2007 Pennsylvania 500

The 2007 Pennsylvania 500, the twenty-first race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season was held on Sunday, August 5, 2007 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

2007 Pennsylvania 500
Race details
Race 21 of 36 in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season
Pocono Raceway, where the race was held.
Date August 5, 2007 (2007-August-05)
Official name Pennsylvania 500
Location Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.023 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching up to 89.1 °F (31.7 °C); wind speeds up to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h)[1]
Average speed 131.627 miles per hour (211.833 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Time 52.949
Most laps led
Driver Kurt Busch Penske Racing
Laps 175
Winner
No. 2 Kurt Busch Penske Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Jerry Punch, Andy Petree and Rusty Wallace

Pre-Race

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the pole position after being allowed to requalify when a rainstorm interrupted his attempt which resulted in a 45-minute rain delay. NASCAR allowed Earnhardt to put on new tires and cool down his car because of the delay, when temperatures cooled down.

Kevin Lepage (#37), Mike Bliss (#49), Kenny Wallace (#78) and A. J. Allmendinger (#84) all failed to make the race.

Race
Kurt Busch celebrating winning the Pennsylvania 500.

Outside polesitter Kurt Busch would be the class of the field, dominating for 175 of 200 laps and taking his first victory since the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in March 2006. While Busch dominated, the main story of the day was that of the polesitter. Dale Jr.'s team had brought an overly aggressive shock package to Pocono, and it was not working for them as the car was tight despite numerous adjustments. Their struggles hit a low point when Earnhardt Jr. spun the car in turn three. The team changed the shock and Dale Jr. rallied back to second place. Despite this comeback, Busch had overtaken Earnhardt, Jr. for the critical 12th position in points.

Jeff Gordon extended his points lead over Denny Hamlin to 366 points.

Top ten results:

Pos. No. Driver Car Team
1. #2 Kurt Busch Dodge Penske Racing South
2. #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
3. #11 Denny Hamlin Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing
4. #24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports
5. #48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports
6. #20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing
7. #12 Ryan Newman Dodge Penske Racing South
8. #07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing
9. #01 Mark Martin Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
10. #25 Casey Mears Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports

Notes
  • Kurt Busch has led a track record 175 laps.

References
  1. Weather information for the 2007 Pennsylvania 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
Previous race:
2007 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard		 Nextel Cup Series
2007 season		 Next race:
2007 Centurion Boats at the Glen
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