The 2007 Pep Boys Auto 500 was a

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

competition held on October 28, 2007, at

Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly known Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a 1.54-mile entertainment facility in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series ...

in Hampton, Georgia. The race was the thirty-third race of the

2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series The 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 59th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 36th modern-era Cup series. Beginning on February 10 at Daytona International Speedway with the Budweiser Shootout, the season ...

and the seventh of the season-ending ten-race

Chase for the Nextel Cup The NASCAR playoffs is a championship Playoffs, playoff system used in NASCAR's three national series. The system was founded as 'The Chase for the Championship' on January 21, 2004, and was used exclusively in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2004 to ...

. To commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of the

1992 Hooters 500 The 1992 Hooters 500 was the 29th and final race of the 1992 NASCAR season. It was held on November 15, 1992, at Atlanta Motor Speedway and is widely considered the greatest NASCAR race of all time, with three stories dominating the race: the de ...

, the last race of the

1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series The 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 44th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 21st modern-era Cup season. The season began on February 9, 1992, and ended on November 15, 1992. Independent owner/driver Alan ...

Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...

served as the Grand Marshal while

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notabl ...

served as the honorary flagman. Gordon had made his first career start in the 1992 race, which was also Petty's final race.

Background

* Jeremy Mayfield replaced Jeff Green in the 66

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

for Haas CNC Racing. * Mike Skinner replaced Mayfield in the No. 36

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

for Bill Davis Racing. *

Burney Lamar Burney Lamar (born August 21, 1980) is an American stock car racing driver. He has driven in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series. Racing career Lamar began racing go-karts at the age of 5 and won a total of 25 track cham ...

, in the No. 08 car, attempted to make his first career Nextel Cup Series start.

Qualifying

With a lap of 28.807 seconds at a speed of 192.453 mph,

Greg Biffle Gregory Jack Biffle (born December 23, 1969) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for NY Racing Team and full-time in the ...

won his first pole position of the year. Former teammate

Kurt Busch Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American professional auto racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. He is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and the ...

started alongside him.

Dale Jarrett Dale Arnold Jarrett (born November 26, 1956) is a former American race car driver and current commentator for NBC. He is best known for winning the Daytona 500 three times (in 1993, 1996, and 2000) and winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Series champio ...

, in his final fall Atlanta race, had a season best third place starting spot. Spring race winner

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...

started sixth, while championship leader,

, started in the eighth.

Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...

, the defending race winner started the race in thirteenth. Failed to Qualify: No. 00– David Reutimann, No. 4–

Ward Burton John Edward Burton III (born October 25, 1961) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He has five career wins in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, including the 2002 Daytona 500 and the 2001 Southern 500. He is the older brothe ...

, No. 06–

Sam Hornish Jr. Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017. He began his top-tier raci ...

, No. 08–

, No. 36– Mike Skinner

Notes

#21-

Bill Elliott William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing ...

was forced to use his third of six past champions provisional to make the field. #22- Dave Blaney had a suspension failure during his qualifying lap and did not post a speed.

Results

Sources:

Post-race

's eighth victory of the 2007 season, combined with a seventh-place finish for Gordon, has compacted the points difference between the two down to nine points heading into Texas. *In the battle for the first thirty-five positions in owners points, due to the suspension failure of the No. 22 car, the

Wood Brothers/JTG Racing Wood Brothers Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was formed in 1950 by eponymous brothers Glen and Leonard Wood. From 2006 to 2008, the team was merged with Tad an ...

No. 21 gains points, but was still 82 points out. *The top 2 finishers would be reversed in the next season's race, with Edwards winning and Johnson finishing second. Kenseth would also finish fourth yet again.

References

{{2007 Nextel Cup

Pep Boys Auto 500 The Ambetter Health 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. William Byron is the defending race winner. This race was originally Atlanta's second race of the season and was run as a late-se ...

NASCAR races at Atlanta Motor Speedway October 2007 sports events in the United States