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2007 in NASCAR Busch Series
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The 26th season of the NASCAR Busch Series began on February 17, 2007, with the Orbitz 300 at Daytona International Speedway and concluded on November 17, 2007, with the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Carl Edwards clinched the Busch Series championship on November 3 during the O'Reilly Challenge with 2 races remaining. The 2007 season was the final season of the series under Anheuser-Busch's sponsorship. In 2008 the Busch Series became the NASCAR Nationwide Series sponsored by insurance company Nationwide Insurance with a $70 million dollar contract for 7 years.
domination of the series by the Busch Whackers continued in 2007.
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Encyclopedia
The 26th season of the NASCAR Busch Series began on February 17, 2007, with the Orbitz 300 at Daytona International Speedway and concluded on November 17, 2007, with the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Carl Edwards clinched the Busch Series championship on November 3 during the O'Reilly Challenge with 2 races remaining. The 2007 season was the final season of the series under Anheuser-Busch's sponsorship. In 2008 the Busch Series became the NASCAR Nationwide Series sponsored by insurance company Nationwide Insurance with a $70 million dollar contract for 7 years.
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Busch Whackers
The domination of the series by the Busch Whackers continued in 2007. In the first 28 races, only two drivers not with regular NEXTEL Cup schedules drove their cars to victory from start to finish: Stephen Leicht (Meijer 300, Kentucky Speedway) and Jason Leffler (Kroger 200, O'Reilly Raceway Park). Aric Almirola was the official winner of the AT&T 250 at the Milwaukee Mile, but Denny Hamlin finished the race for him. Meanwhile, Carl Edwards led Kevin Harvick by 733 points in the championship standings, a reversal from 2006 when Harvick beat Edwards by a record 824 points. At one time, Edwards' lead was 871 points prior to a stretch of five consecutive races outside the top 10 in the finishing order (in three of those races he finished 23rd or worse). There were more Busch only regulars near the top of the standings, but only because the Cup drivers ran fewer cumulative races than in 2006.
Owner's Championship
The Owner's Championship went to the #29 car of Richard Childress Racing driven by Scott Wimmer and Jeff Burton. This is currently only the second time in Busch Series history where the driver's and owner's points champions were different. The other instance is in 2003 where Brian Vickers was the driver's champion and RCR drivers Harvick and Johnny Sauter combined to win Childress the owner's championship.
2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series
After 26 years of Anheuser-Busch sponsoring the series with their Busch Beer brand they decided not to renew their sponsorship for the 2008 season. Rumored sponsorship deals for the series included Subway, KFC, and Wal-Mart however those deals fell through. On October 3 2007, chairman Brian France announced that insurance company Nationwide had signed a seven year $70 million dollar deal to sponsor the series. Nationwide also replaces Allstate as the official insurance company of NASCAR.
Schedule
The official 2007 Busch Series schedule was announced on October 2, 2006. The only major schedule change was the addition of the first NASCAR race in Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, which replaces last years race at Martinsville. This marked the first time in Busch Series history that there are two consecutive road courses on the schedule. The order of races in July was also shuffled.
Television
ESPN 2 covered the majority of the Busch Series in 2007 with ESPN on ABC covering six races as part of the new television package. The primary commentators for ESPN were Jerry Punch, Rusty Wallace, and Andy Petree.
Teams
This was the list of full time Busch Series teams as the 2007 season began.
The Top 30 in points rule for the Busch Series states that any teams within the top 30 in points are guaranteed starting spots in every race. These teams must have attempted to qualify for every preceding race of the season as well. Due to this factor, some teams that finished outside of the top 30 in points are locked in for 2007. Teams not locked into the first five races are noted in Bold in the owner points column.
Notes:
- Drivers in Bold are drivers who have been released from their respective rides during the season for performance issues. Jon Wood is the only exception to this as he was removed from the car after being misdiagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. Huffman, Peters, and Davis were all released from their respective teams due to performance issues and have been replaced by other drivers.
- Teams in Bold are those that suspended operations midway through the season.
Races
Orbitz 300
The Orbitz 300 was held February 16 at Daytona International Speedway. Aric Almirola won the pole. Kevin Harvick won a relatively quick race from the 31st starting position. There were two early cautions; the first one on lap 4 for a three-car incident, the second one for "the Big One" on lap 16 involving 12 cars. The race was clean afterward.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: #1-J.J. Yeley, #22-David Stremme, #23-Brad Keselowski, #24-Casey Mears, #52-Brad Teague, #70-Justin Diercks
Stater Brothers 300
The Stater Brothers 300 was held February 24 at the California Speedway. Dave Blaney won the pole, the first pole for Toyota in the Busch Series. The race had a short field of only 41 cars.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: None.
