The 2007 Auto Club 500 was the second race in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season, and took place on February 25, 2007 at the California Speedway in Fontana, California.
The 2007 Auto Club 500 was the first NEXTEL Cup race using unleaded gasoline. All cars ran on Sunoco 260 GT Plus, a 104-octane (R+M/2) unleaded racing fuel, the fuel which NASCAR planned to use throughout the 2007 season.
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. [1]
The 2007 Auto Club 500 was won by Matt Kenseth.
Contents |
Only 17 cars finished on the lead lap.
| Pos | Start | Car # | Laps | Status | Driver | Sponsor / Car Make | Money won (in US Dollars) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | 17 | 250 | Running | Matt Kenseth** | Carhartt Ford | $342,326 |
| 2 | 1 | 24 | 250 | Running | Jeff Gordon* | DuPont Cromax Pro Chevrolet | $249,111 |
| 3 | 23 | 48 | 250 | Running | Jimmie Johnson* | Lowe's Chevrolet | $212,811 |
| 4 | 8 | 31 | 250 | Running | Jeff Burton* | Cingular Wireless Chevrolet | $173,441 |
| 5 | 3 | 01 | 250 | Running | Mark Martin* | U.S. ARMY Chevrolet | $171,708 |
| 6 | 6 | 07 | 250 | Running | Clint Bowyer* | Jack Daniel's Chevrolet | $119,875 |
| 7 | 18 | 2 | 250 | Running | Kurt Busch | Miller Lite Dodge | $140,583 |
| 8 | 11 | 20 | 250 | Running | Tony Stewart* | Home Depot Chevrolet | $148,161 |
| 9 | 12 | 5 | 250 | Running | Kyle Busch* | CARQUEST / Kellogg's Chevrolet | $109,525 |
| 10 | 15 | 83 | 250 | Running | Brian Vickers | Red Bull Toyota | $94,400 |
| 11 | 17 | 11 | 250 | Running | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Freight Chevrolet | $116,800 |
| 12 | 19 | 12 | 250 | Running | Ryan Newman | Mobil 1 Dodge | $128,275 |
| 13 | 29 | 18 | 250 | Running | J.J. Yeley | Interstate Batteries Chevrolet | $124,958 |
| 14 | 26 | 13 | 250 | Running | Joe Nemechek | CertainTeed Chevrolet | $90,450 |
| 15 | 13 | 16 | 250 | Running | Greg Biffle* | Ameriquest Ford | $108,400 |
| 16 | 39 | 6 | 250 | Running | David Ragan† | AAA Ford | $130,075 |
| 17 | 4 | 29 | 250 | Running | Kevin Harvick* | Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet | $136,786 |
| 18 | 31 | 70 | 249 | Running | Johnny Sauter | Best Buy Chevrolet | $87,450 |
| 19 | 24 | 40 | 249 | Running | David Stremme | Coors Light Dodge | $90,850 |
| 20 | 22 | 15 | 249 | Running | Paul Menard† | Quaker State / Menards Chevrolet | $87,850 |
| 21 | 42 | 7 | 249 | Running | Robby Gordon | Jim Beam Ford | $90,700 |
| 22 | 37 | 45 | 249 | Running | Kyle Petty* | Wells Fargo Dodge | $104,908 |
| 23 | 41 | 96 | 249 | Running | Tony Raines | Texas Instruments DLP HDTV Chevrolet | $99,500 |
| 24 | 38 | 19 | 248 | Running | Elliott Sadler | Dodge Dealers / UAW Dodge | $105,670 |
| 25 | 40 | 38 | 248 | Running | David Gilliland | M&M's Ford | $114,314 |
| 26 | 9 | 42 | 248 | Running | Juan Pablo Montoya† | Texaco / Havoline Dodge | $120,475 |
| 27 | 34 | 88 | 248 | Running | Ricky Rudd | Snickers Ford | $116,233 |
| 28 | 28 | 43 | 248 | Running | Bobby Labonte | Cheerios / Betty Crocker Dodge | $121,436 |
| 29 | 21 | 99 | 247 | Running | Carl Edwards | Office Depot Ford | $92,200 |
| 30 | 16 | 66 | 247 | Running | Jeff Green | Yellow Transportation Chevrolet | $106,608 |
| 31 | 10 | 25 | 246 | Running | Casey Mears | National Guard / GMAC Chevrolet | $91,275 |
| 32 | 43 | 44 | 246 | Running | Dale Jarrett | UPS Toyota | $80,575 |
| 33 | 33 | 00 | 239 | Accident | David Reutimann† | Domino's Pizza Toyota | $92,958 |
| 34 | 32 | 37 | 220 | Electrical | John Andretti | Camping World Dodge | $80,150 |
| 35 | 27 | 14 | 198 | Electrical | Sterling Marlin | Panasonic HDTV Chevrolet | $89,472 |
| 36 | 36 | 21 | 160 | Engine | Ken Schrader | Little Debbie Ford | $98,989 |
| 37 | 35 | 26 | 134 | Running | Jamie McMurray | Crown Royal Ford | $87,550 |
| 38 | 2 | 9 | 129 | Engine | Kasey Kahne* | Dodge Dealers / UAW Dodge | $137,991 |
| 39 | 14 | 22 | 112 | Engine | Dave Blaney | Caterpillar Toyota | $87,180 |
| 40 | 5 | 8 | 74 | Engine | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Budweiser Chevrolet | $124,433 |
| 41 | 30 | 10 | 16 | Accident | Scott Riggs | Stanley Tools Dodge | $86,900 |
| 42 | 7 | 1 | 14 | Engine | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet | $105,155 |
| 43 | 20 | 41 | 7 | Accident | Reed Sorenson | Energizer e2 Lithium Dodge | $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.
Attendance: 87,000
* Led one lap
** Led most laps
† Rookie of the Year Candidate
The following eight drivers failed to qualify for the race: Michael Waltrip, Ward Burton, Jeremy Mayfield, A. J. Allmendinger, Brandon Whitt, Mike Bliss, Kenny Wallace and Kevin Lepage.
| 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 a while 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 was briefly knocked unconscious & was out of the race, finishing 33rd. Ricky Rudd and Bobby Labonte were also involved. The race was red-flagged for cleanup. |
| Award | Winner | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Budweiser Pole Award | Jeff Gordon | 185.735 mph |
| Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race | Mark Martin | |
| Sunoco Diamond Performance Award | Matt Kenseth | |
| Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap Award | Kasey Kahne | 183.15 mph, lap 3 |
| Commit Lozenges Commit to Win Award | Kasey Kahne | leader of first lap |
| NASCAR DirecTV Crew Chief of the Race Award | Ryan Pemberton | crew chief for Mark Martin |
| Checker's/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge Award | Mark Martin | |
| Raybestos Rookie of the Race Award | David Ragan | |
| Wix Filters Lap Leader Award | Matt Kenseth | 133 laps |
| Dow Automotive Strategic Call of the Race Award | Matt Kenseth | |
| EA Sports Move of the Race Award | Matt Kenseth | |
| USG Improving the Finish Award | Matt Kenseth | 24 places |