2007 Dodge Avenger 500

February 2025 June 2026 NASNEX Race 11 of 36 in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season Dodge Avenger 500 2007 05 13 2007 11 36 2007_Dodge_Avenger_500_program_cover.png 2007 Dodge Avenger 500 program cover Dodge Avenger 500 Darlington Raceway, Darlington County, South Carolina 1.366 2.198 367 501.322 806.799 Mild with temperatures approaching 75 F C; wind speeds up to 17.1 mph km/h 124.372 mi/h Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing 29.806 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing 179 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Fox Broadcasting Company Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds The 2007 Dodge Avenger 500, the 58th running of the race, was the eleventh race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. 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. Pos2007-05-12 Qualifying times: Dodge Avenger 500. https://www.crash.net/nascar/results/91267/1/qualifying-times-dodge-avenger-500 2021-06-02 Crash en Car # Driver Make Speed Time Behind107Clint BowyerChevrolet164.98729.8060.000216Greg BiffleFord164.87629.826 -0.020326Jamie McMurrayFord164.43029.907 -0.101499Carl EdwardsFord164.31429.928 -0.12259Kasey KahneDodge164.07329.972 -0.166678Kenny WallaceChevrolet163.87630.008 -0.202711Denny HamlinChevrolet163.83830.015 -0.209821Ken SchraderFord163.72330.036 -0.230929Kevin HarvickChevrolet163.71330.038 -0.2321024Jeff GordonChevrolet163.68030.044 -0.2381125Casey MearsChevrolet163.29930.114 -0.3081248Jimmie JohnsonChevrolet163.28930.116 -0.3101343Bobby LabonteDodge163.18630.135 -0.3291400David ReutimannToyota163.17530.137 -0.3311583Brian VickersToyota163.15330.141 -0.3351641Reed SorensonDodge163.10530.150 -0.3441719Elliott SadlerDodge163.04530.161 -0.355182Kurt BuschDodge163.00230.169 -0.3631970Johnny SauterChevrolet162.94830.179 -0.3732084A. J. AllmendingerToyota162.91530.185 -0.379218Dale Earnhardt Jr.Chevrolet162.80730.205 -0.3992218J. J. YeleyChevrolet162.79130.208 -0.4022315Paul MenardChevrolet162.78630.209 -0.403246David RaganFord162.63030.238 -0.432251Martin Truex Jr.Chevrolet162.61930.240 -0.4342620Tony StewartChevrolet162.55530.252 -0.4462722Dave BlaneyToyota162.45230.271 -0.4652814Sterling MarlinChevrolet162.35630.289 -0.4832912Ryan NewmanDodge162.27630.304 -0.4983040David StremmeDodge162.26030.307 -0.5013117Matt KensethFord161.93430.368 -0.5623296Tony RainesChevrolet161.86430.381 -0.575337Robby GordonFord161.74230.404 -0.5983431Jeff BurtonChevrolet161.54530.441 -0.6353513Joe NemechekChevrolet161.50330.449 -0.643365Kyle BuschChevrolet161.32830.482 -0.6763701Mark MartinChevrolet161.31730.484 -0.6783838David GillilandFord161.00630.543 -0.7373966Jeff GreenChevrolet160.86930.569 -0.7634088Ricky RuddFord160.38130.662 -0.8564142Juan MontoyaDodge160.05730.724 -0.9184245Kyle PettyDodge159.54830.822 -1.0164337Kevin LepageDodge162.32930.294 -0.488Failed to qualify4436Jeremy MayfieldToyota30.301454Ward BurtonChevrolet30.3594649Mike BlissDodge30.3704755Michael WaltripToyota30.4464844Dale JarrettToyota30.4804910Scott RiggsDodge30.529 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 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. FinStCar #DriverMakePointsBonusLapsWinnings1 10 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 190 5 367 $323,2862 7 11 Denny Hamlin Chevrolet 180 10 367 $211,5503 12 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 170 5 367 $197,7614 29 12 Ryan Newman Dodge 165 5 367 $159,8755 4 99 Carl Edwards Ford 160 5 367 $125,4756 26 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 150 367 $145,9617 31 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 151 5 367 $143,5168 21 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 142 367 $133,0339 1 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 143 5 367 $114,57510 34 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 134 367 $127,54111 25 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet 130 367 $112,32012 18 2 Kurt Busch Dodge 127 367 $119,10813 28 14 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet 124 367 $104,43314 37 01 Mark Martin Chevrolet 121 367 $108,30815 2 16 Greg Biffle Ford 118 367 $97,70016 3 26 Jamie McMurray Ford 115 367 $89,85017 9 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 112 367 $125,88618 22 18 J. J. Yeley Chevrolet 109 367 $108,18319 13 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge 106 367 $117,03620 5 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge 103 367 $124,61621 17 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge 105 5 367 $96,37022 39 66 Jeff Green Chevrolet 97 365 $100,00823 41 42 Juan Montoya * Dodge 94 365 $113,57524 6 78 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet 91 365 $75,77525 42 45 Kyle Petty Dodge 88 364 $87,23326 40 88 Ricky Rudd Ford 85 364 $105,33327 24 6 David Ragan * Ford 82 363 $109,42528 35 13 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 79 363 $69,95029 19 70 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 76 361 $69,75030 38 38 David Gilliland Ford 73 361 $100,28931 23 15 Paul Menard * Chevrolet 70 358 $69,32532 27 22 Dave Blaney Toyota 72 5 355 $89,19733 14 00 David Reutimann * Toyota 64 351 $69,92534 30 40 David Stremme Dodge 61 349 $68,85035 11 25 Casey Mears Chevrolet 58 345 $76,60036 20 84 A. J. Allmendinger * Toyota 55 344 $68,45037 36 5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet 52 338 $86,25038 33 7 Robby Gordon Ford 49 317 $68,02539 32 96 Tony Raines Chevrolet 46 310 $78,40040 16 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge 43 310 $75,75041 8 21 Ken Schrader Ford 45 5 254 $87,83942 43 37 Kevin Lepage Dodge 37 127 $68,28043 15 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 34 122 $67,382 Notes The last NASCAR race to be staged on Mother's Day before this one was the Winston (now the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge) on May 15, 1986. Bill Elliott was the winner of the exhibition race. The race was postponed and moved to Sunday, in violation of South Carolina blue laws, with track president Bob Colvin was fined for the violation. Current blue laws state Sunday racing is legal in South Carolina provided (1) a race is scheduled for more than 250 miles (402 km), or (2) it starts after 1:30 PM. References External links Complete results https://web.archive.org/web/20070518101838/http://www.jayski.com/stats/2007/results/11darl2007results.htm 2007-05-18 Points standings after this race https://web.archive.org/web/20070516091643/http://www.jayski.com/stats/2007/standings/11darl2007points.htm 2007-05-16 Weather information Nextel Cup Series 2007 2007 Crown Royal Presents The Jim Stewart 400 2007 Coca-Cola 600 Dodge Avenger 500 Dodge Avenger 500 Category:NASCAR races at Darlington Raceway Category:May 2007 sports events in the United States