2007 Dodge Avenger 500

Last updated
2007 Dodge Avenger 500
Race details
Race 11 of 36 in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
2007 Dodge Avenger 500 program cover.png
2007 Dodge Avenger 500 program cover
Date May 13, 2007 (2007-May-13)
Official name Dodge Avenger 500
Location Darlington Raceway, Darlington County, South Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.366 mi (2.198 km)
Distance 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.799 km)
Weather Mild with temperatures approaching 75 °F (24 °C); wind speeds up to 17.1 miles per hour (27.5 km/h)
Average speed 124.372 miles per hour (200.157 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Richard Childress Racing
Time 29.806
Most laps led
Driver Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 179
Winner
No. 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

The 2007 Dodge Avenger 500, the 58th running of the race, was the eleventh race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, a suburb of Florence.

Contents

The race was postponed by rain, and was run the following afternoon, May 13 (Mother's Day in the US), the second race in two weeks to be rained out. Coincidentally, the first running of this event in 1957 was postponed by rain and delayed a day later to May 12, exactly 50 years to the originally scheduled date of this race. Originally the third night race on the schedule, this also served as the fifth race to use the Car of Tomorrow template.

Chevrolet continued to dominate the NASCAR Cup Series like it did during the 1990s and through most of the 2000s. Michael Waltrip continued to have a negative number of points in this race due to his major penalty that was not mitigated until late into the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season. Spanish-speaking NASCAR fans started to notice Jeff Gordon's dominance in this NASCAR event, making him a close second favorite to Juan Pablo Montoya.

Last chance for the All-Star Challenge

The race served as the final chance for teams and drivers who have not qualified for the Nextel All-Star Challenge to automatically enter that race by winning on the 1.366 mile egg-shaped oval known as "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough To Tame". If not, they would have to race in the NEXTEL Open race, as either one of the top two drivers or chosen in a fan vote.

Abrasive surface

The Darlington asphalt has been known to be one of the most abrasive in NASCAR, as the sandpaper-like surface shreds tires limiting their run on the track. This situation was rectified later in 2007 when the entire track was resurfaced. As a result, pit row became a concrete surface.

Qualifying

Clint Bowyer won the pole position, the first career pole in the Cup series for the driver of the #07 Chevrolet Impala. Greg Biffle, who had won the two previous Darlington races, sat on the outside of Bowyer. Michael Waltrip missed his 10th straight race, while Ken Schrader returned to the field after sitting out the two previous weeks.

Pos [1] Car #DriverMakeSpeedTimeBehind
107Clint BowyerChevrolet164.98729.8060.000
216Greg BiffleFord164.87629.826-0.020
326Jamie McMurrayFord164.43029.907-0.101
499Carl EdwardsFord164.31429.928-0.122
59Kasey KahneDodge164.07329.972-0.166
678Kenny WallaceChevrolet163.87630.008-0.202
711Denny HamlinChevrolet163.83830.015-0.209
821Ken SchraderFord163.72330.036-0.230
929Kevin HarvickChevrolet163.71330.038-0.232
1024Jeff GordonChevrolet163.68030.044-0.238
1125Casey MearsChevrolet163.29930.114-0.308
1248Jimmie JohnsonChevrolet163.28930.116-0.310
1343Bobby LabonteDodge163.18630.135-0.329
1400David ReutimannToyota163.17530.137-0.331
1583Brian VickersToyota163.15330.141-0.335
1641Reed SorensonDodge163.10530.150-0.344
1719Elliott SadlerDodge163.04530.161-0.355
182Kurt BuschDodge163.00230.169-0.363
1970Johnny SauterChevrolet162.94830.179-0.373
2084A. J. AllmendingerToyota162.91530.185-0.379
218Dale Earnhardt Jr.Chevrolet162.80730.205-0.399
2218J. J. YeleyChevrolet162.79130.208-0.402
2315Paul MenardChevrolet162.78630.209-0.403
246David RaganFord162.63030.238-0.432
251Martin Truex Jr.Chevrolet162.61930.240-0.434
2620Tony StewartChevrolet162.55530.252-0.446
2722Dave BlaneyToyota162.45230.271-0.465
2814Sterling MarlinChevrolet162.35630.289-0.483
2912Ryan NewmanDodge162.27630.304-0.498
3040David StremmeDodge162.26030.307-0.501
3117Matt KensethFord161.93430.368-0.562
3296Tony RainesChevrolet161.86430.381-0.575
337Robby GordonFord161.74230.404-0.598
3431Jeff BurtonChevrolet161.54530.441-0.635
3513Joe NemechekChevrolet161.50330.449-0.643
365Kyle BuschChevrolet161.32830.482-0.676
3701Mark MartinChevrolet161.31730.484-0.678
3838David GillilandFord161.00630.543-0.737
3966Jeff GreenChevrolet160.86930.569-0.763
4088Ricky RuddFord160.38130.662-0.856
4142Juan MontoyaDodge160.05730.724-0.918
4245Kyle PettyDodge159.54830.822-1.016
4337Kevin LepageDodge162.32930.294-0.488
Failed to qualify
4436Jeremy MayfieldToyota30.301
454Ward BurtonChevrolet30.359
4649Mike BlissDodge30.370
4755Michael WaltripToyota30.446
4844Dale JarrettToyota30.480
4910Scott RiggsDodge30.529

