2007 Sharp AQUOS 500

The 2007 Sharp AQUOS 500 was the 25th race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season, and was held on Sunday, September 2, 2007 at California Speedway near Fontana, California, 50 miles east of Los Angeles. After this race, only one more race will remain before the field is set for the 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, and through the Bristol race, five drivers - Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth. Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart - have clinched spots in NASCAR's "playoff series".

This is the second race of the season at California, the 15th since the track was added to the schedule in 1997, and the fourth race to be run here as the replacement for the Southern 500.

The new race sponsor was announced on August 8, 2007, replacing Sony HD. Like its predecessor, Sharp Aquos is a brand of high-definition television set. It was also announced that Stevie Wonder would be the grand marshal, commanding the start of the engines of the 43 cars to start the race.

Pre-Race

*For the third straight race, the #78 Furniture Row Chevrolet had a different driver since the team released Kenny Wallace. This time, Joe Nemechek qualified the car (30th position) after Scott Wimmer and Sterling Marlin had failed the previous two weeks.
*Kyle Petty returned for this race in the Petty Enterprises #45 Dodge after missing two weeks due to his broken hand.
*Ricky Rudd celebrated his 900th career start in Cup Series racing, and his former crew chief, Michael McSwain announced he will retire after the season is completed.
*The entry list for this race consisted of 46 cars, the lowest number for any NEXTEL Cup race this year [ [http://www.jayski.com/stats/2007/entries/2007cal2-entry.htm Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2007 Bristol (2) Nextel Cup Entry List ] ] . Part of the reason is that Front Row Motorsports has suspended operations and closed its #37 team. That team made only three of 24 races during the season and had no continuing sponsorship. (Yum! Brands sponsored select races.)
*Jeff Burton's #31 car continued its Formula One-style subliminal advertising look as the AT&T Mobility decals were frozen because of the court order against the firm because of a lawsuit against NASCAR because of violations of the grandfather clause. (AT&T, however, continued to sponsor the in-car camera shots on ESPN.)
*Ryan Newman ran a Kodak paint scheme. His Alltel sponsorship is now in jeopardy because shareholders earlier in the week approved the sale of the firm to two private equity partners, potentially breaking the grandfather clause between Alltel and NASCAR.
*Hall of Fame Racing, the team owned by former Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach, was purchased by Arizona Diamondbacks owner Jeff Moorad.
*Wonder gave the command, as mentioned earlier. Also, Melissa Etheridge sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" and two B2 Stealth bombers were in the flyover.
*The air temperature was 110 degrees Fahrenheit at the green flag time of 5:15 p.m. Pacific time. At the time, southern California was in the midst of a heat wave that would last for at least eight days.

Qualifying

Kurt Busch won his first pole of the season, edging out Jimmie Johnson by .001 of a second. It was the second such narrow loss by Johnson, who lost by the same margin to J.J. Yeley at Michigan two weeks earlier.

Failed to Qualify: #10-Scott Riggs; #4-Ward Burton; #44-Dale Jarrett

Race

Kyle Busch dominated the race, leading 97 of 250 laps to take home the 10 bonus points for leading the most laps. However, it was his teammate, Jimmie Johnson (from nearby El Cajon, California) who took charge and held off a charging Carl Edwards for his series high fifth victory of the year and an automatic spot in the 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup. Also clinching spots were Kyle Busch and Jeff Burton. Martin Truex, Jr. and Clint Bowyer will clinch spots by starting the next race, the Chevy Rock and Roll 400. Ricky Rudd was injured in an accident during the race, separating his shoulder, and missed several races with Mike and Kenny Wallace subbing for him.

Results

Top ten results:

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.jayski.com/stats/2007/results/25cal2007results.htm Complete race results]
* [http://www.jayski.com/stats/2007/standings/25cal2007points.htm Points standings]