2007 Sharpie 500
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| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 24 of 36 in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season | |||
 The 2007 Sharpie 500 program cover, with artwork by former NASCAR artist Sam Bass. The painting is called "Concrete Clash!" | |||
| Date | August 25, 2007 | ||
| Official name | Sharpie 500 | ||
| Location | Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.857 km (0.533 miles) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching as low as 69.1 °F (20.6 °C); winds speeds reaching up to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h)[1] | ||
| Average speed | 89.006 miles per hour (143.241 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Gillett Evernham Motorsports | ||
| Time | 16.016 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kasey Kahne | Gillett Evernham Motorsports | |
| Laps | 305 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Jerry Punch, Andy Petree and Rusty Wallace | ||
The 2007 Sharpie 500, the 24th race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season was run on the newly repaved and reconfigured .533 mile Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee on Saturday night, August 25, 2007.
This race was the tenth to use NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow, as Kyle Busch won the inaugural event with this car, the Food City 500 on March 25 this year. But that race was on 36-degree high banked turns and the old concrete surface. For this race, one of the most popular in NASCAR, the new concrete surface with its new progressive banked turns between 24 and 30 degrees made its NEXTEL Cup debut.
Entry list
- Kenny Wallace, who was the driver of the #78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet until after the Watkins Glen race, replaced the injured Kyle Petty in the #45 Petty Enterprises Dodge. Sterling Marlin piloted the #78 car, but did not make the starting lineup.
- Aric Almirola made his Nextel Cup debut in the Dale Earnhardt, Inc. #01 Chevrolet.
- Matt Kenseth clinched a spot in the Chase for the Nextel Cup by taking the green flag.
| #[2] | Driver | Team | Make | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | David Reutimann | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | Burger King |
| 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Boats |
| 01 | Aric Almirola | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | U.S. Army |
| 2 | Kurt Busch | Penske Racing | Dodge | Miller Lite |
| 4 | Ward Burton | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | Miccosukee Resort & Gaming, Food City |
| 5 | Kyle Busch | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Kellogg's, CARQUEST Auto Parts |
| 6 | David Ragan | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | AAA |
| 7 | Robby Gordon | Robby Gordon Motorsports | Ford | Camping World |
| 07 | Clint Bowyer | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Jack Daniel's |
| 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | Budweiser |
| 9 | Kasey Kahne | Gillett Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | Dodge Dealers, UAW |
| 10 | Scott Riggs | Gillett Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | Valvoline, Stanley Tools |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | FedEx Freight |
| 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske Racing | Dodge | Alltel |
| 15 | Paul Menard | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | Menards, Turtle Wax Ice |
| 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Dish Network |
| 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | DeWalt |
| 18 | J.J. Yeley | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | Interstate Batteries |
| 19 | Elliott Sadler | Gillett Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | Dodge Dealers, UAW |
| 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | The Home Depot |
| 21 | Bill Elliott | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | U.S. Air Force |
| 22 | Dave Blaney | Bill Davis Racing | Toyota | Caterpillar |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | DuPont Automotive Finishes |
| 25 | Casey Mears | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | National Guard, GMAC |
| 26 | Jamie McMurray | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Irwin Industrial Tools |
| 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Shell, Pennzoil Platinum |
| 31 | Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | RCR Chevrolet |
| 34 | Stanton Barrett | Front Row Motorsports | Dodge | Kingsport Iron & Metal, Thompson Metal |
| 36 | Jeremy Mayfield | Bill Davis Racing | Toyota | 360 OTC |
| 37 | Kevin Lepage | Front Row Motorsports | Dodge | Long John Silver's |
| 38 | David Gilliland | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | M&M's |
| 40 | David Stremme | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | Coors Light |
| 41 | Reed Sorenson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | Target |
| 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | Texaco, Havoline |
| 43 | Bobby Labonte | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | Cheerios, Betty Crocker |
| 44 | Dale Jarrett | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | UPS |
| 45 | Kenny Wallace | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | Wells Fargo |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Lowe's |
| 49 | John Andretti | BAM Racing | Dodge | Paralyzed Veterans of America |
| 55 | Michael Waltrip | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts |
| 66 | Jeff Green | Haas CNC Racing | Chevrolet | Haas Automation, Best Buy |
| 70 | Johnny Sauter | Haas CNC Racing | Chevrolet | Haas Automation |
| 78 | Sterling Marlin | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Racing |
| 83 | Brian Vickers | Red Bull Racing Team | Toyota | Red Bull |
| 84 | A.J. Allmendinger | Red Bull Racing Team | Toyota | Red Bull |
| 88 | Ricky Rudd | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | Snickers |
| 96 | Tony Raines | Hall of Fame Racing | Chevrolet | DLP HDTV |
| 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | Office Depot |
Qualifying
Kasey Kahne won the pole position on the newly rebanked and resurfaced track. This was Kahne's 14th start on the point. Juan Pablo Montoya joined Kahne on the front row; Montoya's second starting position is the best of his NASCAR career so far.
Failed to qualify: David Reutimann (#00), Sterling Marlin (#78), Brian Vickers (#83), Kevin Lepage (#37) and Stanton Barrett (#34).
Race
Carl Edwards won the Sharpie 500 for his second win of 2007 and the sixth of his career. Together, he and second-place finisher Kasey Kahne led 487 of the race's 500 laps. Kahne alone led 305 of them, more than in any other race in his career.
The rest of the Top 5 finishers were Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Denny Hamlin suffered an engine failure and did not finish. It was the first such occurrence in 53 races.
Owing largely to the new, wider racing surface, there were only nine cautions at a track which typically sees 15 or more in a 500-lap Cup race. The first of those did not come until lap 127.
Jeff Gordon left with a 359-point lead over Stewart on top of the championship standings. Kurt Busch retained a 158-point lead over Earnhardt Jr. for the 12th and final position in the Chase. Gordon, Hamlin, Edwards, Matt Kenseth, and Stewart have assured themselves of participation in the NASCAR "playoff."