| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 36 in the2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | February 18, 2007 (2007-02-18) | ||
| Official name | Daytona 500 byToyota | ||
| Location | Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida,U.S. | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.02336 km) | ||
| Distance | 202 laps, 505 mi (812.718 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Weather | Cold with temperatures approaching 55.9 °F (13.3 °C); wind speeds up to 15.90 miles per hour (25.59 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 149.333 miles per hour (240.328 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 185,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Robert Yates Racing | ||
| Time | 48.304 | ||
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kurt Busch | Penske Racing | |
| Laps | 95 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy,Darrell Waltrip andLarry McReynolds | ||
| Nielsen ratings | 10.1/20 (17.5 million viewers) | ||
The2007 Daytona 500, the 49th running of theevent, was the first race of the2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season, taking place on February 18, 2007, atDaytona International Speedway inDaytona Beach, Florida.Kevin Harvick won the race by 0.02 second overMark Martin in the closest finish since the first race atDaytona International Speedway when it took three days to declareLee Petty the winner in1959. The race was decided by agreen-white-checker finish for the third year in a row, with two extra laps added for a total of 202 laps and 505 miles (813 km).
That wasMark Martin's first 500 race not driving forJack Roush since 1986.
Tony Stewart, driving the #20Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS forJoe Gibbs Racing, won the first Gatorade Duel race, whileJeff Gordon drove the #24Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to the checkered flag in the second race. However, widespread rules infractions that affected five teams – the #17Roush Fenway RacingFord Fusion team ofMatt Kenseth, the threeEvernham MotorsportsDodge Charger teams ofKasey Kahne (#9),Scott Riggs (#10) andElliott Sadler (#19 car) – were discovered during the Pole Qualifying on February 11. But, a sixth team – the #55Toyota Camry fromMichael Waltrip Racing driven bythe teams' owner – suffered the most severe punishment handed out by the motorsports sanctioning body since 2000, as it was docked 100 driver and owner points, causing it to leave Daytona with negative owner and championship points (−27 points). In addition, Gordon was penalized with the loss of his starting position after the #24 Chevrolet failed a post-race inspection because of an improper spoiler height. His starting position was changed from fourth to 42nd. There were no other penalties assessed against himself or the team and he remained listed as the winner of the second duel race.
When all was said and done,Robert Yates Racing swept the top two positions, withDavid Gilliland driving the #38Ford Fusion to the pole at 186.320 mph (299.853 km/h), with his teammate,Ricky Rudd in the #88 Fusion alongside a mere 0.185 seconds behind.
Bill Elliott was not the only past Daytona 500 champion to miss the race, as 25 other cars battled for a set of seven spots in the starting grid.Ward Burton (who won in 2002) andDerrike Cope (the 1990 winner) did not qualify from their respective races. Elliott was not eligible for the past champion's provisional, as it was given toDale Jarrett, who was the more recent champion.
Before the green flag the following drivers dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: #00 –David Reutimann (transmission change), #18 –J. J. Yeley (transmission change), #41 –Reed Sorenson (transmission change). #24 –Jeff Gordon (failed post race inspection after winning theGatorade Duel race #2, Gordon was supposed to start 4th).
Kelly Clarkson, the first winner ofAmerican Idol and spokesperson for the 2007 edition of "NASCAR Day", performed in the pre-race "Salute to America" concert, with her set consisting ofSince U Been Gone,One Minute (from her third studio albumMy December) andMiss Independent.Big and Rich sang theNational Anthem, whileAcademy Award winning actorNicolas Cage served as the grand marshal of the event, giving the command to have the drivers start their engines in a low-key manner. Baseball ironman and 2007 inductee into theBaseball Hall of FameCal Ripken Jr. drove theChevrolet Corvette Z06 pace car for the pre-race laps, andPhil Parsons, the brother ofBenny Parsons, who had died of complications fromlung cancer prior to the season, was given the honor of dropping the green flag for the race.
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David Gilliland was in the front of the field when the green flag waved. The first caution came on lap 16 whenBoris Said moved up the track coming off of turn 2, most likely unaware thatDavid Reutimann was there, and spun. He had very minor damage and continued the race from there. The race then stayed under the green flag for about 60 laps, during whichTony Stewart took the lead fromKurt Busch. On lap 79,Kyle Petty hit the wall after his rear tire blew out, bringing out another yellow flag. He went behind the wall for repairs. Reutimann obtained the free pass to return to the lead lap. Kurt Busch took the lead again during most of the next green flag period, only being passed byRyan Newman for one lap on lap 128, and then by Stewart again on lap 150.
On lap 152, Stewart got on the apron in turn 4, got loose, and spun into Kurt Busch. He spun to a halt, while Busch kept the engine going and went to the garage area for repairs. However, with 46 laps to go, he was unable to continue and did not finish the race. A fourth caution came on lap 175 when a 5-car crash involving Reutimann,Denny Hamlin,Jimmie Johnson,Jeff Green andTony Raines occurred in the backstretch.Mark Martin took the lead shortly before the yellow flag came out. Another crash which took outKen Schrader happened on lap 186, after contact fromDave Blaney who was parked for the remainder of the race (who may have been unaware of his right front tire being flat according toDarrell Waltrip). With 5 laps to go,Matt Kenseth ran intoJamie McMurray, who hit the wall and collectedDale Earnhardt Jr. with him.Ricky Rudd andMartin Truex Jr. were collected as well. Rudd remained on the lead lap, but Truex fell a lap down. McMurray and Earnhardt Jr. both were out of the race, finishing 31st and 32nd, respectively. The race was delayed for approximately 12 minutes for cleanup under the red flag. This set up a green-white-checkered finish.
With 2 laps to go, an outside line began to form, withKevin Harvick, Kenseth andJeff Burton. Martin came to the white flag looking for a victory. On the backstretch,Kyle Busch, sitting 2nd place, tried both ways to get around Martin. Meanwhile, Kenseth began to bump-draft Harvick, with Burton in tow. Harvick flew byDavid Stremme, Gilliland,Mike Wallace,David Ragan andGreg Biffle. Busch, trying to get around Martin and block Harvick at the same, nearly squeezed Harvick into the wall as Harvick zipped past him and pulled even with Martin. Harvick and Martin, Busch and Kenseth, and Biffle and Burton were side by side out of turn 4. With the checkered flag in sight, Busch hit the apron, getting him loose. He spun out and started a chain reaction collecting most of the field.Clint Bowyer took the worst hit, turning over on his roof and skidding across the finish line on it while on fire before flipping back upright in the grass. Harvick beat Martin by .02 of a second to claim the victory. After being 6th place out of turn 4, Burton finished 3rd.Mike Wallace andDavid Ragan were surprises, rounding out the Top 5.
Because of an incident betweenCasey Mears andDale Jarrett at the 2003Sylvania 300 in New Hampshire International Speedway, NASCAR mandated a "freezing of the field" policy whenever a caution flag is thrown, effectively ending the phenomenon that isracing back to the caution. Such a flag did not fly after the last-lap crash. There is some disputed visual evidence that suggests that, if the caution had flown strictly according to NASCAR rules, Martin may have won.[3]
The issue was especially passionate because Martin was in his 23rd Daytona 500 start and had never won. Such a win, arguably, would have been popular with fans, similar toDale Earnhardt's 1998 victory (in his 20th start) orDarrell Waltrip's 1989 triumph (in his 17th). Martin retired following the2013 season, never having achieved a Daytona 500 victory in his 29 attempts.
In some races, NASCAR has permitted the cars to run to the finish in case of more "minor" spins on the last lap.
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