The 2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 was the third stock car race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the 10th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 11, 2007, before an audience of 156,000 in North Las Vegas, Nevada at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a permanent D-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 267 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson would manage to mount a late-race charge to the front, passing for the lead with 28 laps to go in the race to take his 24th career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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 MotorsportsFordRobby Gordon Motorsports07Clint BowyerRichard Childress RacingChevroletJack Daniel's8Dale Earnhardt Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.ChevroletBudweiser9Kasey KahneEvernham MotorsportsDodgeMcDonald's, Dodge10Scott RiggsEvernham MotorsportsDodgeAuto Value Bumper To Bumper11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingChevroletFedEx Kinko's12Ryan NewmanPenske Racing SouthDodgeAlltel13Joe NemechekGinn RacingChevroletCertainTeed14Sterling MarlinGinn RacingChevroletWaste Management15Paul Menard (R)Dale Earnhardt, Inc.ChevroletMenards, Johns Manville16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFordAmeriquest Mortgage17Matt KensethRoush Fenway RacingFordDeWalt18J. J. YeleyJoe Gibbs RacingChevroletInterstate Batteries19Elliott SadlerEvernham MotorsportsDodgeDodge, UAW-Daimler Chrysler 40020Tony StewartJoe Gibbs RacingChevroletThe Home Depot21Jon WoodWood Brothers RacingFordU.S. Air Force22Dave BlaneyBill Davis RacingToyotaCaterpillar24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevroletNicorette, DuPont25Casey MearsHendrick MotorsportsChevroletNational Guard, GMAC26Jamie McMurrayRoush Fenway RacingFordCrown Royal29Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevroletShell, Pennzoil31Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevroletCingular Wireless34Kevin LepageFront Row MotorsportsDodgeFront Row Motorsports36Jeremy MayfieldBill Davis RacingToyota360 OTC, WrestleMania 2337John AndrettiFront Row MotorsportsDodgeCamping World38David GillilandRobert Yates RacingFordM&M's40David StremmeChip Ganassi RacingDodgeCoors Light41Reed SorensonChip Ganassi RacingDodgeTarget42Juan Pablo Montoya (R)Chip Ganassi RacingDodgeTexaco, Havoline43Bobby LabontePetty EnterprisesDodgeCheerios44Dale JarrettMichael Waltrip RacingToyotaUPS45Kyle PettyPetty EnterprisesDodgeWells Fargo47Ken SchraderWood Brothers/JTG RacingFordOre-Ida, Kingsford, Clorox48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevroletLowe's49Mike BlissBAM RacingDodgeZone Loans55Michael WaltripMichael Waltrip RacingToyotaNAPA Auto Parts66Jeff GreenHaas CNC RacingChevroletSamsung Four Seasons of Hope70Johnny SauterHaas CNC RacingChevroletYellow Transportation72Brandon WhittCJM RacingChevroletDutch Quality Stone78Kenny WallaceFurniture Row RacingChevroletFurniture Row80Aric AlmirolaJoe Gibbs RacingChevroletJoe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil83Brian 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 DepotOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice The first practice session was held on Friday, March 9, at 2:30 PM EST. The session would last for one hour and 30 minutes. Kasey Kahne, driving for Evernham Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.840 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed19Kasey KahneEvernham MotorsportsDodge29.840180.965238David GillilandRobert Yates RacingFord29.921180.475301Mark MartinGinn RacingChevrolet30.073179.563Full first practice results
Second practice The second practice session was held on Saturday, March 10, at 12:00 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 30.219 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed107Clint BowyerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30.219178.695248Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet30.222178.678342Juan Pablo Montoya (R)Chip Ganassi RacingDodge30.246178.536Full second practice results
Final practice The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, March 10, at 1:20 PM EST. The session would last for one hour. Clint Bowyer, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.385 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed107Clint BowyerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30.385177.719201Mark MartinGinn RacingChevrolet30.506177.014331Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30.516176.956Full Happy Hour practice results
Qualifying Qualifying was held on Friday, March 9, at 6:10 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.
Kasey Kahne, driving for Evernham Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 29.212 and an average speed of .
Ten drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed19Kasey KahneEvernham MotorsportsDodge29.212184.855240David StremmeChip Ganassi RacingDodge29.317184.193319Elliott SadlerEvernham MotorsportsDodge29.368183.874442Juan Pablo Montoya (R)Chip Ganassi RacingDodge29.478183.188531Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet29.512182.976610Scott RiggsEvernham MotorsportsDodge29.530182.865741Reed SorensonChip Ganassi RacingDodge29.537182.822814Sterling MarlinGinn RacingChevrolet29.585182.525913Joe NemechekGinn RacingChevrolet29.627182.266102Kurt BuschPenske Racing SouthDodge29.667182.0201122Dave BlaneyBill Davis RacingToyota29.707181.775125Kyle BuschHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet29.709181.7631399Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord29.741181.5681401Mark MartinGinn RacingChevrolet29.753181.4941578Kenny WallaceFurniture Row RacingChevrolet29.772181.3781607Clint BowyerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet29.786181.2931711Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet29.822181.0741816Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord29.829181.0321915Paul Menard (R)Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet29.842180.9532029Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet29.850180.9042138David GillilandRobert Yates RacingFord29.852180.8922245Kyle PettyPetty EnterprisesDodge29.853180.8862348Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet29.864180.8202418J. J. YeleyJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet29.867180.8022520Tony StewartJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet29.901180.596261Martin Truex Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet29.910180.5422796Tony RainesHall of Fame RacingChevrolet29.919180.487288Dale Earnhardt Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet29.932180.4092966Jeff GreenHaas CNC RacingChevrolet29.949180.307304Ward BurtonMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet29.957180.2583180Aric AlmirolaJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet29.971180.1743270Johnny SauterHaas CNC RacingChevrolet29.974180.1563326Jamie McMurrayRoush Fenway RacingFord29.985180.0903425Casey MearsHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet29.990180.060356David Ragan (R)Roush Fenway RacingFord30.029179.8263624Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet30.061179.6353717Matt KensethRoush Fenway RacingFord30.090179.462387Robby GordonRobby Gordon MotorsportsFord30.110179.3423912Ryan NewmanPenske Racing SouthDodge30.131179.217Qualified by owner's points4088Ricky RuddRobert Yates RacingFord30.159179.0514121Jon WoodWood Brothers RacingFord30.704175.8734243Bobby LabontePetty EnterprisesDodge - -Champion's Provisional4344Dale JarrettMichael Waltrip RacingToyota30.531176.869Failed to qualify4484A. J. Allmendinger (R)Red Bull Racing TeamToyota30.006179.9644549Mike BlissBAM RacingDodge30.037179.7784637John AndrettiFront Row MotorsportsDodge30.130179.2234783Brian VickersRed Bull Racing TeamToyota30.167179.0034800David Reutimann (R)Michael Waltrip RacingToyota30.240178.5714936Jeremy MayfieldBill Davis RacingToyota30.464177.2585072Brandon WhittCJM RacingChevrolet30.591176.5235134Kevin LepageFront Row MotorsportsDodge30.788175.3935255Michael WaltripMichael Waltrip RacingToyota31.138173.4215347Ken SchraderWood Brothers/JTG RacingFord - -Official qualifying results
Race results