2007 Dodge Avenger 500

2007 Dodge Avenger 500

Race details
Race 11 of 36 in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season
Layout of Darlington Raceway
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	Clint Bowyer	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, 51st running of the race that dates back to the 1957 Rebel 300, was the eleventh race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, a suburb of Florence.

Ironically, on the 50th anniversary of Darlington's inaugural spring race, like the first Rebel 300 run 50 years ago on the very weekend, the race was postponed by rain, and was run the following afternoon, May 13 (Mother's Day in the USA), the second race in two weeks to be rained out. Originally the third night race on the schedule, this also served as the fifth race to use the Car of Tomorrow template, as the first four CoT races have been dominated by Hendrick Motorsports leading to some renaming the CoT the "The Hendrick Car of Tomorrow".

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 amount of points in this race due to his major penalty that wasn't 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.

Race weekend

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.

Race

Jeff Gordon overcame a radiator problem to win the Dodge Avenger 500. The win was his third in the last four races, his second win in the Rebel (he won the 1996 TranSouth Financial 400 for his only other win in the Rebel), 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 penalites, McMurray was elevated to the final Chase position as a result.

Race results

(*) denotes Rookie of the Year candidate.

Notes

• The last NASCAR race to be staged on Mother's Day before this one was the Winston (now the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge) on May 15, 1986. Bill Elliott was the winner of the exhibition race.
• The first Rebel 300 held 50 years ago was postponed and moved to Sunday, in violation of South Carolina blue laws, with track president Bob Colvin was fined for the violation. Current blue laws state Sunday racing is legal in South Carolina provided (1) a race is scheduled for more than 250 miles (402 km), or (2) it starts after 1:30 PM.

External links

• Complete results
• Points standings after this race
• Weather information