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
2007 Auto Club 500 program cover
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.

Entry list
No. Driver Team Manufacturer
00 David Reutimann (R) Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
01 Mark Martin Ginn Racing Chevrolet
1Martin Truex Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet
2Kurt Busch Penske Racing Dodge
4 Ward Burton Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet
5 Kyle Busch Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
6 David Ragan (R) Roush Racing Ford
07 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Ford
8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet
9 Kasey Kahne Evernham Motorsports Dodge
10 Scott Riggs Evernham Motorsports Dodge
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet
12 Ryan Newman Penske Racing Dodge
13 Joe Nemechek Ginn Racing Chevrolet
14 Sterling Marlin Ginn Racing Chevrolet
15 Paul Menard (R) Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet
16 Greg Biffle Roush Racing Ford
17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford
18 J. J. Yeley Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet
19 Elliott Sadler Evernham Motorsports Dodge
20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet
21 Ken Schrader Wood Brothers Racing Ford
22 Dave Blaney Bill Davis Racing Toyota
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
25 Casey Mears Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
26 Jamie McMurray Roush Racing Ford
29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
33 Scott Wimmer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
34 Kevin Lepage Front Row Motorsports Dodge
36 Jeremy Mayfield Bill Davis Racing Toyota
37 John Andretti Front Row Motorsports Dodge
38 David Gilliland (R) Robert Yates Racing Ford
39 Regan Smith (R) Ginn Racing Chevrolet
40 David Stremme Chip Ganassi Racing with
Felix Sabates		 Dodge
41 Reed Sorenson Chip Ganassi Racing with
Felix Sabates		 Dodge
42 Juan Pablo Montoya (R) Chip Ganassi Racing with
Felix Sabates		 Dodge
43 Bobby Labonte Petty Enterprises Dodge
44 Dale Jarrett Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
49 Mike Bliss BAM Racing Dodge
55 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
66 Jeff Green Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet
70 Johnny Sauter Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet
72 Brandon Whitt (R) CJM Racing Chevrolet
74 Derrike Cope McGlynn Racing Dodge
78 Kenny Wallace Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
83 Brian Vickers Team Red Bull Toyota
84 A. J. Allmendinger (R) Team Red Bull Toyota
88 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford
96 Tony Raines Hall of Fame Racing Chevrolet
99 Carl Edwards Roush Racing Ford

Qualifying
Rank[3] Driver Nbr Car Time Speed
1  Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 38.765   185.735  
2  Kasey Kahne 9 Dodge 38.810   185.519  
3  Mark Martin 01 Chevrolet 38.814   185.500  
4  Kevin Harvick 29 Chevrolet 38.830   185.424  
5  Dale Earnhardt Jr. 8 Chevrolet 38.834   185.405  
6  Clint Bowyer 07 Chevrolet 38.960   184.805  
7  Martin Truex Jr. 1 Chevrolet 39.009   184.573  
8  Jeff Burton 31 Chevrolet 39.058   184.341  
9  Juan Pablo Montoya 42 Dodge 39.084   184.219  
10  Casey Mears 25 Chevrolet 39.098   184.153  
11  Tony Stewart 20 Chevrolet 39.099   184.148  
12  Kyle Busch 5 Chevrolet 39.101   184.139  
13  Greg Biffle 16 Ford 39.145   183.932  
14  Dave Blaney 22 Toyota 39.146   183.927  
15  Brian Vickers 83 Toyota 39.162   183.852   *
16  Jeff Green 66 Chevrolet 39.184   183.748  
17  Denny Hamlin 11 Chevrolet 39.205   183.650  
18  Kurt Busch 2 Dodge 39.210   183.627  
19  Ryan Newman 12 Dodge 39.230   183.533  
20  Reed Sorenson 41 Dodge 39.244   183.468  
21  Carl Edwards 99 Ford 39.266   183.365  
22  Paul Menard 15 Chevrolet 39.275   183.323   *
23  Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 39.280   183.299  
24  David Stremme 40 Dodge 39.315   183.136  
25  Matt Kenseth 17 Ford 39.359   182.931  
26  Joe Nemechek 13 Chevrolet 39.372   182.871   *
27  Sterling Marlin 14 Chevrolet 39.375   182.857   *
28  Bobby Labonte 43 Dodge 39.404   182.723  
29  J.J. Yeley 18 Chevrolet 39.422   182.639  
30  Scott Riggs 10 Dodge 39.428   182.611  
31  Johnny Sauter 70 Chevrolet 39.432   182.593   *
32  John Andretti 37 Dodge 39.452   182.500   *
33  David Reutimann 00 Toyota 39.467   182.431   *
34  Michael Waltrip 55 Toyota 39.500   182.278   *
35  Ricky Rudd 88 Ford 39.541   182.089  
36  Ward Burton 4 Chevrolet 39.555   182.025   *
37  Jeremy Mayfield 36 Toyota 39.555   182.025   *
38  A.J. Allmendinger 84 Toyota 39.561   181.997   *
39  Jamie McMurray 26 Ford 39.572   181.947  
40  Ken Schrader 21 Ford 39.629   181.685  
41  Kyle Petty 45 Dodge 39.630   181.681  
42  Elliott Sadler 19 Dodge 39.647   181.603  
43  David Ragan 6 Ford 39.664   181.525   OP
44  David Gilliland 38 Ford 39.687   181.420   OP
45  Tony Raines 96 Chevrolet 39.697   181.374   OP
46  Brandon Whitt 72 Chevrolet 39.801   180.900   *
47  Mike Bliss 49 Dodge 39.849   180.682   *
48  Robby Gordon 7 Ford 39.953   180.212   OP
49  Kenny Wallace 78 Chevrolet 40.200   179.104   *
50  Dale Jarrett 44 Toyota OP
51  Kevin Lepage 34 Dodge *

