2007 Dodge Avenger 500
# 2007 Dodge Avenger 500

The 2007 Dodge Avenger 500, the 51st running of the race that traces its lineage to the 1957 Rebel 300, was the eleventh race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, a suburb of Florence.

The race was postponed by rain, and was run the following afternoon, May 13 (Mother's Day in the US), the second race in two weeks to be rained out. Coincidentally, the first running of this event in 1957 was postponed by rain and delayed a day later to May 12, exactly 50 years to the originally scheduled date of this race. Originally the third night race on the schedule, this also served as the fifth race to use the Car of Tomorrow template.

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 number of points in this race due to his major penalty that was not 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.

## 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.

| Pos | Car # | Driver | Make | Speed | Time | Behind |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 7 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | 164.987 | 29.806 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 164.876 | 29.826 | -0.020 |
| 3 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Ford | 164.430 | 29.907 | -0.101 |
| 4 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 164.314 | 29.928 | -0.122 |
| 5 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Dodge | 164.073 | 29.972 | -0.166 |
| 6 | 78 | Kenny Wallace | Chevrolet | 163.876 | 30.008 | -0.202 |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Chevrolet | 163.838 | 30.015 | -0.209 |
| 8 | 21 | Ken Schrader | Ford | 163.723 | 30.036 | -0.230 |
| 9 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 163.713 | 30.038 | -0.232 |
| 10 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 163.680 | 30.044 | -0.238 |
| 11 | 25 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | 163.299 | 30.114 | -0.308 |
| 12 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 163.289 | 30.116 | -0.310 |
| 13 | 43 | Bobby Labonte | Dodge | 163.186 | 30.135 | -0.329 |
| 14 | 00 | David Reutimann | Toyota | 163.175 | 30.137 | -0.331 |
| 15 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 163.153 | 30.141 | -0.335 |
| 16 | 41 | Reed Sorenson | Dodge | 163.105 | 30.150 | -0.344 |
| 17 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Dodge | 163.045 | 30.161 | -0.355 |
| 18 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | 163.002 | 30.169 | -0.363 |
| 19 | 70 | Johnny Sauter | Chevrolet | 162.948 | 30.179 | -0.373 |
| 20 | 84 | A. J. Allmendinger | Toyota | 162.915 | 30.185 | -0.379 |
| 21 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | 162.807 | 30.205 | -0.399 |
| 22 | 18 | J. J. Yeley | Chevrolet | 162.791 | 30.208 | -0.402 |
| 23 | 15 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 162.786 | 30.209 | -0.403 |
| 24 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | 162.630 | 30.238 | -0.432 |
| 25 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevrolet | 162.619 | 30.240 | -0.434 |
| 26 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 162.555 | 30.252 | -0.446 |
| 27 | 22 | Dave Blaney | Toyota | 162.452 | 30.271 | -0.465 |
| 28 | 14 | Sterling Marlin | Chevrolet | 162.356 | 30.289 | -0.483 |
| 29 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Dodge | 162.276 | 30.304 | -0.498 |
| 30 | 40 | David Stremme | Dodge | 162.260 | 30.307 | -0.501 |
| 31 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | 161.934 | 30.368 | -0.562 |
| 32 | 96 | Tony Raines | Chevrolet | 161.864 | 30.381 | -0.575 |
| 33 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Ford | 161.742 | 30.404 | -0.598 |
| 34 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | 161.545 | 30.441 | -0.635 |
| 35 | 13 | Joe Nemechek | Chevrolet | 161.503 | 30.449 | -0.643 |
| 36 | 5 | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet | 161.328 | 30.482 | -0.676 |
| 37 | 1 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | 161.317 | 30.484 | -0.678 |
| 38 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | 161.006 | 30.543 | -0.737 |
| 39 | 66 | Jeff Green | Chevrolet | 160.869 | 30.569 | -0.763 |
| 40 | 88 | Ricky Rudd | Ford | 160.381 | 30.662 | -0.856 |
| 41 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Dodge | 160.057 | 30.724 | -0.918 |
| 42 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Dodge | 159.548 | 30.822 | -1.016 |
| 43 | 37 | Kevin Lepage | Dodge | 162.329 | 30.294 | -0.488 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||
| 44 | 36 | Jeremy Mayfield | Toyota | | 30.301 | |
| 45 | 4 | Ward Burton | Chevrolet | | 30.359 | |
| 46 | 49 | Mike Bliss | Dodge | | 30.370 | |
| 47 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | Toyota | | 30.446 | |
| 48 | 44 | Dale Jarrett | Toyota | | 30.480 | |
| 49 | 10 | Scott Riggs | Dodge | | 30.529 | |

## Race recap

Jeff Gordon overcame a radiator problem to win the Dodge Avenger 500. The win was his third in the last four races, his sixth win in the Southern 500, 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 penalties, McMurray was elevated to the final Chase position as a result.

