On Saturday night, the 2012 Southern 500 took place at Darlington Raceway. The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was where Bakersfield native Kevin Harvick hoped he could regain some ground after back-to-back disappointing finishes cost him valuable points in the standings.
Although Harvick remained in the top five late in the race, he lost ground and could not regain it, finishing the race in 16th place. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished in 17th. Despite the poor finish, Harvick should remain in the top 10 in the 2012 Sprint Cup standings.
Jimmie Johnson took home the checkered flag in his first Sprint Cup win of the year and will move to fifth place overall in the points standings with the win ... the spot previously held by Harvick.
Here are the full results for Saturday night's Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway:
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Tony Stewart
4. Kyle Busch
5. Martin Truex Jr.
6. Matt Kenseth
7. Carl Edwards
8. Kasey Kahne
9. Marcos Ambrose
10. Joey Logano
11. Clint Bowyer
12. Greg Biffle
13. Paul Menard
14. Regan Smith
15. Brad Keselowski
16. Kevin Harvick
17. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
18. Jeff Burton
19. Aric Almirola
20. Mark Martin
21. Kurt Busch
22. Casey Mears
23. Ryan Newman
24. Juan Montoya
25. David Gilliland
26. Landon Cassill
27. Dave Blaney
28. David Ragan
29. Bobby Labonte
30. Reed Sorenson
31. Danica Patrick
32. Travis Kvapil
33. A.J. Allmendinger
34. Jamie McMurray
35. Jeff Gordon
26. David Reutimann
37. J.J. Yeley
38. Cole Whitt
39. David Stremme
40. Joe Nemecheck
41. Mike Skinner
42. Scott Speed
43. Jose Wise
For all news and information regarding the 2012 Sprint Cup Series, please visit NASCAR Ranting & Raving or check out SB Nation's dedicated NASCAR hub.
