2007 Daytona 500

2007 Daytona 500

Race details[1]
Race 1 of 36 in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
Date	February 18, 2007 (2007-02-18)
Official name	Daytona 500 by Toyota
Location	Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.02336 km)
Distance	202 laps, 505 mi (812.718 km)
Scheduled Distance	200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather	Cold with temperatures approaching 55.9 °F (13.3 °C); wind speeds up to 15.90 miles per hour (25.59 km/h)
Average speed	149.333 miles per hour (240.328 km/h)
Attendance	185,000
Pole position
Driver	David Gilliland	Robert Yates Racing
Time	48.304
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner	Tony Stewart	Joe Gibbs Racing
Duel 2 Winner	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Most laps led
Driver	Kurt Busch	Penske Racing
Laps	95
Winner
No. 29	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress Racing
Television in the United States
Network	Fox
Announcers	Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds
Nielsen Ratings	10.1/20 (17.5 million viewers)

The 2007 Daytona 500 program cover.

The 2007 Daytona 500, the 49th running of the event, was the first race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season, taking place on February 18, 2007, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Kevin Harvick won the race by 0.02 second over Mark Martin in the closest finish since the first race at Daytona International Speedway when it took three days to declare Lee Petty the winner in 1959. The race was decided by a green-white-checker finish for the third year in a row, with two extra laps added for a total of 202 laps and 505 miles (813 km).

That was Mark Martin's first 500 race not driving for Jack Roush since 1986.

Entry list

No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
00	David Reutimann (R)	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota
01	Mark Martin	Ginn Racing	Chevrolet
1	Martin Truex Jr.	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Chevrolet
2	Kurt Busch	Penske Racing	Dodge
04	Eric McClure	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	Chevrolet
4	Ward Burton (W)	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. (W)	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Chevrolet
09	Mike Wallace	Phoenix Racing	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 (W)	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
23	Mike Skinner	Bill Davis Racing	Toyota
24	Jeff Gordon (W)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
25	Casey Mears	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
26	Jamie McMurray	Roush Racing	Ford
27	Kirk Shelmerdine	Kirk Shelmerdine Racing	Chevrolet
29	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet
30	Stanton Barrett	Ware Racing Enterprises	Chevrolet
31	Jeff Burton	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet
34	Kevin Lepage	Front Row Motorsports	Dodge
36	Jeremy Mayfield	Bill Davis Racing	Toyota
37	Bill Elliott (W)	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	Dodge
41	Reed Sorenson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dodge
42	Juan Pablo Montoya (R)	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dodge
43	Bobby Labonte	Petty Enterprises	Dodge
44	Dale Jarrett (W)	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota
45	Kyle Petty	Petty Enterprises	Dodge
48	Jimmie Johnson (W)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
49	Mike Bliss	BAM Racing	Dodge
55	Michael Waltrip (W)	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota
58	James Hylton	Hylton Motorsports	Chevrolet
60	Boris Said	No Fear Racing	Ford
66	Jeff Green	Haas CNC Racing	Chevrolet
70	Johnny Sauter	Haas CNC Racing	Chevrolet
71	Frank Kimmel (R)	Fast Track Racing	Chevrolet
72	Brandon Whitt (R)	CJM Racing	Chevrolet
74	Derrike Cope (W)	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
Official Entry list

Qualifying

Main article: 2007 NASCAR Gatorade Duels

Further information: 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series § Qualifying and Gatorade Duel

Tony Stewart, driving the #20 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS for Joe Gibbs Racing, won the first Gatorade Duel race, while Jeff Gordon drove the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to the checkered flag in the second race. However, widespread rules infractions that affected five teams – the #17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion team of Matt Kenseth, the three Evernham Motorsports Dodge Charger teams of Kasey Kahne (#9), Scott Riggs (#10) and Elliott Sadler (#19 car) – were discovered during the Pole Qualifying on February 11. But, a sixth team – the #55 Toyota Camry from Michael Waltrip Racing driven by the teams' owner – suffered the most severe punishment handed out by the motorsports sanctioning body since 2000, as it was docked 100 driver and owner points, causing it to leave Daytona with negative owner and championship points (−27 points). In addition, Gordon was penalized with the loss of his starting position after the #24 Chevrolet failed a post-race inspection because of an improper spoiler height. His starting position was changed from fourth to 42nd. There were no other penalties assessed against himself or the team and he remained listed as the winner of the second duel race.

When all was said and done, Robert Yates Racing swept the top two positions, with David Gilliland driving the #38 Ford Fusion to the pole at 186.320 mph (299.853 km/h), with his teammate, Ricky Rudd in the #88 Fusion alongside a mere 0.185 seconds behind.

Bill Elliott was not the only past Daytona 500 champion to miss the race, as 25 other cars battled for a set of seven spots in the starting grid. Ward Burton (who won in 2002) and Derrike Cope (the 1990 winner) did not qualify from their respective races. Elliott was not eligible for the past champion's provisional, as it was given to Dale Jarrett, who was the more recent champion.

