The 2012 Gatorade Duels were a pair of stock car races held on February 23, 2012, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The 60-lap races, held before a crowd of 80,000 spectators, were the qualifying races for the 2012 Daytona 500, the premier event of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The first race was won by Tony Stewart for the Stewart-Haas Racing team. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second, with Marcos Ambrose third. Matt Kenseth driving for the Roush Fenway Racing team won the second race, which was Kenseth's and his team's first victory in the Gatorade Duels. Regan Smith followed in the second position and Jimmie Johnson was third.