008 by posting the fastest lap of qualifications. J. R. Hildebrand was the most dominate driver of the early portions of the race before contacting the wall on lap 74, placing him out of contention. As Carpenter and Dixon battled for the first position, Tony Kanaan passed them both and led throughout the middle stages; however, he was relegated down the running order because of a lengthy pit stop. Alex Tagliani then joined the battle for the win with Carpenter and Dixon before his engine blew late in the race. After the final restart with less than 10 laps remaining, Dixon was mired to third, while Carpenter chased down and passed Franchitti for the win on the final lap. The win was Carpenter's second of his IndyCar career and first as a team owner for Ed Carpenter Racing.
Meanwhile, Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay were the only drivers who had a mathematical shot of winning the Drivers' Championship prior to the race, with Power leading over Hunter-Reay by 17 points. Both drivers started deep in the grid due to penalties imposed for changing engines, but quickly made their way into the top-15. As Power passed Hunter-Reay on lap 56, his car broke loose in turn two and crashed. Power's team made extensive repairs to his car and he eventually completed 12 laps, passing the previously-retired E. J. Viso in the process, before retiring in order to defend his championship lead. However, by virtue of Tagliani's blown engine and Takuma Sato's last-lap crash, Hunter-Reay finished fourth and earned his first IndyCar Drivers' Championship by three points over Power.