Before the green flag the following drivers dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: #00 – David Reutimann (transmission change), #18 – J. J. Yeley (transmission change), #41 – Reed Sorenson (transmission change). #24 – Jeff Gordon (failed post race inspection after winning the Gatorade Duel race #2, Gordon was supposed to start 4th).

Pre-race

Kelly Clarkson, the first winner of American Idol and spokesperson for the 2007 edition of "NASCAR Day", performed in the pre-race "Salute to America" concert, with her set consisting of Since U Been Gone, One Minute (from her third studio album My December) and Miss Independent. Big and Rich sang the National Anthem, while Academy Award winning actor Nicolas Cage served as the grand marshal of the event, giving the command to have the drivers start their engines in a low-key manner. Baseball ironman and 2007 inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame Cal Ripken Jr. drove the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 pace car for the pre-race laps, and Phil Parsons, the brother of Benny Parsons, who had died of complications from lung cancer prior to the season, was given the honor of dropping the green flag for the race.

Race summary

Kevin Harvick's 2007 Daytona 500-winning No. 29 Pennzoil Chevrolet Monte Carlo

David Gilliland was in the front of the field when the green flag waved. The first caution came on lap 16 when Boris Said moved up the track coming off of turn 2, most likely unaware that David Reutimann was there, and spun. He had very minor damage and continued the race from there. The race then stayed under the green flag for about 60 laps, during which Tony Stewart took the lead from Kurt Busch. On lap 79, Kyle Petty hit the wall after his rear tire blew out, bringing out another yellow flag. He went behind the wall for repairs. Reutimann obtained the free pass to return to the lead lap. Kurt Busch took the lead again during most of the next green flag period, only being passed by Ryan Newman for one lap on lap 128, and then by Stewart again on lap 150.

On lap 152, Stewart got on the apron in turn 4, got loose, and spun into Kurt Busch. He spun to a halt, while Busch kept the engine going and went to the garage area for repairs. However, with 46 laps to go, he was unable to continue and did not finish the race. A fourth caution came on lap 175 when a 5-car crash involving Reutimann, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Green and Tony Raines occurred in the backstretch. Mark Martin took the lead shortly before the yellow flag came out. Another crash which took out Ken Schrader happened on lap 186, after contact from Dave Blaney who was parked for the remainder of the race (who may have been unaware of his right front tire being flat according to Darrell Waltrip). With 5 laps to go, Matt Kenseth ran into Jamie McMurray, who hit the wall and collected Dale Earnhardt Jr. with him. Ricky Rudd and Martin Truex Jr. were collected as well. Rudd remained on the lead lap, but Truex fell a lap down. McMurray and Earnhardt Jr. both were out of the race, finishing 31st and 32nd, respectively. The race was delayed for approximately 12 minutes for cleanup under the red flag. This set up a green-white-checkered finish.

With 2 laps to go, an outside line began to form, with Kevin Harvick, Kenseth and Jeff Burton. Martin came to the white flag looking for a victory. On the backstretch, Kyle Busch, sitting 2nd place, tried both ways to get around Martin. Meanwhile, Kenseth began to bump-draft Harvick, with Burton in tow. Harvick flew by David Stremme, Gilliland, Mike Wallace, David Ragan and Greg Biffle. Busch, trying to get around Martin and block Harvick at the same, nearly squeezed Harvick into the wall as Harvick zipped past him and pulled even with Martin. Harvick and Martin, Busch and Kenseth, and Biffle and Burton were side by side out of turn 4. With the checkered flag in sight, Busch hit the apron, getting him loose. He spun out and started a chain reaction collecting most of the field. Clint Bowyer took the worst hit, turning over on his roof and skidding across the finish line on it while on fire before flipping back upright in the grass. Harvick beat Martin by .02 of a second to claim the victory. After being 6th place out of turn 4, Burton finished 3rd. Mike Wallace and David Ragan were surprises, rounding out the Top 5.

