2007 Auto Club 500

2007 Auto Club 500

Race details
Race 2 of 36 in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
The 2007 Auto Club 500 program cover.
Date	February 25, 2007
Official name	11th Annual Auto Club 500
Location	Fontana, California, California Speedway
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km)
Distance	250 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Scheduled Distance	250 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Average speed	138.451 miles per hour (222.815 km/h)
Attendance	87,000
Pole position
Driver	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Time	38.765
Most laps led
Driver	Matt Kenseth	Roush Fenway Racing
Laps	133
Winner
No. 17	Matt Kenseth	Roush Fenway Racing
Television in the United States
Network	FOX
Announcers	Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip
Radio in the United States
Radio	Motor Racing Network

The 2007 Auto Club 500 was the second stock car race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the 11th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 25, 2007, before an audience of 87,000 in Fontana, California, at California Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway. The race took the scheduled 250 laps to complete. At race's end, Roush Fenway Racing driver Matt Kenseth would manage to dominate a majority of the race to take his 15th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.^[1][2] To fill out the top three, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, both drivers for Hendrick Motorsports, would finish second and third, respectively.

Auto Club Speedway (previously California Speedway) was a two-mile (3.2 km), low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California which hosted NASCAR racing annually from 1997 to 2023. It was also used for open wheel racing events. The racetrack was located near the former locations of Ontario Motor Speedway and Riverside International Raceway. The track was owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation and was the only track owned by ISC to have its naming rights sold. The speedway was served by the nearby Interstate 10 and Interstate 15 freeways as well as a Metrolink station located behind the backstretch.

• (R) denotes rookie driver.

The first practice session was held on Friday, February 23, at 2:30 PM EST. The session would last for one hour and 30 minutes. Joe Nemechek, driving for Ginn Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 38.873 and an average speed of 185.219 miles per hour (298.081 km/h).^[3]

The second practice session was held on Saturday, February 24, at 2:00 PM EST. The session would last for 50 minutes. Clint Bowyer, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 39.686 and an average speed of 181.424 miles per hour (291.974 km/h).^[3]

The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, February 24, at 5:20 PM EST. The session would last for 50 minutes. Kevin Harvick, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 40.380 and an average speed of 178.306 miles per hour (286.956 km/h).^[3]

Qualifying was held on Friday, February 23, at 1:30 PM EST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.^[3] While positions 1-42 would be determined by qualifying speed, the top 35 teams in owner's points would be assured that they would earn a spot in the field if they had managed to make an effort to qualify. The remaining seven positions from positions 36-42 would be assigned to those drivers with the fastest qualifying speeds whose car owners are not among the top 35. The final starting position, position 43, can be utilized by a car owner whose driver is a current or past NASCAR Nextel Cup champion who participated as a driver during the current of previous season and was entered in the event for that owner in that car prior to the entry deadline. In the case that iff there was more than one series champion vying for the position, it would be given to the most recent series champion. If the final provisional starting position is not filled by a current or past series champion, it will be assigned to the next eligible car owner according to qualifying results.^[4]

Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 38.765 and an average speed of 185.735 miles per hour (298.912 km/h).^[5]

Eight drivers would fail to qualify.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 1 Mark Martin 335 1 2 Jeff Burton 330 (-5) 5 3 Jeff Gordon 309 (-26) 3 4 Kevin Harvick 307 (–28) 5 David Ragan 270 (–65) 10 6 Clint Bowyer 264 (–71) 7 Joe Nemechek 259 (–76) 2 8 J. J. Yeley 251 (–84) 13 9 Kyle Busch 239 (–96) 1 10 David Stremme 236 (–99) 5 11 David Gilliland 235 (–100) 28 12 Matt Kenseth 232 (–103) Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.