2007 Nextel Cup Series

2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
Jimmie Johnson won his second NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Championship
Duration	February 18, 2007 through November 18, 2007
TV	Fox; TNT; ESPN/ABC
Season Statistics
No. of races	36
First race	2007 Daytona 500
Last race	2007 Ford 400
Drivers' champion	Jimmie Johnson
Manufacturers' champion
Rookie of the Year	Juan Pablo Montoya
Most popular driver	Dale Earnhardt, Jr
Previous	2006
Next	2008

The 2007 Nextel Cup Series was the 59th season of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. The season began with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18 and ended with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18.

Mark Martin led the standings through the first four races of the season, despite committing to a partial schedule. After the fifth race, Jeff Gordon took the points lead and would lead until the start of the Chase. Jimmie Johnson, Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex, Jr., Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth, and Clint Bowyer would qualify for the new 12-driver Chase.

After the first race of the Chase, Johnson & Gordon were tied atop the standings. Gordon & Johnson would swap the points lead between the second and fourth race of the Chase, before Gordon took a 68 point lead following the Bank of America 500. Johnson would then go on to win the next four straight races, entering Homestead with an 86 point lead over Gordon. At Homestead, Gordon finished fourth while Johnson finished seventh with one lap led, causing Johnson to win his second consecutive title by 77 points. Johnson became the first driver since Gordon in 1998 to win 4 races in a row and 10 races in a single season.

It was the first season for a new television contract, with ESPN/ABC taking over the final 17 races, replacing NBC. It was also Toyota’s first Cup Season, and the first partial season for the Car of Tomorrow, which ran in 16 races during the season. As a result of a merger between Sprint & Nextel in 2005, It was the final season the Cup Series was known as the Nextel Cup Series. It was also the final season for the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, which was replaced by the Chevrolet Impala in 2008. The Car of Tomorrow Races were the only races for the Dodge Avenger.

Storylines

A number of sponsorship controversies ensued in 2007, most notably between NASCAR and AT&T, which acquired and phased out Cingular Wireless and requested that AT&T logos be displayed on the #31 Chevrolet. During the season, the AT&T logos appeared and were removed several times before the matter was settled in September. Smaller issues occurred between NASCAR, Motorola & Robby Gordon, and Shell and Sunoco.

A number of ownership changes occurred throughout 2007, starting with Jack Roush selling 50% of his team to the Fenway Sports Group, causing a name change to Roush Fenway Racing. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. merged with Ginn Racing in August, causing the closure of the #13 & #14 teams. Robert Yates Racing nearly merged with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing of Champ Car, but the merger was called off after the announcement of the retirement of Robert Yates. The team was instead taken over by Robert’s son, Doug, and the team was renamed Yates Racing. George Gillett, owner of the Montreal Canadiens, purchased a stake in Evernham Motorsports. Jeff Moorad & Tom Garfinkel, the CEO & COO of the Arizona Diamondbacks, purchased a stake in Hall of Fame Racing, and Robert Kauffman purchased a stake in Michael Waltrip Racing late in the season.

A major story through 2007 was Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s contract negotiations with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. In May, it was announced that he would not return to DEI in 2008, fueling a great deal of speculation about where he would go in the upcoming season. In June, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. announced a five-year deal to drive for Hendrick Motorsports. He replaced Kyle Busch, who would go to Joe Gibbs Racing.

A number of veteran drivers raced for new teams in 2007, most notably Dale Jarrett leaving Robert Yates Racing for Michael Waltrip Racing, Mark Martin moving to Ginn Racing and driving a partial schedule, and Ricky Rudd returning to full time competition driving for Yates.