Results

Pos	Grid	Car No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Laps Led	Status
1	34	29	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	202	4	Running
2	26	01	Mark Martin	Ginn Racing	Chevrolet	202	26	Running
3	7	31	Jeff Burton	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	202	0	Running
4	22	09	Mike Wallace	Phoenix Racing	Chevrolet	202	0	Running
5	35	6	David Ragan (R)	Roush Racing	Ford	202	0	Running
6	30	19	Elliott Sadler	Evernham Motorsports	Dodge	202	0	Running
7	28	9	Kasey Kahne	Evernham Motorsports	Dodge	202	0	Running
8	1	38	David Gilliland (R)	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	202	18	Running
9	18	13	Joe Nemechek	Ginn Racing	Chevrolet	202	0	Running
10	42	24	Jeff Gordon (W)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	202	0	Running
11	6	40	David Stremme	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dodge	202	0	Running
12	12	18	J. J. Yeley	Joe Gibbs Racing	Chevrolet	202	0	Running
13	33	41	Reed Sorenson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dodge	202	0	Running
14	23	60	Boris Said	No Fear Racing	Ford	202	0	Running
15	39	7	Robby Gordon	Robby Gordon Motorsports	Ford	202	0	Running
16	41	70	Johnny Sauter	Haas CNC Racing	Chevrolet	202	0	Running
17	38	14	Sterling Marlin (W)	Ginn Racing	Chevrolet	202	1	Running
18	11	07	Clint Bowyer	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	202	0	Running
19	36	42	Juan Pablo Montoya (R)	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dodge	202	0	Running
20	17	25	Casey Mears	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	202	0	Running
21	17	43	Bobby Labonte	Petty Enterprises	Dodge	202	0	Running
22	43	44	Dale Jarrett (W)	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	202	0	Running
23	14	99	Carl Edwards	Roush Racing	Ford	202	0	Running
24	8	5	Kyle Busch	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	202	4	Running
25	25	16	Greg Biffle	Roush Racing	Ford	202	0	Running
26	2	88	Ricky Rudd	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	202	0	Running
27	10	17	Matt Kenseth	Roush Racing	Ford	202	6	Running
28	9	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Chevrolet	201	0	Flagged
29	13	1	Martin Truex Jr.	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Chevrolet	201	13	Flagged
30	15	55	Michael Waltrip (W)	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	200	0	Flagged
31	24	26	Jamie McMurray	Roush Racing	Ford	195	0	Accident
32	5	8	Dale Earnhardt Jr. (W)	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Chevrolet	195	0	Accident
33	20	96	Tony Raines	Hall of Fame Racing	Chevrolet	195	0	Flagged
34	37	22	Dave Blaney	Bill Davis Racing	Toyota	186	0	Parked
35	19	21	Ken Schrader	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	185	0	Accident
36	31	66	Jeff Green	Haas CNC Racing	Chevrolet	181	0	Flagged
37	32	10	Scott Riggs	Evernham Motorsports	Dodge	179	0	Flagged
38	16	12	Ryan Newman	Penske Racing	Dodge	175	1	Engine
39	21	48	Jimmie Johnson (W)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	173	0	Accident
40	40	00	David Reutimann (R)	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	173	0	Accident
41	4	2	Kurt Busch	Penske Racing	Dodge	166	95	Flagged
42	29	45	Kyle Petty	Petty Enterprises	Dodge	160	0	Flagged
43	3	20	Tony Stewart	Joe Gibbs Racing	Chevrolet	152	35	Accident
Failed to Qualify
44		49	Mike Bliss	BAM Racing	Dodge
45		36	Jeremy Mayfield	Bill Davis Racing	Toyota
46		15	Paul Menard (R)	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Chevrolet
47		78	Kenny Wallace	Furniture Row Racing	Chevrolet
48		34	Kevin Lepage	Front Row Motorsports	Dodge
49		74	Derrike Cope (W)	McGlynn Racing	Dodge
50		30	Stanton Barrett (R)	Ware Racing Enterprises	Chevrolet
51		39	Regan Smith (R)	Ginn Racing	Chevrolet
52		37	Bill Elliott (W)	Front Row Motorsports	Dodge
53		71	Frank Kimmel (R)	Fast Track Racing	Chevrolet
54		72	Brandon Whitt (R)	CJM Racing	Chevrolet
55		58	James Hylton	Hylton Motorsports	Chevrolet
56		04	Eric McClure (R)	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	Chevrolet
57		27	Kirk Shelmerdine	Kirk Shelmerdine Racing	Chevrolet
58		4	Ward Burton (W)	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	Chevrolet
59		83	Brian Vickers	Team Red Bull	Toyota
60		23	Mike Skinner	Bill Davis Racing	Toyota
61		84	A. J. Allmendinger (R)	Team Red Bull	Toyota
Source:[2]

Controversy over the finish

Because of an incident between Casey Mears and Dale Jarrett at the 2003 Sylvania 300 in New Hampshire International Speedway, NASCAR mandated a "freezing of the field" policy whenever a caution flag is thrown, effectively ending the phenomenon that is racing back to the caution. Such a flag did not fly after the last-lap crash. There is some disputed visual evidence that suggests that, if the caution had flown strictly according to NASCAR rules, Martin may have won.^[3]

The issue was especially passionate because Martin was in his 23rd Daytona 500 start and had never won. Such a win, arguably, would have been popular with fans, similar to Dale Earnhardt's 1998 victory (in his 20th start) or Darrell Waltrip's 1989 triumph (in his 17th). Martin retired following the 2013 season, never having achieved a Daytona 500 victory in his 29 attempts.

In some races, NASCAR has permitted the cars to run to the finish in case of more "minor" spins on the last lap.

References

1. "Weather information for the 2007 Daytona 500". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
2. "2007 Daytona 500 – Racing-Reference.info". Archived from the original on 2012-09-09. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
3. "ESPN.com: Harvick barely takes checkered at drama-filled Daytona". Archived from the original on 2007-02-23. Retrieved 2007-10-29.

Preceded by 2006 Ford 400

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Season 2007

Succeeded by 2007 Auto Club 500