2012 NASCAR Cup Series (Simpsonverse)

The 2012 NASCAR Cup Series was the 64th season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 41st modern-era Cup season. The season started on February 18, 2012 at Daytona International Speedway, with the Budweiser Shootout, followed by the Daytona 500 on February 27, and concluded with the AdvoCare 500 on November 30 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

During the 2011 season, NASCAR announced the Cup Series would be changing to fuel injection from carburetors, which had been used since NASCAR's founding in 1949. Rick Hendrick won the Owners' Championship, while Mark Martin clinched the Drivers' Championship at the penultimate race of the season, becoming the oldest driver to win the championship at 53. Chevrolet won the Manufacturers' Championship with 249 points. Jeffrey Earnhardt was the 2012 NASCAR Rookie of the Year after beating out Trevor Bayne, Stephen Leicht and Josh Wise.

Schedule
On September 28, 2011, the final calendar was released containing 38 races, with the addition of two exhibition races. The schedule also includes two Gatorade Duels, which are the qualifying races for the Daytona 500.