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2007 NASCAR RCA Cup Series (Johnsonverse)
Previous: 2006 Next: 2008
Champions | Seasons

The 2007 NASCAR RCA Cup Series was the 59th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 36th modern-era Cup series. Beginning on January 28 at Infineon Raceway with the Toyota/Save Mart 350, the season ended on November 18 at Ontario Motor Speedway with the Los Angeles Times 500. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won his third championship.

Chevrolet captured the NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship with 25 wins, over second-place Dodge who had 11 wins. Ford finished third with 9 wins, and Toyota, in their first RCA Cup season, finished out with no wins.

This was also the first season without Alan Kulwicki since 1984.

Top stories and controversies[]

Joe Gibbs Racing to Toyota[]

During the season rumors began to surface that Joe Gibbs Racing, owned by then-Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, would be switching to the new manufacturer Toyota for the 2008 season. This switch would be significant for several reasons, one of them being that JGR had been allied with General Motors since its inception in 1992, first with Chevrolet then beginning in 1997 with Pontiac, then switched back to Chevrolet in 2003, a year before Pontiac left NASCAR. The switch to Toyota would benefit the manufacturer itself, as they would be allied with a championship-caliber team. As JGR loans equipment to Hall of Fame Racing, the team confirmed that they would also switch to Toyota if JGR did so. On September 5, the rumors were confirmed.

Dale Jarrett announces retirement[]

During the race weekend for the Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing held a press conference. During the announcement, it was revealed to the racing world that Dale Jarrett would retire from full-time driving following the end of the 2008 season. After 2008, Jarrett would hand over the #18 car to Matt Kenseth.

Goodyear strike and the return of Hoosier[]

In late 2006, Goodyear workers went on strike, putting tire production in jeopardy. NASCAR met with Hoosier and created a backup plan that called for Hoosier to produce tires for the 2007 season. The strike was not resolved in time for the season, and most of the season was run on Hoosier tires across all three national series and all regional series that had been running Goodyears; 2007 marked the first year Hoosiers ran in the Cup Series since 1994. Hoosier's return ended up being one of the top stories of Speedweeks, along with the various cheating scandals during qualifying. Goodyear tires finally returned in time for the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega in the fall. Hoosier, however, did not leave, and both tire makes remained in the Cup Series as insurance against potential future strikes. This had the unfortunate side-effect of sparking a third tire war between the two makes (due to the strike annulling Goodyear's contract as the exclusive tire supplier of NASCAR), a war that is still ongoing as of 2021 and expanded in 2015 when Firestone entered the fray.

Teams, drivers, and manufacturers[]

Each RCA Cup race had a field of 46 cars.

For the first five races of 2007, the top 35 teams in owners points (not drivers' points) in 2006 earned an exemption into each race. If a driver went to a new team, he did not have a guaranteed starting spot, but his old team did, except if that new team was an exempt team. If a past champion is not driving for an exempt team (outside the top 35 in owner points), he may be eligible to use a past champions' provisional to enter the race. The provisional guarantees a spot to the most recent champion not exempt, but those who are former champions will be limited to six for the entire 2007 season.

Teams not exempt must "race" their way in during qualifying – if 50 cars are attempting to make the race, and no one is using a provisional, then there are 12 cars racing for eight spots, and the eight fastest cars will make the race. (The Daytona 500, which uses a different qualifying procedure, is the only exception to this rule, though the top 35 are still locked in.)

Starting with the sixth race in 2007, the top 35 teams were awarded exemptions for the next race.

Manufacturers[]

Company Marquee Model Status
General Motors Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS FINAL YEAR, full factory support
Impala SS Full factory support
Ford Motor Company Ford-Cosworth Fusion Full factory support
Mustang Full factory support
Roush Mustang In-house variant
Chrysler Corporation Dodge Charger Full factory support
Avenger RETURNING, full factory support
Stratus Factory support ended after 2006
Toyota Motor Corporation (NEW) Toyota (NEW) Camry NEW, full factory support

Complete schedule[]

