Pepsi 400
The Pepsi 400, NASCAR's eighteenth NEXTEL Cup race of the season, was held at Daytona International Speedway on July 7, 2007. The race officially marked the halfway point of the season, as well as the final time the old car template, with restrictor plate rules, were run on a superspeedway. Coverage on TNT featured limited interruptions in a "wide open" production. In addition, this race was the last time the race was called the Pepsi 400, ending a 21-year sponsorship. Coca-Cola will gradually take over pouring rights at all ISC-owned tracks starting with the Daytona Speedweeks events in February 2008, and as a result, the race will be renamed the Coke Zero 400.
The biggest news to come out of this race was qualifying. Boris Said in the #60 Ford was the fastest, but a rainstorm stopped the process, and under NASCAR rules, all cars must make a qualifying attempt before it is made official. Six other cars not in the top 35 in owners' points were following Said, but Jeff Gordon would be on the pole as time trials were rained out, and the field was set by the NASCAR rulebook based on owner points. Said would end up not even making the race because of this.
The race itself featured many twists and turns. Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., some of the race favorites, were taken out early in a wreck. Eventually, Jamie McMurray, suffering a 166 race winless slump (since October 2002 at Lowe's Motor Speedway), overcame a black flag penalty in the race and broke through to record his second career victory by only .005 seconds over Kyle Busch, becoming tied for the second closest finish in NASCAR history, the closest coming in 2003 when Ricky Craven edged Kurt Busch at Darlington Raceway by .002 seconds.
Top ten results:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | #26 | Jamie McMurray | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 2. | #5 | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 3. | #2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Penske Racing |
| 4. | #99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 5. | #24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 6. | #16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 7. | #07 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing |
| 8. | #17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 9. | #9 | Kasey Kahne | Dodge | Evernham Motorsports |
| 10. | #48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports |
Failed to make race as qualifying was cancelled due to rain while in progress: Jeremy Mayfield (#36), A.J. Allmendinger (#84), Larry Foyt (#49), Michael Waltrip (#55), Kevin Lepage (#37), Ward Burton (#4), Boris Said (#60), Mike Wallace (#09), Eric McClure (#04), Kirk Shelmerdine (#27)
Read more about this topic: 2007 Nextel Cup, 2007 Season Races
Famous quotes containing the word pepsi:
“There are two kinds of artists left: those who endorse Pepsi and those who simply won’t.”
—Annie Lennox (b. 1954)