Full Time Team Chart

Manufacturer	Team	Number	Driver	Sponsor
	Ginn Racing (19) Dale Earnhardt Inc. (17)	01	Mark Martin (24) Regan Smith (7) Aric Almirola (5)	U.S. Army
	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	1	Martin Truex, Jr.	Bass Pro Shops
		8	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Budweiser
		15	Paul Menard *	Menards
	Furniture Row Racing	78	Kenny Wallace (22) Joe Nemechek (12) Scott Wimmer (1) Sterling Marlin (1)	Furniture Row
	Ginn Racing (19)	13	Joe Nemechek	CertainTeed / Ginn Resorts / Haier
		14	Sterling Marlin	Waste Management /Panasonic/Pep Boys
	Haas CNC Racing	66	Jeff Green (32) Jeremy Mayfield (4)	Best Buy / Haas Automation
		70	Johnny Sauter	Yellow Transportation / Haas Automation
	Hall of Fame Racing	96	Tony Raines (34) Ron Fellows (2)	Texas Instruments DLP TV
	Hendrick Motorsports	5	Kyle Busch	Kellogg's / Carquest
		24	Jeff Gordon	DuPont
		25	Casey Mears	National Guard / GMAC
		48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's
	Joe Gibbs Racing	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx
		18	J.J. Yeley	Interstate Batteries
		20	Tony Stewart	Home Depot
	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	4	Ward Burton (35) Todd Bodine (1)	State Water Heaters
	Richard Childress Racing	07	Clint Bowyer	Jack Daniels / DirecTV / Camping World
		29	Kevin Harvick	Shell Pennzoil
		31	Jeff Burton	Cingular Wireless/AT&T/Prilosec/Lenox
	BAM Racing	49	Mike Bliss (16) John Andretti (14) Klaus Graf (2) Chad Chaffin (2) Larry Foyt (1) Ken Schrader (1)
	Front Row Motorsports	37	Kevin Lepage (19) John Andretti (6) Bill Elliott (1) Brian Simo (2)	Huddle House / Camping World / Long John Silver's
	Chip Ganassi Racing	40	David Stremme	Coors / Target / Tums
		41	Reed Sorenson	Target
		42	Juan Pablo Montoya *	Havoline / Big Red
	Gillett Evernham Motorsports	9	Kasey Kahne	Dodge Dealers / McDonald's
		10	Scott Riggs (33) Patrick Carpentier (3)	Valvoline / Stanley Tools / Auto Value Bumper to Bumper
		19	Elliott Sadler	Dodge Dealers
	Penske Racing	2	Kurt Busch	Miller Lite
		12	Ryan Newman	Alltel / Kodak / Mobil 1
	Petty Enterprises	43	Bobby Labonte	Cheerios
		45	Kyle Petty (29) John Andretti (4) Chad McCumbee (2) Kenny Wallace (1)	Wells Fargo / Marathon / Tire Kingdom
	Robby Gordon Motorsports	7	Robby Gordon (35) P.J. Jones (1)	Jim Beam / Motorola / Monster Energy / Camping World
	Robert Yates Racing	38	David Gilliland	M&M's
		88	Ricky Rudd (31) Kenny Wallace (4) Mike Wallace (1)	Snickers / Pedigree / Combos
	Roush Fenway Racing	6	David Ragan *	AAA
		16	Greg Biffle	3M/Ameriquest/Jackson Hewitt/Dish Network/Aflac/Nintendo Wii/Lumber Liquidators
		17	Matt Kenseth	DeWalt/Carhartt/R&L Carriers/Arby's/USG
		26	Jamie McMurray	Crown Royal / Irwin Industrial Tools
		99	Carl Edwards	Office Depot/Lumber Liquidators
	Wood Brothers Racing/JTG Racing	21	Ken Schrader (14) Jon Wood (1) Bill Elliott (20) Boris Said (1)	Motorcraft/Little Debbies/U.S. Air Force
	Bill Davis Racing	22	Dave Blaney	Caterpillar
		36	Jeremy Mayfield (31) Mike Skinner (2) Johnny Benson, Jr. (2)	360 OTC
	Michael Waltrip Racing	00	David Reutimann * (34) P.J. Jones (2)	Burger King / Dominos Pizza
		44	Dale Jarrett	UPS
		55	Michael Waltrip (33) Terry Labonte (3)	NAPA
	Team Red Bull	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull
		84	A.J. Allmendinger *	Red Bull