Telcel-Motorola México 200
The Telcel-Motorola México 200 was held March 4 at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. The race was broadcast on ESPN2 in English and en español on ESPN Deportes. Scott Pruett won the pole. Juan Pablo Montoya made contact with his leading teammate Scott Pruett on a restart after coming back from a fuel-filler problem, spinning Pruett and going on to win the race, becoming the first non-American to win a NASCAR race since Ron Fellows in 2001.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: None.
Sam's Town 300
The Sam's Town 300 was held March 10 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Kevin Harvick won the pole. In a challenging race that was held on a newly banked racetrack, many teams, especially cup teams with drivers racing on Sunday, tried to find a setup that would work with their cars. Grip and aerodynamics became major issues as the race set a record for number of caution flags with 12 for 58 laps. This included a red flag with 10 laps to go for a hard crash into the wall by Reed Sorenson. Las Vegas natives, Kyle and Kurt Busch dominated the race, leading 123 of 200 laps, with 81 and 42 led respectively. However, Jeff Burton had been consistently quicker than the younger Busch and had taken the lead for 31 laps. Coming to the checkers, two-time Las Vegas winner Jeff Burton took his #29 Holiday Inn Chevy to the outside and banged fenders with Kyle who got loose under Burton and spun down on the apron and hit the outside wall after taking the second position.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: None.
NOTE: #52-Kevin Lepage withdrew from the race prior to qualifying.
Nicorette 300
The Nicorette 300 was held March 17 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch won the pole. From the drop of the green flag, it appeared as though Kyle Busch would walk away with an easy victory. He proved his dominance by leading 143 of 195 laps. However, a loose lugnut after the final pitstop forced Busch to go to the tail end of the longest line, handing the lead to Jeff Burton. Burton would hold off RCR teammate Kevin Harvick for the win while Kyle Busch rallied to third after his penalty.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: #34-Jay Sauter
Sharpie Mini 300
The Sharpie Mini 300 was held March 24 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Steve Wallace won his first career pole. This would be the last Busch Series race before Bristol would be repaved with new concrete and progressive banking. For the second consecutive week, Kyle Busch again proved he had the car to beat. He and series points leader Carl Edwards proved they had the cars to beat. The biggest controversy of the race came after a crash at lap 182 by David Reutimann. At the point of the crash, some of the leaders elected to come down pit road for tires and some gas on lap 188. Although the electronic light was green, signaling that pit road was open, the flagman near the light was still waving the pit road closed flag. The pit crews of Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. argued with NASCAR officials about the call. Eventually, Nascar controversially decided to let all of the cars pit and maintain their position in the field. After the confusion was sorted out, Busch took of with Edwards in pursuit. However, Mike Wallace, running on the tail end of the lead lap (Mike was in front of the leader), jumbled up the 9th restart. Mike's mistake forced Edwards into the rear bumper of Kyle Busch. Edwards would inherit the lead and would hold off teammate Matt Kenseth for his first win since Gateway in 2006.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: None only 43 entries.
Pepsi 300
The Pepsi 300 was held April 7 at Nashville Superspeedway. David Stremme won the pole. From the drop of the green flag, it appeared as though new manufacturer Toyota would steal the show and walk off with its first Busch Series win. However, Carl Edwards spoiled the party, coming back from a loose wheel penalty to pass Busch regular Jason Leffler with 25 laps to go to win his second consecutive race and extend his points lead.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: None only 43 entries.