Race recap

Jeff Gordon overcame a radiator problem to win the Dodge Avenger 500. The win was his third in the last four races, his sixth win in the Southern 500, and his 78th overall career. Because of the failure, his car emitted steam for the last 50 laps or so of the race. The race was arguably decided most in the pits. Gordon's crew chief, Steve Letarte, kept the #24 Chevy on the track during what would be the final caution of the race, while all other leaders came in for service. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin was in position for a weekend sweep (he had won on Friday night in the Busch Series Diamond Hill Plywood 200), but a failure to apply lug nuts correctly on the first attempt led to a long pit stop, after which he never regained the lead. Hamlin still led the most laps on this day and finished second.

The remaining top drivers were in this order: Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bowyer, and Jeff Burton.

After this race, Gordon led Jimmie Johnson by 231 points for the lead. Earnhardt Jr. led Jamie McMurray by 46 points for the 12th and final position in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup. However, because of illegal bolts supporting the wing that was discovered in a pre-race inspection, Earnhardt was docked 100 driver points, the team lost 100 owner points and slapped with a $100,000 (US) fine and crew chief Tony Eury, Sr. was suspended until July 4. Because of the penalties, McMurray was elevated to the final Chase position as a result.

Race results

(*) denotes Rookie of the Year candidate.

FinStDriverCar #MakePointsBonusLapsWinnings
110 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 1905367$323,286
27 Denny Hamlin 11 Chevrolet 18010367$211,550
312 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 1705367$197,761
429 Ryan Newman 12 Dodge 1655367$159,875
54 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 1605367$125,475
626 Tony Stewart 20 Chevrolet 150367$145,961
731 Matt Kenseth 17 Ford 1515367$143,516
821 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 8 Chevrolet 142367$133,033
91 Clint Bowyer 07 Chevrolet 1435367$114,575
1034 Jeff Burton 31 Chevrolet 134367$127,541
1125 Martin Truex Jr. 1 Chevrolet 130367$112,320
1218 Kurt Busch 2 Dodge 127367$119,108
1328 Sterling Marlin 14 Chevrolet 124367$104,433
1437 Mark Martin 01 Chevrolet 121367$108,308
152 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 118367$97,700
163 Jamie McMurray 26 Ford 115367$89,850
179 Kevin Harvick 29 Chevrolet 112367$125,886
1822 J. J. Yeley 18 Chevrolet 109367$108,183
1913 Bobby Labonte 43 Dodge 106367$117,036
205 Kasey Kahne 9 Dodge 103367$124,616
2117 Elliott Sadler 19 Dodge 1055367$96,370
2239 Jeff Green 66 Chevrolet 97365$100,008
2341 Juan Montoya *42 Dodge 94365$113,575
246 Kenny Wallace 78 Chevrolet 91365$75,775
2542 Kyle Petty 45 Dodge 88364$87,233
2640 Ricky Rudd 88 Ford 85364$105,333
2724 David Ragan *6 Ford 82363$109,425
2835 Joe Nemechek 13 Chevrolet 79363$69,950
2919 Johnny Sauter 70 Chevrolet 76361$69,750
3038 David Gilliland 38 Ford 73361$100,289
3123 Paul Menard *15 Chevrolet 70358$69,325
3227 Dave Blaney 22 Toyota 725355$89,197
3314 David Reutimann *00 Toyota 64351$69,925
3430 David Stremme 40 Dodge 61349$68,850
3511 Casey Mears 25 Chevrolet 58345$76,600
3620 A. J. Allmendinger *84 Toyota 55344$68,450
3736 Kyle Busch 5 Chevrolet 52338$86,250
3833 Robby Gordon 7 Ford 49317$68,025
3932 Tony Raines 96 Chevrolet 46310$78,400
4016 Reed Sorenson 41 Dodge 43310$75,750
418 Ken Schrader 21 Ford 455254$87,839
4243 Kevin Lepage 37 Dodge 37127$68,280
4315 Brian Vickers 83 Toyota 34122$67,382

Notes

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References

  1. "Qualifying times: Dodge Avenger 500". Crash. 2007-05-12. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
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