Schedule

Round	Date	Race Name	Track	TV
	February 10, 2007	Budweiser Shootout	Daytona International Speedway	FOX
	February 15, 2007	Gatorade Duel 150s	Daytona International Speedway	SPEED Channel
1	February 18, 2007	Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway	FOX
2	February 25, 2007	Auto Club 500	California Speedway	FOX
3	March 11, 2007	UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	FOX
4	March 18, 2007	Kobalt Tools 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	FOX
5	March 25, 2007	Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	FOX
6	April 1, 2007	Goody's Cool Orange 500	Martinsville Speedway	FOX
7	April 15, 2007	Samsung 500	Texas Motor Speedway	FOX
8	April 21, 2007	Subway Fresh Fit 500	Phoenix International Raceway	FOX
9	April 29, 2007	Aaron's 499	Talladega Superspeedway	FOX
10	May 6, 2007	Crown Royal Presents the Jim Stewart 400	Richmond International Raceway	FOX
11	May 13, 2007	Dodge Avenger 500	Darlington Raceway	FOX
	May 19, 2007	Nextel All-Star Challenge	Lowe's Motor Speedway	SPEED Channel
12	May 27, 2007	Coca-Cola 600	Lowe's Motor Speedway	FOX
13	June 4, 2007	Autism Speaks 400 Presented by Visa	Dover International Speedway	FOX
14	June 10, 2007	Pocono 500	Pocono Raceway	TNT
15	June 17, 2007	Citizens Bank 400	Michigan International Speedway	TNT
16	June 24, 2007	Toyota / Save Mart 350	Infineon Raceway	TNT
17	July 1, 2007	Lenox Industrial Tools 300	New Hampshire International Speedway	TNT
18	July 7, 2007	Pepsi 400	Daytona International Speedway	TNT
19	July 15, 2007	USG Sheetrock 400	Chicagoland Speedway	TNT
20	July 29, 2007	Allstate 400 At The Brickyard	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	ESPN
21	August 5, 2007	Pennsylvania 500	Pocono Raceway	ESPN
22	August 12, 2007	Centurion Boats at the Glen	Watkins Glen International	ESPN
23	August 21, 2007	3M Performance 400	Michigan International Speedway	ESPN
24	August 25, 2007	Sharpie 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	ESPN
25	September 2, 2007	Sharp Aquos 500	California Speedway	ESPN
26	September 8, 2007	Chevy Rock & Roll 400	Richmond International Raceway	ABC
Chase for the Nextel Cup
27	September 16, 2007	Sylvania 300	New Hampshire International Speedway	ABC
28	September 23, 2007	Dodge Dealers 400	Dover International Speedway	ABC
29	September 30, 2007	Lifelock 400	Kansas Speedway	ABC
30	October 7, 2007	UAW-Ford 500	Talladega Superspeedway	ABC
31	October 13, 2007	Bank of America 500	Lowe's Motor Speedway	ABC
32	October 21, 2007	Subway 500	Martinsville Speedway	ABC
33	October 28, 2007	Pep Boys Auto 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	ABC
34	November 4, 2007	Dickies 500	Texas Motor Speedway	ABC
35	November 11, 2007	Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented By Pennzoil	Phoenix International Raceway	ABC
36	November 18, 2007	Ford 400	Homestead-Miami Speedway	ABC

