Race details[1][2] | |||
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Race 28 of 36 in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series | |||
Date | September 23, 2007 | ||
Official name | Dodge Dealers 400 | ||
Location | Dover International Speedway, Dover, Delaware | ||
Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.0 mi (1.609 km) | ||
Distance | 400 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
Weather | Temperatures up to 81.5 °F (27.5 °C); wind speeds up to 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h)[3] | ||
Average speed | 101.846 miles per hour (163.905 km/h) | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
Time | 23.261 | ||
Most laps led | |||
Driver | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | |
Laps | 192 | ||
Winner | |||
No. 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | |
Television in the United States | |||
Network | ABC | ||
Announcers | Jerry Punch, Rusty Wallace, Andy Petree | ||
Nielsen Ratings |
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Radio in the United States | |||
Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Booth Announcers | Joe Moore, Barney Hall | ||
Turn Announcers | Mike Bagley, Dan Hubbard, Dave Moody, Jeff Striegle |
The 2007 Dodge Dealers 400 was the twenty-eighth stock car race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the second in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on September 23, 2007 at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware before a crowd of 137,000. Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards won the 400-lap race starting from fifteenth position. His teammate Greg Biffle finished second and Dale Earnhardt Jr. took third.
Although Jimmie Johnson won the pole position by posting the fastest lap in qualifying, he was passed by Denny Hamlin on the second lap. Hamlin led for the next 40 laps until Matt Kenseth passed him. Hamlin retook it on the 57th lap and Kurt Busch led from laps 85 to 98 after a pit stop cycle. Kenseth returned to the lead on lap 99, and kept the position for a race-high 169 laps. On lap 207, Edwards took the lead for the first time, and maintained it until Mark Martin overtook him 21 laps later. Edwards did not reclaim the first place until he moved past his teammate Kenseth in the final-third of the race and kept it until Kenseth led six laps before his engine failed. This enabled Edwards to return to the lead, which he held through two red flag periods to clear debris and fluids after two separate accidents to win the race. There were thirteen cautions and fourteen lead changes by nine drivers during the course of the race.
Edwards' victory was his third of the season, the seventh of his career, and the 100th for Roush Fenway Racing. However, Edwards was issued a 25 points penalty after the right-rear of his vehicle was found to be too low in post-race inspection, and it was upheld in a subsequent appeal to the National Stock Car Racing Commission. After the race Jeff Gordon became the new leader of the Drivers' Championship with Tony Stewart advancing to second and Johnson dropping to third. In the Manufacturers' Championship Chevrolet maintained a 57-point lead over Ford. Dodge and Toyota retained third and fourth with eight races left in the season.