2007 Auto Club 500

The 2007 Auto Club 500 was the second race in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. It was held on February 25, 2007 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

2007 Auto Club 500
Race details
Race 2 of 36 in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season
Track map of Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway)
Date February 25, 2007 (2007-February-25)
Official name Auto Club 500
Location Auto Club Speedway
Fontana, California, U.S.
Course Permanent racing facility
2.0 mi (3.23 km)
Distance 250 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather Temperatures up to 68.9 °F (20.5 °C); wind speeds up to 13 miles per hour (21 km/h)[1]
Average speed 135.839 miles per hour (218.612 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Hendrick Motorsports
Time 38.765
Most laps led
Driver Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing
Laps 133
Winner
No. 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, and Larry McReynolds

This was the first Cup race to use unleaded gasoline. All cars ran on Sunoco 260 GTX, a 98-octane (R+M/2) unleaded racing fuel, which had been tested at lower tier series in late 2006 and approved for 2007.

In the final accident of the race, David Reutimann was spun out accidentally by Greg Biffle and went into the wall in the corner. The strike to the wall was among the hardest hits NASCAR had ever recorded. The in-car camera showed him dazed by the impact and struggling to get out, unable to respond to his crew initially. Although he suffered a bruised foot, he was otherwise uninjured, and competed in the Busch Series race in Mexico City the next weekend.[2]

The race was won by Matt Kenseth, driving the No.17 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. Kenseth also led the most laps in this race while Jeff Gordon won the pole.

Results
Pos Start Car # Laps Status Driver Manufacturer Money won
(in US Dollars)
1 25 17 250 Running Matt Kenseth**Ford $342,326
2 1 24 250 Running Jeff Gordon*Chevrolet $249,111
3 23 48 250 Running Jimmie Johnson*Chevrolet $212,811
4 8 31 250 Running Jeff Burton*Chevrolet $173,441
5 3 01 250 Running Mark Martin*Chevrolet $171,708
6 6 07 250 Running Clint Bowyer*Chevrolet $119,875
7 18 2 250 Running Kurt BuschDodge $140,583
8 11 20 250 Running Tony Stewart*Chevrolet $148,161
9 12 5 250 Running Kyle Busch*Chevrolet $109,525
10 15 83 250 Running Brian VickersToyota $94,400
11 17 11 250 Running Denny HamlinChevrolet $116,800
12 19 12 250 Running Ryan NewmanDodge $128,275
13 29 18 250 Running J.J. YeleyChevrolet $124,958
14 26 13 250 Running Joe NemechekChevrolet $90,450
15 13 16 250 Running Greg Biffle*Ford $108,400
16 39 6 250 Running David Ragan†Ford $130,075
17 4 29 250 Running Kevin Harvick*Chevrolet $136,786
18 31 70 249 Running Johnny SauterChevrolet $87,450
19 24 40 249 Running David StremmeDodge $90,850
20 22 15 249 Running Paul Menard†Chevrolet $87,850
21 42 7 249 Running Robby GordonFord $90,700
22 37 45 249 Running Kyle Petty*Dodge $104,908
23 41 96 249 Running Tony RainesChevrolet $99,500
24 38 19 248 Running Elliott SadlerDodge $105,670
25 40 38 248 Running David GillilandFord $114,314
26 9 42 248 Running Juan Pablo Montoya†Dodge $120,475
27 34 88 248 Running Ricky RuddFord $116,233
28 28 43 248 Running Bobby LabonteDodge $121,436
29 21 99 247 Running Carl EdwardsFord $92,200
30 16 66 247 Running Jeff GreenChevrolet $106,608
31 10 25 246 Running Casey MearsChevrolet $91,275
32 43 44 246 Running Dale JarrettToyota $80,575
33 33 00 239 Accident David Reutimann†Toyota $92,958
34 32 37 220 Electrical John AndrettiDodge $80,150
35 27 14 198 Electrical Sterling MarlinChevrolet $89,472
36 36 21 160 Engine Ken SchraderFord $98,989
37 35 26 134 Running Jamie McMurrayFord $87,550
38 2 9 129 Engine Kasey Kahne*Dodge $137,991
39 14 22 112 Engine Dave BlaneyToyota $87,180
40 5 8 74 Engine Dale Earnhardt Jr.Chevrolet $124,433
41 30 10 16 Accident Scott RiggsDodge $86,900
42 7 1 14 Engine Martin Truex Jr.Chevrolet $105,155
43 20 41 7 Accident Reed SorensonDodge $89,693

Time of Race: 3 hours, 36 minutes, 41 seconds.
Average Speed: 138.451 MPH.
Margin of Victory: 0.679 seconds.
Lead Changes: 28 among 12 drivers.
Cautions: Nine for 37 laps.
Cars finished on the lead lap: 17
Attendance: 87,000

Key

* Led one lap
** Led most laps
† Rookie of the Year Candidate

Did not qualify

The following eight drivers failed to qualify for the race: #55-Michael Waltrip, #4-Ward Burton, #36-Jeremy Mayfield, #84-A. J. Allmendinger, #72-Brandon Whitt, #49-Mike Bliss, #78-Kenny Wallace, and #34-Kevin Lepage.

Withdrew

Scott Wimmer in the #33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, Regan Smith in the #39 Chevrolet for Ginn Racing, and Derrike Cope in the #74 McGlynn Racing Dodge all withdrew from the race.

Race Recap

Cautions
Lap of incident Laps of caution Cars causing the caution Description
7 5 10, 26, 41 Scott Riggs got loose on the backstretch and was hit by Reed Sorenson and Jamie McMurray. Sorenson retired from the race (finishing 43rd), Riggs only briefly returned and McMurray later returned after being in the garage.
14 4 1 Martin Truex Jr. blew an engine, he was done and finished 42nd.
20 3 6 David Ragan spun coming onto the backstretch, but didn't hit anything and continued on.
54 5 14 Sterling Marlin spun on the backstretch, hitting the outside wall. He went behind the wall for repairs, later retiring due to electrical problems.
92 4 none Debris (on the backstretch).
115 4 none Debris (location unknown).
120 5 8 Dale Earnhardt, Jr., having just returned from the garage due to engine problems, lost it completely. He spun in turn 3 and 4 but didn't hit anything. He retired from the race, finishing 40th.
226 4 none Debris (on the backstretch).
243 3 00, 16, 43, 88 Greg Biffle got into David Reutimann, sending him hard into the turn 3 wall. Reutimann's car briefly caught fire and was demolished. He was not injured but briefly had the wind knocked out of him. He was forced to retire from the race and finished 33rd. Ricky Rudd and Bobby Labonte were also involved. The race was red-flagged for cleanup.

References
  1. "Weather information for the 2007 Pepsi 500". Retrieved July 25, 2014.
  2. Smith, Marty (March 5, 2007). "Reutimann's Crash Among Hardest Ever Recorded". ESPN. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
Previous race:
2007 Daytona 500		 Nextel Cup Series
2007 season		 Next race:
2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400
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