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. To fill out the top three, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, both drivers for Hendrick Motorsports, would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
Auto Club Speedway (previously California Speedway) was a , 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.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver.
#DriverTeamMakeSponsor00David Reutimann (R)Michael Waltrip RacingToyotaDomino's1Martin Truex Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.ChevroletBass Pro Shops, Tracker Boats01Mark MartinGinn RacingChevroletU.S. Army2Kurt BuschPenske Racing SouthDodgeMiller Lite4Ward BurtonMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevroletState Water Heaters5Kyle BuschHendrick MotorsportsChevroletKellogg's, Carquest6David Ragan (R)Roush Fenway RacingFordAAA7Robby GordonRobby Gordon MotorsportsFordJim Bean07Clint BowyerRichard Childress RacingChevroletJack Daniel's8Dale Earnhardt Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.ChevroletBudweiser9Kasey KahneEvernham MotorsportsDodgeDodge10Scott RiggsEvernham MotorsportsDodgeStanley Tools11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingChevroletFedEx Freight12Ryan NewmanPenske Racing SouthDodgeMobil 113Joe NemechekGinn RacingChevroletCertainTeed14Sterling MarlinGinn RacingChevroletPanasonic15Paul Menard (R)Dale Earnhardt, Inc.ChevroletMenards, Quaker State16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFordAmeriquest Mortgage17Matt KensethRoush Fenway RacingFordCarhartt18J. J. YeleyJoe Gibbs RacingChevroletInterstate Batteries19Elliott SadlerEvernham MotorsportsDodgeDodge20Tony StewartJoe Gibbs RacingChevroletThe Home Depot21Ken SchraderWood Brothers RacingFordLittle Debbie22Dave BlaneyBill Davis RacingToyotaCaterpillar24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevroletDuPont Cromax Pro25Casey MearsHendrick MotorsportsChevroletNational Guard, GMAC26Jamie McMurrayRoush Fenway RacingFordCrown Royal29Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevroletShell, Pennzoil31Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevroletCingular Wireless34Kevin LepageFront Row MotorsportsDodgeFront Row Motorsports36Jeremy MayfieldBill Davis RacingToyota360 OTC37John AndrettiFront Row MotorsportsDodgeCamping World38David GillilandRobert Yates RacingFordM&M's40David StremmeChip Ganassi RacingDodgeCoors Light41Reed SorensonChip Ganassi RacingDodgeEnergizer42Juan Pablo Montoya (R)Chip Ganassi RacingDodgeTexaco, Havoline43Bobby LabontePetty EnterprisesDodgeCheerios44Dale JarrettMichael Waltrip RacingToyotaUPS45Kyle PettyPetty EnterprisesDodgeWells Fargo48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevroletLowe's49Mike BlissBAM RacingDodgeZone Loans55Michael WaltripMichael Waltrip RacingToyotaNAPA Auto Parts66Jeff GreenHaas CNC RacingChevroletYellow Transportation70Johnny SauterHaas CNC RacingChevroletBest Buy72Brandon WhittCJM RacingChevroletDutch Quality Stone78Kenny WallaceFurniture Row RacingChevroletFurniture Row83Brian VickersRed Bull Racing TeamToyotaRed Bull84A. J. Allmendinger (R)Red Bull Racing TeamToyotaRed Bull88Ricky RuddRobert Yates RacingFordSnickers96Tony RainesHall of Fame RacingChevroletDLP HDTV, Texas Instruments99Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFordOffice Depot
Practice
First practice 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 . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed113Joe NemechekGinn RacingChevrolet38.873185.219207Clint BowyerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet38.965184.781324Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet38.980184.710Full first practice results
Second practice 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 . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed107Clint BowyerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet39.686181.424248Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet39.691181.40138Dale Earnhardt Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet39.727181.237Full second practice results
Final practice 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 . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed129Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet40.380178.306248Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet40.398178.227383Brian VickersRed Bull Racing TeamToyota40.441178.037Full Happy Hour practice results
Qualifying 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. 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.
Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 38.765 and an average speed of .
Eight drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed124Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet38.765185.73529Kasey KahneEvernham MotorsportsDodge38.810185.519301Mark MartinGinn RacingChevrolet38.814185.500429Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet38.830185.42458Dale Earnhardt Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet38.834185.404607Clint BowyerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet38.960184.80571Martin Truex Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet39.009184.573831Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet39.058184.341942Juan Pablo Montoya (R)Chip Ganassi RacingDodge39.084184.2191025Casey MearsHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet39.098184.1531120Tony StewartJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet39.099184.148125Kyle BuschHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet39.101184.1391316Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord39.145183.9321422Dave BlaneyBill Davis RacingToyota39.146183.9271583Brian VickersRed Bull Racing TeamToyota39.162183.8521666Jeff GreenHaas CNC RacingChevrolet39.184183.7491711Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet39.205183.650182Kurt BuschPenske Racing SouthDodge39.210183.6271912Ryan NewmanPenske Racing SouthDodge39.230183.5332041Reed SorensonChip Ganassi RacingDodge39.244183.4672199Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord39.266183.3652215Paul Menard (R)Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet39.275183.3232348Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet39.280183.2992440David StremmeChip Ganassi RacingDodge39.315183.1362517Matt KensethRoush Fenway RacingFord39.359182.9322613Joe NemechekGinn RacingChevrolet39.372182.8712714Sterling MarlinGinn RacingChevrolet39.375182.8572843Bobby LabontePetty EnterprisesDodge39.404182.7232918J. J. YeleyJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet39.422182.6393010Scott RiggsEvernham MotorsportsDodge39.428182.6113170Johnny SauterHaas CNC RacingChevrolet39.432182.5933237John AndrettiFront Row MotorsportsDodge39.452182.5003300David Reutimann (R)Michael Waltrip RacingToyota39.467182.4313488Ricky RuddRobert Yates RacingFord39.541182.0893526Jamie McMurrayRoush Fenway RacingFord39.572181.9473621Ken SchraderWood Brothers RacingFord39.629181.6853745Kyle PettyPetty EnterprisesDodge39.630181.6803819Elliott SadlerEvernham MotorsportsDodge39.647181.603396David Ragan (R)Roush Fenway RacingFord39.664181.525Qualified by owner's points4038David GillilandRobert Yates RacingFord39.687181.4204196Tony RainesHall of Fame RacingChevrolet39.697181.374427Robby GordonRobby Gordon MotorsportsFord39.953180.212Champion's Provisional4344Dale JarrettMichael Waltrip RacingToyota - -Failed to qualify4455Michael WaltripMichael Waltrip RacingToyota39.500182.279454Ward BurtonMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet39.555182.0254636Jeremy MayfieldBill Davis RacingToyota39.555182.0254784A. J. Allmendinger (R)Red Bull Racing TeamToyota39.561181.9974872Brandon WhittCJM RacingChevrolet39.801180.9004949Mike BlissBAM RacingDodge39.849180.6825078Kenny WallaceFurniture Row RacingChevrolet40.200179.1055134Kevin LepageFront Row MotorsportsDodge - -Official qualifying results
Race results