Results

Round	Race	Pole Winner	Winner	Make	Cautions	Caution Laps	Average Speed	Number of Lead Changes
	2007 Budweiser Shootout	Dale Jarrett	Tony Stewart		2	5	166.139	11
	2007 Gatorade Duel 150 (Race #1)	David Gilliland	Tony Stewart		7	24	113.490	6
	2007 Gatorade Duel 150 (Race #2)	Ricky Rudd	Jeff Gordon		2	7	154.950	5
1	2007 Daytona 500	David Gilliland	Kevin Harvick		6	26	149.333	14
2	2007 Auto Club 500	Jeff Gordon	Matt Kenseth		9	37	138.451	28
3	2007 UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400	Kasey Kahne	Jimmie Johnson		9	40	128.183	28
4	2007 Kobalt Tools 500	Ryan Newman	Jimmie Johnson		6	27	152.915	31
5	2007 Food City 500	Jeff Gordon	Kyle Busch		15	90	81.969	14
6	2007 Goody's Cool Orange 500	Denny Hamlin	Jimmie Johnson		13	93	70.258	14
7	2007 Samsung 500	N/A	Jeff Burton		7	33	143.359	13
8	2007 Subway Fresh Fit 500	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon		6	34	107.710	12
9	2007 Aaron's 499	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon		8	28	154.167	42
10	2007 Crown Royal Presents the Jim Stewart 400	Jeff Gordon	Jimmie Johnson		14	80	91.270	24
11	2007 Dodge Avenger 500	Clint Bowyer	Jeff Gordon		10	44	124.383	21
	2007 Nextel All-Star Challenge	Matt Kenseth	Kevin Harvick		1	3	89.091	3
12	2007 Coca-Cola 600	Ryan Newman	Casey Mears		13	62	130.222	29
13	2007 Autism Speaks 400 Presented by Visa	Ryan Newman	Martin Truex, Jr.		7	35	118.950	18
14	2007 Pocono 500	Ryan Newman	Jeff Gordon		4	10	135.608	15
15	2007 Citizens Bank 400	J.J. Yeley	Carl Edwards		4	19	148.072	22
16	2007 Toyota / Save Mart 350	Jamie McMurray	Juan Pablo Montoya		7	14	74.547	11
17	2007 Lenox Industrial Tools 300	Dave Blaney	Denny Hamlin		6	31	108.215	20
18	2007 Pepsi 400	N/A	Jamie McMurray		8	30	138.983	28
19	2007 USG Sheetrock 400	Casey Mears	Tony Stewart		7	32	134.258	20
20	2007 Allstate 400 At The Brickyard	Reed Sorenson	Tony Stewart		9	43	117.379	14
21	2007 Pennsylvania 500	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Kurt Busch		7	27	131.627	17
22	2007 Centurion Boats at the Glen	N/A	Tony Stewart		8	20	77.535	9
23	2007 3M Performance 400	Jeff Gordon	Kurt Busch		8	36	117.044	18
24	2007 Sharpie 500	Kasey Kahne	Carl Edwards		9	61	89.006	12
25	2007 Sharp Aquos 500	Kurt Busch	Jimmie Johnson		11	43	131.502	30
26	2007 Chevy Rock & Roll 400	Jimmie Johnson	Jimmie Johnson		12	70	91.813	15
27	2007 Sylvania 300	Clint Bowyer	Clint Bowyer		7	27	110.475	13
28	2007 Dodge Dealers 400	Jimmie Johnson	Carl Edwards		13	66	101.846	14
29	2007 Lifelock 400	Jimmie Johnson	Greg Biffle		12	54	104.981	16
30	2007 UAW-Ford 500	Michael Waltrip	Jeff Gordon		9	34	143.438	42
31	2007 Bank of America 500	Ryan Newman	Jeff Gordon		15	62	125.868	26
32	2007 Subway 500	Jeff Gordon	Jimmie Johnson		21	127	66.608	12
33	2007 Pep Boys Auto 500	Greg Biffle	Jimmie Johnson		14	55	135.260	19
34	2007 Dickies 500	Martin Truex, Jr.	Jimmie Johnson		12	52	131.219	27
35	2007 Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented By Pennzoil	Carl Edwards	Jimmie Johnson		10	42	102.989	10
36	2007 Ford 400	Jimmie Johnson	Matt Kenseth		7	32	131.888	25

