2007 Kobalt Tools 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 4 of 36 in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season | |||
 Atlanta Motor Speedway (after 1997, before Atlanta International Speedway) | |||
| Date | March 18, 2007 | ||
| Location | Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.54 mi (2.48 km) | ||
| Distance | 325 laps, 500.5 mi (805.476 km) | ||
| Average speed | 152.915 miles per hour (246.093 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Ryan Newman | Penske Racing | |
| Time | 28.707 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 135 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 48 |
Jimmie Johnson |
Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Broadcasting Company | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds | ||
The 2007 Kobalt Tools 500, the fourth race of the 2007 NEXTEL Cup Season, was held Sunday, March 18, 2007 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. The race was won by Jimmie Johnson, his second consecutive win in the Nextel Cup.
Lineup
This is the starting lineup for the race.
| Row | Pos | Car # | Name | Speed (mph) | Team/Sponsor/Car Make |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 12 | Ryan Newman** | 193.124 | Penske Racing South Alltel Dodge Charger |
| 1 | 2 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | 191.894 | Evernham Motorsports Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger |
| 2 | 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson** | 191.788 | Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 2 | 4 | 01 | Mark Martin | 191.744 | Ginn Racing U.S. Army Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 3 | 5 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | 191.714 | Hendrick Motorsports DuPont Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 3 | 6 | 43 | Bobby Labonte | 191.648 | Petty Enterprises Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge Charger |
| 4 | 7 | 40 | David Stremme | 191.509 | Chip Ganassi Racing Coors Light Dodge Charger |
| 4 | 8 | 5 | Kyle Busch | 191.503 | Hendrick Motorsports Kellogg's/Carquest Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 5 | 9 | 49 | Mike Bliss | 191.100 | BAM Racing ZoneLoans.com Dodge Charger |
| 5 | 10 | 10 | Scott Riggs | 190.916 | Evernham Motorsports Stanley Tools/Valvoline Dodge Charger |
| 6 | 11 | 41 | Reed Sorenson | 190.837 | Chip Ganassi Racing Target Dodge Charger |
| 6 | 12 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | 190.686 | Evernham Motorsports Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger |
| 7 | 13 | 20 | Tony Stewart | 190.594 | Joe Gibbs Racing Home Depot Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 7 | 14 | 99 | Carl Edwards | 190.398 | Roush Fenway Racing Office Depot Ford Fusion |
| 8 | 15 | 07 | Clint Bowyer | 190.372 | Richard Childress Racing Jack Daniel's Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 8 | 16 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya‡ | 190.293 | Chip Ganassi Racing Texaco/Havoline Dodge Charger |
| 9 | 17 | 2 | Kurt Busch | 190.189 | Penske Racing South Miller Lite Dodge Charger |
| 9 | 18 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | 190.176 | DEI Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 10 | 19 | 13 | Joe Nemechek | 189.954 | Ginn Racing Ginn Resorts Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 10 | 20 | 18 | J.J. Yeley | 189.850 | Joe Gibbs Racing Interstate Batteries Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 11 | 21 | 17 | Matt Kenseth* | 189.837 | Roush Fenway Racing DeWALT Ford Fusion |
| 11 | 22 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr.* | 189.837 | DEI Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 12 | 23 | 15 | Paul Menard‡ | 189.818 | DEI Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 12 | 24 | 00 | David Reutimann‡ | 189.701 | Michael Waltrip Racing Domino's Pizza Toyota Camry |
| 13 | 25 | 16 | Greg Biffle | 189.564 | Roush Fenway Racing Jackson Hewitt Ford Fusion |
| 13 | 26 | 70 | Johnny Sauter | 189.467 | Haas CNC Racing Best Buy Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 14 | 27 | 38 | David Gilliland | 189.383 | Robert Yates Racing M&M's Ford Fusion |
| 14 | 28 | 14 | Sterling Marlin | 189.105 | Ginn Racing Panasonic Plasma HDTV Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 15 | 29 | 21 | Ken Schrader | 189.067 | Wood Brothers/JTG Racing Little Debbie Ford Fusion |
| 15 | 30 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 188.841 | Joe Gibbs Racing FedEx Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 16 | 31 | 83 | Brian Vickers | 188.828 | Team Red Bull Red Bull Toyota Camry |
| 16 | 32 | 31 | Jeff Burton | 188.495 | Richard Childress Racing Cingular Wireless Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 17 | 33 | 96 | Tony Raines | 188.411 | Hall of Fame Racing Texas Instruments DLP Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 17 | 34 | 25 | Casey Mears | 188.360 | Hendrick Motorsports National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 18 | 35 | 22 | Dave Blaney | 188.302 | Bill Davis Racing Caterpillar Toyota Camry |
| 18 | 36 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | 187.958 | Richard Childress Racing Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 19 | 37 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | 187.133 | Roush Fenway Racing IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford Fusion |
| 19 | 38 | 6 | David Ragan†‡ | 185.753 | Roush Fenway Racing AAA Ford Fusion |
| 20 | 39 | 7 | Robby Gordon† | 185.492 | Robby Gordon Motorsports Motorola Ford Fusion |
| 20 | 40 | 45 | Kyle Petty† | 184.499 | Petty Enterprises National Tire & Battery Dodge Charger |
| 21 | 41 | 66 | Jeff Green† | 184.364 | Haas CNC Racing Yellow Transportation Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS |
| 21 | 42 | 88 | Ricky Rudd† | 183.515 | Robert Yates Racing Snickers Ford Fusion |
| 22 | 43 | 44 | Dale Jarrett | 186.660 (Champion's Provisional) |
Michael Waltrip Racing UPS Toyota Camry |
*Tie broken by owner points
**Ryan Newman started 43rd after blowing an engine in practice. Jimmie Johnson started from the pole.
†-Made the race on owner points
‡-Rookie of the Year Candidate
NOTE: Robby Gordon had sponsorship from Motorola for this race. At first, the decals were ordered removed from the car by NASCAR, as per Nextel's exclusivity rights (even though Nextel uses Motorola equipment exclusively),, however, the decision was modified to allow Gordon to carry an advertisement for Motorola's digital audio players, which allowed Motorola to evade any ban.
Top ten results
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | #48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 2. | #20 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 3. | #17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 4. | #31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing |
| 5. | #42 | Juan Pablo Montoya (R) | Dodge | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 6. | #07 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing |
| 7. | #99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 8. | #1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. |
| 9. | #41 | Reed Sorenson | Dodge | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 10. | #01 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | Ginn Racing |
Did Not Qualify
The following drivers failed to qualify for the race:
Scott Wimmer (#33), Ward Burton (#4), John Andretti (#37), Michael Waltrip (#55), Kenny Wallace (#78), Kevin Lepage (#34), Jeremy Mayfield (#36), and A.J. Allmendinger (#84) (Allmendinger lost his engine in qualifying). Ward Burton, Waltrip, and Wallace have missed 3 of the first four races, John Andretti has missed 2 of the 3 races he has attempted, and Mayfield and Allmendinger have not made any of the races.
The race
Jimmie Johnson passed Tony Stewart with two laps to go to win his second straight NEXTEL Cup Series event. Johnson vaulted to fourth in the Cup standings, trailing only Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, and Jeff Burton in that order.
Race results and point leaders