NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge 2007
The Nextel Open and the NASCAR Nextel-All Star Challenge 2007 took place on May 19, 2007 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord , North Carolina , a suburb of Charlotte . The All-Star Challenge is a race in which no points are awarded for the current season, but the winner receives prize money of around one million US dollars .
Format of the All Star Challenge 2007
Nextel Open
The Nextel Open is the qualifying race for the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge . All drivers or car numbers who were within the top 50 in the points and could not qualify directly for the All Star Challenge had the right to start in the Nextel Open race. The race was divided into two segments over 20 laps each. After the first segment, the race was stopped and the field of drivers drove closed into the pit lane. Each team had to make a pit stop. As a result, the pit teams play a significant role when it comes to progressing into the All-Star Challenge. The first and second placed pilots could compete in the All-Star Challenge. In addition, the fans could choose a driver for the “All Star” race.
All Star Challenge
All drivers and car numbers that were victorious in 2006 or 2007 qualified directly for the All Star Challenge. In addition, there were all active former champions in the Winston Cup / Nextel Cup as well as all drivers who have won the All Star Challenge in the last decade. In addition, two drivers were able to qualify via the Nextel Open. The last place in the starting field was occupied by the winner of the fan vote.
The qualification for the All-Star Challenge was different from all other qualifying events of the Nextel Cup season 2007. Each driver has to drive three instead of two laps and also had to make a pit stop where all tires had to be changed. This could be done either after the first or the second round. When entering the pits, the driver had to adhere to the speed limit; when exiting, he could accelerate fully. To ensure a fair course, all drivers drove to the same pit.
The race of the All-Star Challenge 2007 was divided into four segments with 20 laps each. There was a five-minute break after the first segment. All drivers were able to make a pit stop. After the second segment there was a half-time break. The race was stopped for ten minutes. All drivers had to go into the pit lane and could change tires and refuel. No positions could be swapped during the half-time break. After the third segment of the race there was another break and each driver had to go back into the pit lane to stop. However, the tires did not necessarily have to be changed. In contrast to the half-time stop, positions could also be swapped here.
Participant in the All Star Challenge 2007
Qualified by victories in 2006 and 2007
The following list shows all drivers who qualified for the All-Star Challenge 2007 via victories and the races that led to the qualification
| Driver (number) | Victory that led to qualification |
|---|---|
| Jimmie Johnson (# 48) | February 19, 2006, Daytona 500 |
| Matt Kenseth (# 17) | February 26, 2006, Auto Club 500 |
| Kasey Kahne (# 9) | March 19, 2006, Golden Corral 500 |
| Kurt Busch (# 2) | March 26, 2006, Food City 500 |
| Tony Stewart (# 20) | April 2, 2006, DirecTV 500 |
| Kevin Harvick (# 29) | April 22, 2006, Subway Fresh Fit 500 |
| Dale Earnhardt junior (# 8) | May 6, 2006, Crown Royal 400 |
| Greg Biffle (# 16) | May 13, 2006, Dodge Charger 500 |
| Denny Hamlin (# 11) | June 11, 2006, Pocono 500 |
| Jeff Gordon (# 24) | June 25, 2006, Dodge / Save Mart 350 |
| Kyle Busch (# 5) | July 16, 2006, Lenox Industrial Tools 300 |
| Jeff Burton (# 31) | September 24, 2006, Dover 400 |
| Brian Vickers * (# 25) | October 8, 2006, UAW Ford 500 |
- Brian Vickers, who drove the number 83 Toyota that season, won with the Hendrick Motorsports team's number 25 . Because of this, the starting number 25, driven by Casey Mears this year , was also qualified for the All Star Challenge 2007.
Qualified as a Winston / Nextel Cup Champion
The following list shows all drivers who qualified because they were champions in the Winston / Nextel Cup within the last decade.
| Driver (number) | Champion in the year (s) |
|---|---|
| Jeff Gordon (# 24) * | 1997, 1998, 2001 |
| Dale Jarrett (# 44) | 1999 |
| Bobby Labonte (# 43) | 2000 |
| Tony Stewart (# 20) * | 2002, 2005 |
| Matt Kenseth (# 17) * | 2003 |
| Kurt Busch (# 2) * | 2004 |
| Jimmie Johnson * (# 48) * | 2006 |
- Drivers with an asterisk are already qualified for the All Star Challenge with victories in 2006 and 2007.
Qualified by winning previous All-Star Challenges
The following list shows all drivers who qualified because they have already won the All-Star Challenge.
| Driver (number) | Champion in the year (s) |
|---|---|
| Jeff Gordon (# 24) * | 1997, 2001 |
| Mark Martin (# 01) | 1998, 2005 |
| Terry Labonte ** | 1999 |
| Dale Earnhardt junior (# 8) * | 2000 |
| Ryan Newman (# 12) | 2002 |
| Jimmie Johnson (# 48) * | 2003, 2006 |
| Matt Kenseth (# 17) * | 2004 |
- Drivers with an asterisk are already qualified for the All-Star Challenge with victories in 2006 and 2007.
- Terry Labonte, who was eligible as the 1999 winner, was not active in the Nextel Cup at the time of the All-Star Challenge and therefore did not take part in the race.
- The following drivers qualify via the Nextel Open race
- Martin Truex junior (# 1), Dale Earnhardt, Inc. - First in the Nextel Open
- Johnny Sauter (# 70), Haas CNC Racing - second in the Nextel Open
- Kenny Wallace (# 78), Furniture Row Racing - winner of the fan vote
Nextel Open 2007 - Concord, North Carolina
The Nextel Open was held on May 19, 2007 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord , North Carolina . It went over two segments with 20 laps each. 33 cars were allowed to start. There was already a major accident on the first lap when Juan Pablo Montoya took some of his competitors out of the race with a daring maneuver. Involved in the accident were David Gilliland , Joe Nemechek , Paul Menard , Jon Wood and AJ Allmendinger . Another accident occurred on lap 10, which robbed Mike Bliss and Boris Said of the chance to qualify.
In the second segment, Elliott Sadler touched the wall, which triggered a yellow phase. Shortly afterwards, David Ragan lost control and took Reed Sorenson out of the race. Carl Edwards, who led for a long time, was overtaken shortly before the end by Martin Truex junior and Johnny Sauter , who qualified for the All-Star Challenge. Kenny Wallace won the fan vote.
Nextel All Star Challenge 2007 - Concord, North Carolina
The 2007 NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge was held on May 19, 2007 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord , North Carolina . 21 drivers were entitled to take part in the race, which went over a distance of 80 laps, divided into four segments.
In the first segment the race was very calm. Matt Kenseth , who had started from pole, held his lead until the first scheduled caution on lap 20, when pit stops were allowed. Kyle Busch and Mark Martin stayed on the track and took over the front positions.
Kyle Busch dominated the second segment of the race and led halfway through the race. Shortly after the start of the third segment, Bobby Labonte lost control of his car and caused a yellow phase. Kyle Busch had dropped to fourth after a bad restart. Matt Kenseth dominated the third segment after another restart of the race. At the subsequent stop, however, he was too quick at the pit exit and was therefore moved to the end of the field.
Shortly after the start of the fourth segment, the brothers Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch collided . Kevin Harvick won the race after 80 laps from Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin .