Official name Auto Club 500 | ||
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Date February 25, 2007 (2007-February-25) Location Auto Club SpeedwayFontana, California, U.S. Course Permanent racing facility2.0 mi (3.23 km) Distance 250 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) Weather Temperatures up to 68.9 °F (20.5 °C); wind speeds up to 13 miles per hour (21 km/h) | ||
The 2007 Auto Club 500 was the second race in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. It was held on February 25, 2007 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
Contents
This was the first Cup race to use unleaded gasoline. All cars ran on Sunoco 260 GTX, a 98-octane (R+M/2) unleaded racing fuel, which had been tested at lower tier series in late 2006 and approved for 2007.
In the final accident of the race, David Reutimann was spun out accidentally by Greg Biffle and went into the wall in the corner. The strike to the wall was among the hardest hits NASCAR had ever recorded. The in-car camera showed him dazed by the impact and struggling to get out, unable to respond to his crew initially. Although he suffered a bruised foot, he was otherwise uninjured, and competed in the Busch Series race in Mexico City the next weekend.
The race was won by Matt Kenseth, driving the No.17 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. Kenseth also led the most laps in this race while Jeff Gordon won the pole.
Results
Time of Race: 3 hours, 36 minutes, 41 seconds.
Average Speed: 138.451 MPH.
Margin of Victory: 0.679 seconds.
Lead Changes: 28 among 12 drivers.
Cautions: Nine for 37 laps.
Cars finished on the lead lap: 17
Attendance: 87,000
Key
* Led one lap
** Led most laps
† Rookie of the Year Candidate
Did not qualify
The following eight drivers failed to qualify for the race: #55-Michael Waltrip, #4-Ward Burton, #36-Jeremy Mayfield, #84-A. J. Allmendinger, #72-Brandon Whitt, #49-Mike Bliss, #78-Kenny Wallace and #34-Kevin Lepage.
Withdrew
Scott Wimmer in the #33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, Regan Smith in the #39 Chevrolet for Ginn Racing, and Derrike Cope in the #74 McGlynn Racing Dodge all withdrew from the race.