Final Points Standings

Pos.	Driver	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Points	Difference
1	Jimmie Johnson	36	10	20	24	4	6723
2	Jeff Gordon	36	6	21	30	7	6646	-77
3	Clint Bowyer	36	1	5	17	2	6377	-346
4	Matt Kenseth	36	2	13	22	0	6298	-425
5	Kyle Busch	36	1	11	20	0	6293	-430
6	Tony Stewart	36	3	11	23	0	6242	-481
7	Kurt Busch	36	2	6	14	1	6231	-492
8	Jeff Burton	36	1	9	18	0	6231	-492
9	Carl Edwards	36	3	11	15	1	6222	-501
10	Kevin Harvick	36	1	4	15	0	6199	-524
11	Martin Truex Jr	36	1	7	14	1	6164	-559
12	Denny Hamlin	36	1	12	18	1	6143	-580
13	Ryan Newman	36	0	7	15	5	4046	-2,677
14	Greg Biffle	36	1	5	11	1	3991	-2,732
15	Casey Mears	36	1	5	10	1	3949	-2,774
16	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	36	0	7	12	1	3929	-2,794
17	Jamie McMurray	36	1	3	9	1	3556	-3,167
18	Bobby Labonte	36	0	0	3	0	3517	-3,206
19	Kasey Kahne	36	0	1	8	2	3489	-3,234
20	Juan Pablo Montoya	36	1	3	6	0	3487	-3,236
21	J.J. Yeley	36	0	1	3	1	3456	-3,267
22	Reed Sorenson	36	0	3	6	1	3275	-3,448
23	David Ragan	36	0	2	3	0	3251	-3,472
24	David Stremme	36	0	0	3	0	3163	-3,560
25	Elliott Sadler	36	0	0	2	0	3140	-3,583
26	Robby Gordon	35	0	1	2	0	3014	-3,709
27	Mark Martin	24	0	5	11	0	2960	-3,763
28	David Gilliland	36	0	1	2	1	2924	-3,799
29	Tony Raines	34	0	0	1	0	2920	-3,803
30	Johnny Sauter	35	0	1	2	0	2875	-3,848
31	Dave Blaney	33	0	1	4	1	2781	-3,942
32	Jeff Green	32	0	0	3	0	2704	-4,019
33	Ricky Rudd	31	0	0	1	0	2622	-4,101
34	Paul Menard	30	0	0	0	0	2496	-4,227
35	Kyle Petty	29	0	1	1	0	2312	-4,411
36	Scott Riggs	27	0	0	1	0	2135	-4,588
37	Joe Nemechek	28	0	0	1	0	2117	-4,606
38	Brian Vickers	23	0	1	5	0	2065	-4,658
39	David Reutimann	26	0	0	0	0	1878	-4,845
40	Sterling Marlin	21	0	0	0	0	1752	-4,971
41	Dale Jarrett	24	0	0	0	0	1584	-5,139
42	Bill Elliott	20	0	0	0	0	1579	-5,144
43	A.J. Allmendinger	17	0	0	0	0	1165	-5,558
44	Michael Waltrip	14	0	0	2	1	1149	-5,574
45	Jeremy Mayfield	17	0	0	0	0	1126	-5,597
46	Kenny Wallace	15	0	0	0	0	1066	-5,657
47	Ward Burton	16	0	0	0	0	939	-5,784
48	John Andretti	15	0	0	0	0	932	-5,791
49	Ken Schrader	13	0	0	0	0	932	-5,791
50	Regan Smith	7	0	0	0	0	516	-6,207

Drivers in the Chase for the Nextel Cup are highlighted in yellow. Complete statistics can be found at Racing-Reference.info.

Rookie of the Year

Juan Pablo Montoya won the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award in 2007.

Rookie of the Year Standings

Position	Driver	Points	Race Wins
1	Juan Pablo Montoya	276	1
2	David Ragan	252	0
3	Paul Menard	221	0
4	David Reutimann	207	0
5	A.J. Allmendinger	190	0

Manufacturer's Championship

With 26 wins, Chevrolet won the 2007 Manufacturer's Championship.

Position	Make	Points	Race Wins
1		290	26
2		208	7
3		178	3
4		116	0

Other Season Awards

• Chex National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver: Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
• USG Improving the Finish Award: Matt Kenseth
• Clevite Engine Builder of the Year Award: Hendrick Motorsports
• Sunoco Diamond Performance Award: Jimmie Johnson
• Wix Filters Lap Leader Award: Jeff Gordon
• Dow Strategic Call Award: Jimmie Johnson
• Commit Lozenges Commit to Win Award: Jeff Gordon
• Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Season Award: Kurt Busch
• Bud Pole Award: Jeff Gordon
• Goodyear Gatorback Belts Fastest Lap Award: Jimmie Johnson
• Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award (voted by fellow crew chiefs): #48 Hendrick Motorsports Crew, led by Chad Knaus
• Checkers/Rally's Double Drive Thru Challenge Award (lowest amount of time spent on pit road): Jeff Gordon
• DirecTV Crew Chief of the Year: Mike Ford (Crew Chief for Denny Hamlin)

See Also

• List of Nextel Cup Seasons

References

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