O'Reilly 300
The O'Reilly 300 was held April 14 at Texas Motor Speedway. David Ragan won his first career Busch Pole Award. The race, for the third time of the season, was dominated again by Kyle Busch, who hoped to turn his strong runs into a win. However, that day would not come as an unlucky caution during a green flag pit stop would again cost Kyle the victory. Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya appeared to have his second Busch Series win in the bag until he hit the clutch during a pit stop, leaving him with a loose lugnut. Juan would tangle with fellow rookie Marcos Ambrose and finish 30th. Denny Hamlin would hold the lead until Matt Kenseth, who had recovered from an early spin, took the lead with 11 laps left and would go on to win in Texas.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: #80-Robert Richardson
Bashas' Supermarkets 200
The Bashas' Supermarkets 200 was held April 20 at Phoenix International Raceway. Kyle Busch won the pole. The early portion of the race was dominated again by Busch. However, lady luck would, for the fourth time this season, deal Busch a bad hand. While running fifth after a restart, Busch attempted to pass Ryan Newman and thought he had cleared him. However, Busch came back down on Ryan's front bumper and they both ended up crashing. Running a partial schedule, Clint Bowyer would dominate the race, leading 120 of the 200 laps. His only contender seemed to be Matt Kenseth, who had previously passed Bowyer with 33 to go but Bowyer passed him back with 14 to go and held on to win his first race since Dover last fall.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: #50-Brian Pannone
Aaron's 312
The Aaron's 312 was held on April 28 at Talladega Superspeedway. The race is tagged as to pay homage to the title sponsor, Aaron's custom of letting customers rent an item for 12 months. Brad Coleman captured his first NASCAR pole. The race itself was an exciting one to watch. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the dominant car of the day until his transmission broke on a lap 95 restart. Kyle Busch's streak of bad luck would continue as on lap 26, Tony Stewart made contact with Kyle Busch's left rear fender sending Kyle into the wall on the backstretch. Busch took a wild ride as the car slid across the track into the grass and flipped several times. From there, many cars, including surprises Kyle Krisiloff, and Juan Pablo Montoya were in contention for the win. But Tony Stewart, who was aiming to avenge his spectacular flip from one year ago, took the lead from Casey Mears with help from Kevin Harvick, Inc. teammate Bobby Labonte. However, Labonte pulled aside Stewart coming to the checkred flag in the trioval to win his first Busch Series race since 1998.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: None only 42 entries.
Circuit City 250
The Circuit City 250 presented by Funai was held on May 4 at Richmond International Raceway. Denny Hamlin won the pole. In the Busch Series' first Friday night shootout of the season, Kevin Harvick aimed to make it a four-peat of consecutive wins at RIR. From the outset, polesitter Denny Hamlin dominated but was taken out early by Matt Kenseth. From there, Kenseth, Jeff Burton, and Clint Bowyer would establish themselves as the frontrunners. Matt Kenseth looked to have the race locked up until J.J. Yeley spun on lap 222 and cutting Kenseth's 2 second lead. During the final pitstop of the night, Kenseth would have a mishap with the jack and would end up coming out behind Bowyer and Burton. On the last restart of the night, Bowyer pulled away from Kenseth and Buron to snap Harvick's win streak but give owner Richard Childress his fourth consecutive victory at RIR.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: #0-Eric McClure
Diamond Hill Plywood 200
The Diamond Hill Plywood 200 was held May 11 at Darlington Raceway. Denny Hamlin captured his first win of the season from the pole.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: #52-Kevin Lepage
CARQUEST Auto Parts 300
The CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 was held May 26 at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. Matt Kenseth won the pole. From the drop of the green, pit strategy played into the race. Although he was not running on fresh tires, Kurt Busch amazingly made his tires last for most of the race en route to leading the most laps. However, Busch's day would end as he would end up hitting the wall on lap 148. This accident gave the top 2 positions to Casey Mears and Kasey Kahne. Both drivers needed to rebound heavily from a struggling NEXTEL Cup season, and both wanted to carry any momentum from this race over into the 600. However, it was the latter Kasey who held off the competition to win his first NASCAR race since October.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: #0-Eric McClure, #32-Bill Elliott, #72-Kevin Lepage, #95-Blake Feese
Dover 200
The Dover 200 was held June 2 at Dover International Speedway. Denny Hamlin won the pole. The race would end up being dominated by Carl Edwards, whom many had dubbed the "Concrete Conqueror" for his victories on concrete. True to his nickname, Edwards dominated the race, leading for 122 of the 200 laps.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: None only 43 entries.