Manufacturer Team No. Race driver Crew chief Model Primary Sponsor
Chevrolet Cale Yarborough Motorsports 98 Jeremy Mayfield 2007 Impala SS General Electric
Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 01 Mark Martin 2006 Monte Carlo SS US Army
8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Tony Eury ACDelco
38 Kelley Earnhardt Pennzoil
81 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops
Furniture Row Racing 78 Kenny Wallace Jay Guy 2007 Impala SS Furniture Row
Scott Wimmer
Sterling Marlin
Joe Nemechek
David Gilliland
Haas CNC Racing 66 Ward Burton Harold Holly 2007 Monte Carlo SS Best Buy
Hall of Fame Racing 96 Jason Leffler Brandon Thomas 2007 Monte Carlo SS DLP
Ron Fellows
Hendrick Motorsports 5 Ricky Hendrick Alan Gustafson 2007 Monte Carlo SS Kellogg's
24 Jeff Gordon Tommy Baldwin Jr. DuPont
25 Shane Hmiel (R) Lance McGrew Lowe's
52 Casey Atwood Chad Knaus M&M's
Joe Gibbs Racing 18 Dale Jarrett Steve Addington 2007 Monte Carlo SS Interstate Batteries
19 Kelly Watson Circuit City
20 Denny Hamlin FedEx
80 J. J. Yeley Yahoo
Richard Childress Racing 07 Clint Bowyer 2007 Monte Carlo SS Jack Daniel's
3 Renee Walters Kevin Hamlin GM Goodwrench
31 Jeff Burton Royce McGee Sylvania
SFS Racing 4 Kevin Harvick 2007 Impala SS Budweiser
10 Kyle Busch Valvoline
14 Tony Stewart Greg Zipadelli Home Depot
Dodge AK Racing 7 David Gilliland (R) Chris Andrews 2007 Avenger Walmart
11 Jamie McMurray Microsoft
BAM Racing 49 Sterling Marlin Lee McCall 2007 Avenger unsponsored
Bill Davis Racing 22 Dave Blaney Derrick Finley 2007 Charger Caterpillar
23 Scott Wimmer Slugger Labbe unsponsored
Chip Ganassi Racing 1 Jimmie Johnson Lee McCall 2007 Charger UAW-Delphi
41 Emily Senn Jimmy Elledge Target
Elliott-Evernham Motorsports 9 Kasey Kahne 2007 Charger Coors Light
13 Jerry Nadeau Nickelodeon
94 Casey Elliott Dodge Dealers
Moroso-Rudd Racing 82 Rob Moroso 2007 Avenger Mountain Dew
83 Michelle Basone Tide
84 Kenny Irwin Jr. RCA
Penske Racing South 02 Ryan Newman Matt Borland 2007 Charger Alltel
2 Rusty Wallace Bill Wilburn Miller Lite
12 Tim Richmond Peter Sospenzo Mobil 1
Petty Enterprises 43 Adam Petty Gary Putnam 2007 Charger STP
44 Bobby Labonte Georgia-Pacific
Team SABCO 40 Shawna Robinson 2007 Charger
42 Blaise Alexander
45 Patty Moise
Ford-Cosworth Orr Motorsports 37 Rodney Orr 2007 Mustang Craftsman
Robby Gordon Motorsports 70 Robby Gordon Greg Erwin

Gene Nead

Peter Sospenzo

2007 Fusion Jim Beam
P. J. Jones
Robert Yates Racing 28 Davey Allison 2007 Mustang Texaco/Havoline
88 Paul Menard (R) Shawn Parker Menards
Roush Racing 6 David Ragan (R) Pat Tryson 2007 Roush Taurus UPS
16 Greg Biffle Doug Richert National Guard
60 Matt Kenseth Robbie Reiser DeWalt Tools
99 Carl Edwards Paul Andrews Office Depot
Steele-Favre Racing 15 Tim Steele 2007 Fusion Nike/Sony
90 Katrina Goode Folgers
Wood Brothers/JTG Racing 21 Elliott Sadler Ernie Cope

Michael McSwain

Gene Nead

2007 Fusion Little Debbie
Toyota Michael Waltrip Racing 00 David Reutimann (R) Frankie Kerr 2007 Camry Domino's
P. J. Jones
17 Michael Waltrip Scott Eggelston 7

Buddy Sisco 29

NAPA Auto Parts
Team Red Bull 85 Brian Vickers Doug Richert

Randy Cox

2007 Camry Red Bull
86 A. J. Allmendinger (R) Ricky Viers Red Bull

Limited schedule[]