### Race results

(*) denotes Rookie of the Year candidate.

| Fin | St | Driver | Car # | Make | Points | Bonus | Laps | Winnings |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 10 | Jeff Gordon | 24 | Chevrolet | 190 | 5 | 367 | $323,286 |
| 2 | 7 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Chevrolet | 180 | 10 | 367 | $211,550 |
| 3 | 12 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | Chevrolet | 170 | 5 | 367 | $197,761 |
| 4 | 29 | Ryan Newman | 12 | Dodge | 165 | 5 | 367 | $159,875 |
| 5 | 4 | Carl Edwards | 99 | Ford | 160 | 5 | 367 | $125,475 |
| 6 | 26 | Tony Stewart | 20 | Chevrolet | 150 | | 367 | $145,961 |
| 7 | 31 | Matt Kenseth | 17 | Ford | 151 | 5 | 367 | $143,516 |
| 8 | 21 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 8 | Chevrolet | 142 | | 367 | $133,033 |
| 9 | 1 | Clint Bowyer | 7 | Chevrolet | 143 | 5 | 367 | $114,575 |
| 10 | 34 | Jeff Burton | 31 | Chevrolet | 134 | | 367 | $127,541 |
| 11 | 25 | Martin Truex Jr. | 1 | Chevrolet | 130 | | 367 | $112,320 |
| 12 | 18 | Kurt Busch | 2 | Dodge | 127 | | 367 | $119,108 |
| 13 | 28 | Sterling Marlin | 14 | Chevrolet | 124 | | 367 | $104,433 |
| 14 | 37 | Mark Martin | 1 | Chevrolet | 121 | | 367 | $108,308 |
| 15 | 2 | Greg Biffle | 16 | Ford | 118 | | 367 | $97,700 |
| 16 | 3 | Jamie McMurray | 26 | Ford | 115 | | 367 | $89,850 |
| 17 | 9 | Kevin Harvick | 29 | Chevrolet | 112 | | 367 | $125,886 |
| 18 | 22 | J. J. Yeley | 18 | Chevrolet | 109 | | 367 | $108,183 |
| 19 | 13 | Bobby Labonte | 43 | Dodge | 106 | | 367 | $117,036 |
| 20 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | 9 | Dodge | 103 | | 367 | $124,616 |
| 21 | 17 | Elliott Sadler | 19 | Dodge | 105 | 5 | 367 | $96,370 |
| 22 | 39 | Jeff Green | 66 | Chevrolet | 97 | | 365 | $100,008 |
| 23 | 41 | Juan Montoya * | 42 | Dodge | 94 | | 365 | $113,575 |
| 24 | 6 | Kenny Wallace | 78 | Chevrolet | 91 | | 365 | $75,775 |
| 25 | 42 | Kyle Petty | 45 | Dodge | 88 | | 364 | $87,233 |
| 26 | 40 | Ricky Rudd | 88 | Ford | 85 | | 364 | $105,333 |
| 27 | 24 | David Ragan * | 6 | Ford | 82 | | 363 | $109,425 |
| 28 | 35 | Joe Nemechek | 13 | Chevrolet | 79 | | 363 | $69,950 |
| 29 | 19 | Johnny Sauter | 70 | Chevrolet | 76 | | 361 | $69,750 |
| 30 | 38 | David Gilliland | 38 | Ford | 73 | | 361 | $100,289 |
| 31 | 23 | Paul Menard * | 15 | Chevrolet | 70 | | 358 | $69,325 |
| 32 | 27 | Dave Blaney | 22 | Toyota | 72 | 5 | 355 | $89,197 |
| 33 | 14 | David Reutimann * | 0 | Toyota | 64 | | 351 | $69,925 |
| 34 | 30 | David Stremme | 40 | Dodge | 61 | | 349 | $68,850 |
| 35 | 11 | Casey Mears | 25 | Chevrolet | 58 | | 345 | $76,600 |
| 36 | 20 | A. J. Allmendinger * | 84 | Toyota | 55 | | 344 | $68,450 |
| 37 | 36 | Kyle Busch | 5 | Chevrolet | 52 | | 338 | $86,250 |
| 38 | 33 | Robby Gordon | 7 | Ford | 49 | | 317 | $68,025 |
| 39 | 32 | Tony Raines | 96 | Chevrolet | 46 | | 310 | $78,400 |
| 40 | 16 | Reed Sorenson | 41 | Dodge | 43 | | 310 | $75,750 |
| 41 | 8 | Ken Schrader | 21 | Ford | 45 | 5 | 254 | $87,839 |
| 42 | 43 | Kevin Lepage | 37 | Dodge | 37 | | 127 | $68,280 |
| 43 | 15 | Brian Vickers | 83 | Toyota | 34 | | 122 | $67,382 |
