2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400

2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400

Race details
Race 3 of 36 in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season
Date	March 11, 2007 (2007-03-11)
Location	Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Clark County, Nevada
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance	267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.542 km)
Pole position
Driver	Kasey Kahne	Gillett Evernham Motorsports
Time	29.212
Most laps led
Driver	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Laps	111
Winner
No. 48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	Fox
Announcers	Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, and Larry McReynolds

The 2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 was the third race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. It was held on March 11, 2007 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The race was the first at the newly refurbished track, which now has a progressive banking in the turns on the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval, a new garage area which is fan-friendly known as "The Neon Garage" named for the lighted signs through the city's gambling areas, and a new pit road that was built closer to the grandstands.

Kasey Kahne won the pole and Jimmie Johnson won the race, making this his third overall win at the 1.5 mile oval track.

Race summary

Jimmie Johnson won his third straight Nextel Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, defeating teammate Jeff Gordon by 2.795 seconds. Gordon finished in second place for the second straight time. Denny Hamlin was third, Matt Kenseth fourth and Mark Martin fifth.[1]

Martin retained his points lead after three races with 495 points, six ahead of Gordon.[2]

Because of the new asphalt concerns, NASCAR cut the size of fuel cells from 18 gallons to 13 gallons, similar to what had been used on restrictor plate tracks from October 2002 until October 2006, and also for the two 2006 races at Lowe's Motor Speedway to force more pit stops to change tires.

Results

Pos.	No.	Driver	Car	Team	Laps	Status
1.	#48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	267	Running
2.	#24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	267	Running
3.	#11	Denny Hamlin	Chevrolet	Joe Gibbs Racing	267	Running
4.	#17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	267	Running
5.	#01	Mark Martin	Chevrolet	Ginn Racing	267	Running
6.	#99	Carl Edwards	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	267	Running
7.	#20	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	Joe Gibbs Racing	267	Running
8.	#12	Ryan Newman	Dodge	Penske Racing South	267	Running
9.	#5	Kyle Busch	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	267	Running
10.	#26	Jamie McMurray	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	267	Running
11.	#8	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Chevrolet	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	267	Running
12.	#1	Martin Truex Jr.	Chevrolet	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	267	Running
13.	#43	Bobby Labonte	Dodge	Petty Enterprises	267	Running
14.	#19	Elliott Sadler	Dodge	Evernham Motorsports	267	Running
15.	#31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	Richard Childress Racing	267	Running
16.	#16	Greg Biffle	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	266	Running
17.	#7	Robby Gordon	Ford	Robby Gordon Motorsports	266	Running
18.	#18	J.J. Yeley	Chevrolet	Joe Gibbs Racing	266	Running
19.	#96	Tony Raines	Chevrolet	Hall of Fame Racing	266	Running
20.	#40	David Stremme	Dodge	Chip Ganassi Racing	266	Running
21.	#38	David Gilliland	Ford	Robert Yates Racing	265	Running
22.	#42	Juan Pablo Montoya†	Dodge	Chip Ganassi Racing	265	Running
23.	#10	Scott Riggs	Dodge	Evernham Motorsports	265	Running
24.	#78	Kenny Wallace	Chevrolet	Furniture Row Racing	265	Running
25.	#66	Jeff Green	Chevrolet	Haas CNC Racing	265	Running
26.	#2	Kurt Busch	Dodge	Penske Racing South	265	Running
27.	#29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	Richard Childress Racing	265	Running
28.	#45	Kyle Petty	Dodge	Petty Enterprises	265	Running
29.	#21	Jon Wood†	Ford	Wood Brothers/JTG Racing	264	Running
30.	#88	Ricky Rudd	Ford	Robert Yates Racing	264	Running
31.	#41	Reed Sorenson	Dodge	Chip Ganassi Racing	263	Running
32.	#15	Paul Menard†	Chevrolet	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	263	Running
33.	#44	Dale Jarrett	Toyota	Michael Waltrip Racing	263	Running
34.	#14	Sterling Marlin	Chevrolet	Ginn Racing	251	Engine
35.	#9	Kasey Kahne	Dodge	Evernham Motorsports	251	Accident
36.	#07	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	Richard Childress Racing	239	Running
37.	#6	David Ragan†	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	236	Running
38.	#13	Joe Nemechek	Chevrolet	Ginn Racing	156	Accident
39.	#70	Johnny Sauter	Chevrolet	Hass CNC Racing	147	Running
40.	#25	Casey Mears	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	141	Running
41.	#80	Aric Almirola	Chevrolet	Joe Gibbs Racing	46	Accident
42.	#22	Dave Blaney	Toyota	Bill Davis Racing	17	Accident
43.	#4	Ward Burton	Chevrolet	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	15	Accident

†-Rookie of the Year candidate

Failed to qualify

The following 10 drivers failed to qualify for the race: A.J. Allmendinger‡ (#84), Mike Bliss (#49), John Andretti (#37), Brian Vickers (#83), David Reutimann‡ (#00), Jeremy Mayfield (#36), Brandon Whitt‡ (#72), Kevin Lepage (#34), Michael Waltrip (#55), and Ken Schrader (#47).

Allmendinger, Bliss, Mayfield, and Whitt have missed all three races for which they have attempted to qualify. Waltrip has missed the last two. Reutimann had made both previous races. Vickers had missed the Daytona 500 and made the Auto Club 500. Schrader missed making a field for the first time since the November 2003 Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Also of note: Regan Smith‡ was to have qualified in the #39 car, but the car was withdrawn and Smith did not make an attempt.

Notes

• All 10 drivers that started in the top 10 has failed to finish in the top 10. The first time that happened since the Firecracker 400 on July 4, 1965; 1,421 races ago.