Manufacturer Team No. Race driver Crew chief Model
Chevrolet CJM Racing 72 Brandon Whitt Sammy Speaks 2006 Monte Carlo SS
Ginn Racing 13 Joe Nemechek Peter Sospenzo 2007 Impala SS
139 Regan Smith Doug Randolph
Hylton Motorsports 58 James Hylton James Hylton Jr. 2005 Monte Carlo
Joe Gibbs Racing 80 Aric Almirola Jason Ratcliff 2007 Monte Carlo SS
Kirk Shelmerdine Racing 27 Kerk Shelmerdine Phil Harris 2006 Monte Carlo SS
Morgan-McClure Motorsports 04 Eric McClure Robert Larkins 2006 Impala SS
Phoenix Racing 09 Mike Wallace Fred Wanke 2007 Monte Carlo SS
Richard Childress Racing 33 Scott Wimmer Bobby Leslie 2007 Monte Carlo SS
Rick Ware Racing 130 Stanton Barrett Cal Northrop 2007 Impala SS
Dodge Bill Davis Racing 27 Jacques Villeneuve 2007 Charger
36 Jeremy Mayfield Derrick Finely
Mike Skinner
Johnny Benson
123 Mike Skinner
Butch Leitzinger
Brandon Ash Racing 02 Brandon Ash Kenneth Wood 2005 Charger
E&M Motorsports 08 Joe Nemechek Mark Tutor 2006 Stratus
Carl Long
Burney Lamar
Front Row Motorsports 34 Kevin Lepage Randy Seals 2007 Avenger
Stanton Barrett
137 Kevin Lepage Mark Tutor
Brian Simo
Gillett Evernham Motorsports 198 Boris Said Randy Seals 2007 Charger
McGlynn Racing 74 Derrike Cope Dom Turse 2007 Avenger
Penske Racing South 06 Sam Hornish Jr. Roy McCauley 2007 Charger
Ford-Cosworth Fast Track Racing 71 Frank Kimmel Andy Hillenburg 2005 Taurus
Robby Gordon Motorsports 77 Marcos Ambrose Ernie Cope 2007 Fusion
Wood Brothers Racing/JTG Daugherty Racing 47 Ken Schrader Gene Nead 2007 Fusion
Jon Wood
Toyota Riley D'Hondt Motorsports 91 Marc Goossens Jerry Pitts 2007 Camry
Wyler Racing 46 Johnny Benson Tony Furr 2007 Camry

Schedule[]

No. Race title Track Date TV
1 Toyota/Save Mart 350 Infineon Raceway, Sonoma January 29 WBC
Budweiser Shootout Daytona Internationa Speedway, Daytona Beach February 10 WBC
Gatorade 125's February 15 WBC
2 Daytona 500 by Toyota February 18 WBC
3 Subway 400 North Carolina Speedway, Rockingham February 25 WBC
4 San Jose 500 San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy March 4 WBC
5 UAW-Dodge 400 Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas March 11 ESPN
6 Kobalt Tools 500 Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton March 18 ESPN
7 Food City 500 Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol March 25 TNN
8 Goody's Cool Orange 500 Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway April 1 TNN
9 Diet Coke 500 Denver International Speedway, Denver April 8 WBC
10 Samsung 500 Texas World Speedway, College Station April 15 WBC
11 TranSouth Financial 400 Darlington Raceway, Darlington April 21 ESPN
12 Aaron's 499 Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln April 28 WBC
13 Crown Royal Presents The Jim Stewart 400 Richmond International Raceway, Richmond May 6 TNN
14 Auto Club 500 California Speedway, Fontana May 13 WBC
RCA Open Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City, Mexico May 19 TNN
RCA All-Star Challenge XXIII WBC
15 Coca-Cola 600 Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord May 27 WBC
16 Autism Society 400 presented by Visa * Dover International Speedway, Dover June 4 TNN
17 Pabst Blue Ribbon 400 The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis June 10 ESPN
18 Dodge Avenger 400 Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth June 17 WBC
19 Budweiser 400 Riverside International Raceway, Riverside June 24 WBC
20 Lenox Industrial Tools 300 New Hampshire International Speedway, Loudon July 1 WBC
21 Pepsi 400 Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach July 7 WBC
22 USG Sheetrock 400 Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet July 15 ESPN
23 Music City USA 420 Music City Motorplex, Nashville July 22 TNN
24 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway July 29 WBC
25 Pennsylvania 500 Pocono Raceway, Long Pond August 5 ESPN
26 Centurion Boats at The Glen Waktins Glen International, Watkins Glen August 12 ESPN
27 3M Performance 400 Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn August 19 TNN
28 Sharpie 500 Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol August 25 TNN
29 Southern 500 Darlington Raceway, Darlington September 2 WBC
30 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Richmond International Raceway, Richmond September 9 TNN
31 Tyson Holly Farms 400 North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro September 16 WBC
32 Dodge Dealers 400 Dover International Speedway, Dover September 23 TNN
33 LifeLock 400 Kansas Speedway, Kansas City September 30 ESPN
34 UAW-Ford 500 Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln October 7 WBC
35 Bank of America 500 Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord October 13 WBC
36 Subway 500 Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway October 21 WBC
37 Pep Boys Auto 500 Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton October 28 ESPN
38 ACDelco 400 Rockingham Speedway, Rockingham November 4 TNN
39 Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale November 13 TNN
40 Ford 400 Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead November 18 WBC
41 Apple iPhone 500 San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy November 25 WBC
42 Sprite 500 Denver International Speedway, Denver December 2 WBC
43 Los Angeles Times 500 Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario December 9 WBC

*-The Autism Society 400 was originally called the Autism Speaks 400. However, Tammy Jo Johnson, whose children Tim and Chloe both have autism, encouraged NASCAR to replace Autism Speaks with Autism Society due to her considering Autism Speaks "evil", and Autism Speaks sued for breach of contract, which was settled out of court.

