while David Reutimann had the highest speed of during the second session in the afternoon. The third test session, scheduled for the morning of January 21, was cancelled because of wet weather. During the fourth session, held during the afternoon, 34 drivers participated with Denny Hamlin being quickest with a speed of . Several drivers decided to leave after the session, which included Reutimann, Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson, and Bowyer. During the fifth session, held on the morning of January 22, 29 drivers participated, and Joey Logano was quickest with a speed of . Brad Keselowski was quickest with a speed of in the final session. After the two-car draft style dominated the 2011 Budweiser Shootout, NASCAR reduced the front grille opening to and the overflow valve for the cooling system would be supplied by NASCAR and set at . Also, high speeds in the race caused NASCAR to reduce the size of the restrictor plate by , with the expectations of cutting 10 horsepower from the engines. This race also marked the tenth anniversary of the death of seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt in 2001. As such, several tributes took place during the race. All of the cars fielded by Earnhardt's former team, Richard Childress Racing, and the team he started, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, carried No. 3 decals. During the race itself, NASCAR held a "silent lap" on Lap 3, a practice that was first used in memory of Earnhardt during the 2001 season. Entry List (W) denotes past 500 winner. (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points. Practice and qualifying Seven practice sessions were held before the race. The first two on February 12 ran 120 minutes and 105 minutes each. The next two on February 16 were for shortened 90 minutes and 55 minutes long after rain delays. Two days later, two more practice sessions were scheduled, which ran 60 and 85 minutes long. The final practice session was held on February 19. Mark Martin was quickest with a time of 48.681 seconds in the first session, less than one-tenth of a second faster than Jeff Gordon. Paul Menard was just off Gordon's pace, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, and Bill Elliott. Johnson was seventh, still within a second of Martin's time. In the second practice session, Martin remained fastest with a time of 48.567 seconds, less than