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| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 13 of 36 in the2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season | |||
 Dover International Speedway in 2007 | |||
| Date | June 4, 2007 (2007-06-04) | ||
| Official name | Autism Speaks 400 | ||
| Location | Dover International Speedway,Dover, Delaware | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.0 miles (1.609 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures up to 82.4 °F (28.0 °C); wind speeds up to 18.1 miles per hour (29.1 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 118.95 miles per hour (191.43 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Penske Racing | ||
| Time | 23.541 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Martin Truex Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | |
| Laps | 216 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Broadcasting Company | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy,Darrell Waltrip andLarry McReynolds | ||
The2007 Autism Speaks 400 presented by Visa was the thirteenth race of the2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. It was scheduled to be run on Sunday, June 3, 2007, atDover International Speedway inDover, Delaware, but was postponed due to rain as a result of the remnants ofTropical Storm Barry and was run on Monday, June 4. The race marked the halfway point to the2007 Chase for the Nextel Cup, the sixth race to use theCar of Tomorrow template, and the final race to be telecast onFox for the season.
The race is named forAutism Speaks, a charity that provides advocacy and services for people who haveautism, as well as their families. Autism had become a cause in the NASCAR garage; the nieces of Cup driversElliott Sadler andJamie McMurray and the son of NASCAR on Fox directorArtie Kempner have the disorder. For each race ticket which was sold before June 1, race sponsorVisa donated $5 to Autism Speaks.[1]
Ryan Newman won the pole for the second week in a row, with an average speed of 152.925 miles per hour.Michael Waltrip qualified for his first points-paying race since theDaytona 500, 12 races earlier.
Martin Truex Jr. won the race, his first in Nextel Cup Series competition. For Truex, the victory was especially sweet, as he hails fromMayetta, New Jersey, a community in theJersey Shore area about 100 miles northeast of Dover. The driver of theChevrolet Impala forDale Earnhardt, Inc. led 216 of the 400 laps. The rest of the Top 5, in order: Newman,Carl Edwards,Denny Hamlin, andMatt Kenseth.
Kurt Busch was twice wrecked or shoved by longtime rivalTony Stewart and on pit road, he pulled alongside Tony Stewart forcing a crew member to have to jump to avoid being hit, and gestured from his window. Busch was instantly black flagged with the white cross, was fined $100,000 and put on probation for the rest of the year. Busch ended up 42nd in the race results.
In the points standings,Jeff Gordon ledJimmie Johnson by 152 points at the checkered flag. On the other hand, of the "Race to the Chase", eight drivers (11th through 18th) were separated by just 127 points.
During the race, it was announced thatBill France Jr., who was NASCAR's chairman from 1972 to 2003, and its president from 1972 to 2000, had died fromcancer at the age of 74 at 1:00 PM EST. TheAmerican flag at Dover was immediately lowered tohalf-staff and the death was announced over thepublic address system and on the telecast at lap 261 (right before the accident and confrontation between Busch and Stewart), whereMike Joy's somber tone cast a pall as he called Truex's first-ever Cup win.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | #1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt Incorporated |
| 2. | #12 | Ryan Newman | Dodge | Penske Racing South |
| 3. | #99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 4. | #11 | Denny Hamlin | Chevrolet | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 5. | #17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 6. | #16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 7. | #01 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | Ginn Racing |
| 8. | #07 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing |
| 9. | #24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 10. | #7 | Robby Gordon | Ford | Robby Gordon Motorsports |
| Previous race: 2007 Coca-Cola 600 | Nextel Cup Series 2007 season | Next race: 2007 Pocono 500 |