Season summary[]

Results[]

No. Race Pole Position Most Laps Led Winner Make/Model
1 Toyota/Save Mart 350 Denny Hamlin Kevin Harvick Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
Budweiser Shootout Dale Jarrett Kyle Busch Tony Stewart Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
Gatorade 125 1 David Gilliland Tony Stewart Tony Stewart Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
Gatorade 125 2 Ricky Rudd Kyle Busch Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
2 Daytona 500 David Gilliland Kurt Busch Mark Martin Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
3 Subway 400 Jeff Gordon Matt Kenseth Matt Kenseth Roush Mustang
4 San Jose 500 Brian Vickers Adam Petty Adam Petty Dodge Charger
5 UAW-Dodge 400 Jeff Gordon Jeff Gordon Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
6 Kobalt Tools 500 Ryan Newman Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
7 Food City 500 Jeff Gordon Tony Stewart Kyle Busch Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
8 Goody's Cool Orange 500 Denny Hamlin Dale Earnhardt Jr. Adam Petty Dodge Charger
9 Diet Coke 500 Jimmie Johnson Mark Martin Mark Martin Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
10 Samsung 500 Jeff Gordon Tony Stewart Jeff Burton Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
11 TranSouth Financial 400 Jeff Gordon Tony Stewart Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
12 Aaron's 499 Jeff Gordon Jeff Gordon Bobby Labonte Dodge Charger
13 Crown Royal Presents The Jim Stewart 400 Jeff Gordon Jeff Gordon Adam Petty Dodge Charger
14 Auto Club 500 Clint Bowyer Denny Hamlin Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
RCA Open Carl Edwards Carl Edwards Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
RCA All-Star Challenge XXIII Matt Kenseth Matt Kenseth Bobby Labonte Dodge Avenger
15 Coca-Cola 600 Ryan Newman Kurt Busch Casey Mears Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
16 Autism Society 400 presented by Visa * Ryan Newman Martin Truex Jr. Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
17 Pabst Blue Ribbon 400 Ryan Newman Denny Hamlin Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
18 Dodge Avenger 400 Dale Jarrett Carl Edwards Carl Edwards Roush Mustang
19 Budweiser 400 Jamie McMurray Robby Gordon Juan Pablo Montoya Dodge Charger
20 Lenox Industrial Tools 300 Dave Blaney Dale Earnhardt Jr. Denny Hamlin Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
21 Pepsi 400 Jeff Gordon Clint Bowyer Jamie McMurray Roush Mustang
22 USG Sheetrock 400 Casey Mears Tony Stewart Tony Stewart Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
23 Music City USA 420 Jeff Gordon Adam Petty John Andretti Dodge Charger
24 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard Reed Sorenson Tony Stewart Tony Stewart Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
25 Pennsylvania 500 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kurt Busch Kurt Busch Dodge Charger
26 Centurion Boats at The Glen Jeff Gordon Jeff Gordon Tony Stewart Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
27 3M Performance 400 Jeff Gordon Kurt Busch Kurt Busch Dodge Charger
28 Sharpie 500 Kasey Kahne Kasey Kahne Carl Edwards Roush Mustang
29 Southern 500 Kurt Busch Kyle Busch Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
30 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Jimmie Johnson Jeff Gordon Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
31 Tyson Holly Farms 400 Clint Bowyer Clint Bowyer Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
32 Dodge Dealers 400 Jimmie Johnson Matt Kenseth Carl Edwards Roush Mustang
33 LifeLock 400 Jimmie Johnson Kurt Busch Clifford Allison Ford Mustang
34 UAW-Ford 500 Michael Waltrip Denny Hamlin Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
35 Bank of America 500 Ryan Newman Jimmie Johnson Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
36 Subway 500 Jeff Gordon Jeff Gordon Rob Moroso Dodge Avenger
37 Pep Boys Auto 500 Greg Biffle Martin Truex Jr. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
38 ACDelco 400 Martin Truex Jr. Kyle Busch Adam Petty Dodge Charger
39 Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil Carl Edwards Matt Kenseth Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
40 Ford 400 Jimmie Johnson Matt Kenseth Matt Kenseth Roush Mustang
41 Apple iPhone 500 Rob Moroso Jeff Gordon Mark Martin Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
42 Sprite 500 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Davey Allison Davey Allison Ford Fusion
43 Los Angeles Times 500 Jeff Gordon Mark Martin Davey Allison Ford Fusion

Cars Used in 2007 (incomplete)[]

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