2007 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard

Race details
Race 20 of 36 in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season
2007 Brickyard 400 program cover
Date	July 29, 2007 (2007-July-29)
Official name	Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
Location	Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km)
Distance	160 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Weather	Temperatures up to 86 °F (30 °C); wind speeds up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)[1]
Average speed	117.379 miles per hour (188.903 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Reed Sorenson	Chip Ganassi Racing
Time	48.858
Most laps led
Driver	Tony Stewart	Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps	65
Winner
No. 20	Tony Stewart	Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Jerry Punch, Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett

The 2007 Allstate 400 at The Brickyard, the 14th running of the event, was the twentieth race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and the first of the season that was televised by NASCAR on ESPN. It was held on July 29, 2007 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana.

Pre-race

Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the race track where the race was held.

Two Nextel Cup Series teams announced changes in their ownership just before this race:

• Dale Earnhardt Inc. merged with Ginn Racing, taking over the No. 01 team of Mark Martin and Aric Almirola, and closing the Nos. 13 and 14 teams after Ginn had released Joe Nemechek and Sterling Marlin because of sponsorship difficulties. The No. 14 and No. 15 teams switched positions in the standings, guaranteeing Paul Menard, the driver of the No. 15, a starting spot. Regan Smith, who had shared driving duties with Martin, was reassigned to the Craftsman Truck Series.
• Terry Labonte filled in for Michael Waltrip in the No. 55 Toyota which originally made Bill Elliott, winner of the 2002 race, and his No. 21 Wood Brothers/JTG Racing team ineligible for the past champion's provisional since Labonte's championship is more recent than Elliott's. However, with the closing of the Nos. 13 and 14 teams from Ginn, Elliott was assured of racing in this event.
• Originally, there were 51 cars on the initial entry list, including the No. 13 team, which was left without a driver and sponsor. The No. 14 team was entered with Smith as the driver, but because of the merger between DEI and Ginn Racing, the final entry list only included 49 cars.

Qualifying

OP: qualified via owners points

PC: qualified as past champion

PR: provisional

QR: via qualifying race

* - had to qualify on time

Failed to qualify, withdrew, or driver changes:   Joe Nemechek (#08), A.J. Allmendinger (#84), Kevin Lepage (#37), Dale Jarrett (#44), Jeremy Mayfield (#36), Kenny Wallace (#78), Regan Smith (#14-WD), ? (#13-WD)

Race

Pole sitter Reed Sorenson lead the first lap of the race. The first caution flew on lap 15 when Jeff Green crashed in turn 3. Tony Stewart won the race off of pit road and lead the field to the restart on lap 20. Dale Earnhardt Jr. would take the lead from Stewart on the restart. The second caution would fly on the same lap when Ryan Newman crashed in turn 4. Dale Jr. lead the field on the restart on lap 25. On lap 39, the third caution flew when Tony Raines and Kasey Kahne crashed and turn 1. Robby Gordon also spun trying to avoid the wreck. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the race off of pit road and lead the field to the restart on lap 44. On lap 46, a big wreck would occur in turn 1 that took out 8 cars. It started when Jamie McMurray got loose in turn 1 and slid up into Jimmie Johnson which caused a mini chain reaction crash that also collected Scott Riggs, Bill Elliott, Ricky Rudd, Carl Edwards, J. J. Yeley, and Kyle Petty. The race restarted on lap 53. On lap 54, Tony Stewart took the lead from Dale Earnhardt Jr. On the same lap, a multi-car crash would occur in turn three. It started when Johnny Sauter came down and got turned by Casey Mears which sent the two spinning while collecting Elliott Sadler and Kyle Petty. The race restarted on lap 60 with Stewart as the leader. On lap 61, the 6th caution of the race would occur when Jimmie Johnson blew a left front tire and hit the wall in turn 3 which ended up causing his car to catch on fire. Juan Pablo Montoya won the race off of pit road but Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers, Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr, and Scott Riggs did not pit and Busch lead the field to the restart on lap 68. On lap 76, the 7th caution flew for debris. During pit stops, Kurt Busch's rear bumper fell off after Scott Wimmer made contact with him. Tony Stewart lead the field to the restart on lap 80. On lap 90, the 8th caution flew for debris. Greg Biffle won the race off of pit road and lead the field to the restart on lap 98.

Post-race

For the second time since 2004, a winning driver uttered an obscenity in a live post-race interview when Stewart said "This one's for every one of those fans in the stands who pull for me every week and take all the bullshit from everybody else" to then ESPN pit reporter Dave Burns. At first, it was perceived to be in response to critics who have gone after his blunt and abrasive personality, but it has since been reported that Stewart was the subject of statements made by Pardon the Interruption co-hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon on the show that aired the day after Stewart's win at the USG Sheetrock 400. After Stewart joked about celebrating the victory by drinking a case of Schlitz beer, the co-hosts concluded that the driver was a bad role model for children. Whether the comments were a form of revenge against the network is open for interpretation.^[4][5]

On the Tuesday after the race, Stewart was fined US$25,000 by NASCAR, and lost 25 points in the driver's championship due to the infraction. His team, Joe Gibbs Racing, also was penalized 25 points in the owners' championship. However, his classification of fifth in the championship standings remained the same despite the penalty.^[6] Dale Earnhardt Jr., who said the word "shit" after winning the 2004 EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway had been given the same penalty that year.

References

External links

• Complete results
• Points standings