Federated Auto Parts 300
The Federated Auto Parts 300 presented by Dollar General was held June 9 at Nashville Superspeedway. Steve Wallace won the pole. This race was seen as an opportunity for Busch Series regulars to upset the Cup drivers who had to fly from Pocono to Nashville. Although Carl Edwards had no seat time in a car practiced by Matt McCall, he laid down the 7th quickest lap time. From the drop of the green, the race was a good mix of contending Busch regulars and Cup stars. Although Clint Bowyer semed to have the car to beat, it was Edwards who had the upper hand and recorded his second consecutive win.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: #05-Justin Ashburn
Meijer 300
The Meijer 300 presented by Oreo was held June 16 at Kentucky Speedway. Regan Smith won his first career pole, making it seven different pole winners in seven races. Many Busch regulars, including Smith, were aspiring to end the Cup drivers' parade by pulling out a victory. From the drop of the green, it looked as though Smith would be the class of the field. However, a refiring problem during a pitstop cost him 2 laps, but amazingly rallied back. The race, unfortunately for the Busch regulars, would be handed to Carl Edwards. Edwards again dominated the race and looked to have it in hand until he was tagged by Steve Wallace on a restart. It was Stephen Leicht who downed the Buschwhackers and fulfilled that dream to earn his 1st career Busch Series victory.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: #76-Jerick Johnson
AT&T 250
The AT&T 250 took place on June 23 at The Milwaukee Mile. Aric Almirola won the pole, but in an interesting twist, the #20's regular driver, Denny Hamlin, was late getting back from Sonoma, so Almirola took the green flag. The race would be again dominated by Carl Edwards, who was looking to bounce back from his worst finish of the year (33rd at Kentucky). Edwards had the field covered, leading for 123 laps until an unscheduled pit stop forced Edwards down pit road and pinned him a lap down. A tough decision had to be made by Dave Rogers, crew chief on the 20. Hamlin had arrived on the track at lap 43, and Almirola was still running in third. Rogers decided to put Hamlin in the car at lap 59 instead of leaving Almirola in it. The decision, although tough, paid off as Hamlin held off Wisconsin native Scott Wimmer to cross the start/finish line in first, but Almirola was credited with his first career NASCAR Busch Series victory. Hamlin also became the first relief driver to finish first since Jack Ingram handed his car over to Harry Gant at Darlington Raceway and finished first.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: None.
NOTE: Denny Hamlin came in for Almirola on lap 60 and finished first. The win, points, and earnings were given to Almirola.
Camping World 200
The Camping World 200 presented by RVs.com was held June 30 at the New Hampshire International Speedway. Kevin Harvick won the pole. Harvick established that he had the car to beat throughout the race. This domination was highlited by the fact that he led 166 of 200 laps. The race included a short red flag for a crash involving JJ Yeley and Marcos Ambrose. Juan Pablo Montoya, coming off his first ever Cup victory and with a new crew chief in Brian Pattie, was taken out by Clint Bowyer on lap 165, setting up the run to the finish. Although points leader Carl Edwards tried many times to pass Harvick, he would settle for second. In an ironic twist, Harvick, driving the #21 Chevy, became the 21st different winner in 21 Busch Series races at NHIS.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: None.
NOTE: An accident in practice sent #52-Ian Henderson home as he did not have a backup car and was unable to make repairs.
Winn-Dixie 250
The Winn-Dixie 250 presented by PepsiCo was be held July 6 at Daytona International Speedway. Jason Leffler won the pole. The race was postponed to July 7 due to a rainstorm that cancelled Bud Pole Qualifying for the NEXTEL Cup Series race to be held there. Throughout the season, Kyle Busch had been hampered by terrible luck, either through faulty pit stops, penalties, or crashes. However, on this day, it looked as though, again, Busch had the car to beat. But this time, he finished the deal in style, holding off Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick and Dave Blaney for his first win of the season.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: None only 42 entries.
USG Durock 300
The USG Durock 300 was held on July 14 at the Chicagoland Speedway. Denny Hamlin won the pole. Fresh off of his first victory of the season, Kyle Busch would again take command of the race. However, this race featured many contending drivers, including the likes of Matt Kenseth, Busch Series points leader Carl Edwards, and the Richard Childress Racing trio of Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, and Clint Bowyer. The race would feature many twists, including many of the above mentioned drivers struggling to simply get onto pit road for a pit stop. For Burton, his problem was heavily documented by ABC as he was enduring 100 degree heat inside his car without a working AC system. Eventually, the moment of the race would be decided under a caution flag. As Kyle Busch, who was leading the race, ducked down pit road, it appeared as though all of the leaders would follow suit. However, the other leaders faked the dominant Busch onto pit road, forcing the frustrated driver to rally to 5th by the end. Up front, Kevin Harvick pulled away from Matt Kenseth to become the first Busch Series repeat winner at Chicagoland.
Top Ten Results:
Did not Qualify: #05-Justin Ashburn, #58-Chris Horn
Gateway 250
The Gateway 250 was held July 21 at the Gateway International Raceway. Scott Wimmer won his first career pole. The race would feature many "young guns", or drivers who had a lot of talent but no experience. Featuring over 19 rookies, including the likes of Landon Cassill, development driver for Hendrick Motorsports, Travis Kittleson and Brad Coleman, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, Third-generation driver Brad Keselowski, among others. However, with a high number of young drivers in the field, mixed with a difficult racetrack would combine to form many caution flags. However, Reed Sorenson, who had won at GIR in 2005, was looking to snap his 61-race losing streak. He would do so, avoiding accidents, and even coming back from an unscheduled green flag pit stop to take his first victory of the season.
Top Ten Results:
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