2007 Daytona 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 36 in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series | |||
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| Date | February 18, 2007 | ||
| Official name | Daytona 500 by Toyota | ||
| Location |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. |
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| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.02336 km) |
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| Distance | 202 laps, 505 mi (812.718 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Weather | Cold with temperatures approaching 55.9 °F (13.3 °C); wind speeds up to 15.90 miles per hour (25.59 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 149.333 miles per hour (240.328 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 185,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Robert Yates Racing | ||
| Time | 48.304 | ||
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kurt Busch | Penske Racing | |
| Laps | 95 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 10.1/20 (17.5 million viewers) |
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The 2007 Daytona 500, the 49th running of the event, was the first race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season, taking place on February 18, 2007, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Kevin Harvick won the race by 0.02 second over Mark Martin in the closest finish since the first race at Daytona International Speedway when it took three days to declare Lee Petty the winner in 1959. The race was decided by a green-white-checker finish for the third year in a row, with two extra laps added for a total of 202 laps and 505 miles (813 km).
Tony Stewart, driving the #20 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS for Joe Gibbs Racing, won the first Gatorade Duel race, while Jeff Gordon drove the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to the checkered flag in the nightcap. However, widespread rules infractions that affected five teams – the #17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion team of Matt Kenseth, the three Evernham Motorsports Dodge Charger teams of Kasey Kahne (#9), Scott Riggs (#10) and Elliott Sadler (#19 car) – were discovered during the Pole Qualifying on February 11. But, a sixth team – the #55 Toyota Camry from Michael Waltrip Racing driven by the teams' owner – suffered the most severe punishment handed out by the motorsports sanctioning body since 2000, as it was docked 100 driver and owner points, causing it to leave Daytona with negative owner and championship points (−27 points). In addition, Gordon was penalized with the loss of his starting position after the #24 Chevrolet failed a post-race inspection because of an improper spoiler height. His starting position was changed from fourth to 42nd. There were no other penalties assessed against himself or the team and he remained listed as the winner of the second duel race.
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