OP: qualified via owners points

PC: qualified as past champion

PR: provisional

QR: via qualifying race

* - had to qualify on time

Failed to qualify, withdrew, or driver changes:   Michael Waltrip (#55), Ward Burton (#4), Jeremy Mayfield (#36), A.J. Allmendinger (#84), Brandon Whitt (#72), Mike Bliss (#49), Kenny Wallace (#78), Kevin Lepage (#34), Scott Wimmer (#33-WD), Regan Smith (#39-WD), Derrike Cope (#74-WD)

Results
Fin[4][5] St # Driver Make Laps Led Status Pts
1 25 17 Matt Kenseth Ford250 133 running 195
2 1 24 Jeff Gordon Chevy250 2 running 175
3 23 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevy250 31 running 170
4 8 31 Jeff Burton Chevy250 18 running 165
5 3 01 Mark Martin Chevy250 1 running 160
6 6 07 Clint Bowyer Chevy250 2 running 155
7 18 2 Kurt Busch Dodge250 0 running 146
8 11 20 Tony Stewart Chevy250 28 running 147
9 12 5 Kyle Busch Chevy250 9 running 143
10 15 83 Brian Vickers Toyota250 0 running 134
11 17 11 Denny Hamlin Chevy250 0 running 130
12 19 12 Ryan Newman Dodge250 0 running 127
13 29 18 J.J. Yeley Chevy250 0 running 124
14 26 13 Joe Nemechek Chevy250 0 running 121
15 13 16 Greg Biffle Ford250 2 running 123
16 39 6 David Ragan Ford250 0 running 115
17 4 29 Kevin Harvick Chevy250 3 running 117
18 31 70 Johnny Sauter Chevy249 0 running 109
19 24 40 David Stremme Dodge249 0 running 106
20 22 15 Paul Menard Chevy249 0 running 103
21 42 7 Robby Gordon Ford249 0 running 100
22 37 45 Kyle Petty Dodge249 1 running 102
23 41 96 Tony Raines Chevy249 0 running 94
24 38 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge248 0 running 91
25 40 38 David Gilliland Ford248 0 running 88
26 9 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Dodge248 0 running 85
27 34 88 Ricky Rudd Ford248 0 running 82
28 28 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge248 0 running 79
29 21 99 Carl Edwards Ford247 0 running 76
30 16 66 Jeff Green Chevy247 0 running 73
31 10 25 Casey Mears Chevy246 0 running 70
32 43 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota246 0 running 67
33 33 00 David Reutimann Toyota239 0 crash 64
34 32 37 John Andretti Dodge220 0 electrical 61
35 27 14 Sterling Marlin Chevy198 0 electrical 58
36 36 21 Ken Schrader Ford160 0 engine 55
37 35 26 Jamie McMurray Ford134 0 running 52
38 2 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge129 20 engine 54
39 14 22 Dave Blaney Toyota112 0 engine 46
40 5 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevy74 0 engine 43
41 30 10 Scott Riggs Dodge16 0 crash 40
42 7 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevy14 0 engine 37
43 20 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge7 0 crash 34
Failed to qualify, withdrew, or driver changes:
POS NBR DRIVER CAR
44 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota
45 4 Ward Burton Chevrolet
46 36 Jeremy Mayfield Toyota
47 84 A.J. Allmendinger Toyota
48 72 Brandon Whitt Chevrolet
49 49 Mike Bliss Dodge
50 78 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet
51 34 Kevin Lepage Dodge
WD 33 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet
WD 39 Regan Smith Chevrolet
WD 74 Derrike Cope Dodge

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 Red Flags: 1 for 15 minutes, 18 seconds

Key

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

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.
  3. "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  4. "2007 Auto Club 500 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  5. "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
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