# 2007 Chase for the Nextel Cup

The 2007 Chase for the Nextel Cup was the ten-race playoffs which concluded the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. It began with the Sylvania 300 on September 16, 2007, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and ended with the Ford 400 on November 18 of the same year at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with Jimmie Johnson winning the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship.
The entry requirements for the Chase changed this year. Previously, the top ten drivers in the points standings and anyone else within 400 points of the leader after the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 would qualify for the Chase. This year, the top twelve drivers in the points standings after the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 automatically qualified for the Chase with each drivers' point total reset to 5,000 points, with a ten-point bonus for each race won during the first 26 races. In addition, as NASCAR makes the full-time transition to the Car of Tomorrow, half of the races used the new template, and the other half used the older template, which was officially retired from Cup competition following the Ford 400. The title "Chase for the Nextel Cup" was also retired, as the season ending playoff will be renamed the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" in 2008.

## Final standings

| Pos | Seed | Driver | Car | S | P | W | T5 | T10 | DNF | Winnings (USD) | Pts/(Behind) |
| 1 | 1 | Jimmie Johnson | #48 Chevrolet | 36 | 4 | 10 | 20 | 24 | 4 | $7,646,421 | 6,723/ 2007 Champion |
| 2 | 2 | Jeff Gordon | #24 Chevrolet | 36 | 7 | 6 | 21 | 30 | 1 | $7,148,662 | 6,696 (-77) |
| 3 | 12 | Clint Bowyer | #07 Chevrolet | 36 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 0 | $4,215,869 | 6,377 (-346) |
| 4 | 8 | Matt Kenseth | #17 Ford | 36 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 22 | 4 | $6,485,629 | 6,298 (-425) |
| 5 | 9 | Kyle Busch | #5 Chevrolet | 36 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 20 | 2 | $4,685,518 | 6,293 (-430) |
| 6 | 3 | Tony Stewart | #20 Chevrolet | 36 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 23 | 4 | $6,396,751 | 6,242 (-481) |
| 7 | 5 | Kurt Busch | #2 Dodge | 36 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 3 | $5,287,846 | 6,231 (-492) |
| 8 | 10 | Jeff Burton | #31 Chevrolet | 36 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 18 | 3 | $6,015,667 | 6,231 (-492) |
| 9 | 4 | Carl Edwards | #99 Ford | 36 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 15 | 4 | $4,611,967 | 6,222 (-501) |
| 10 | 11 | Kevin Harvick | #29 Chevrolet | 36 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 0 | $7,494,593 | 6,199 (-524) |
| 11 | 7 | Martin Truex Jr. | #1 Chevrolet | 36 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 4 | $5,003,881 | 6,164 (-559) |
| 12 | 6 | Denny Hamlin | #11 Chevrolet | 36 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 18 | 1 | $4,983,814 | 6,143 (-580) |
Key: S-Starts; P-Poles; W-Wins; T5-Top 5 finishes; T10-Top 10 finishes; DNF-Did not finish; Pts-Points. NOTES:' 1. The original seedings saw Edwards placed fourth ahead of Kurt Busch based on most second-place finishes, while Denny Hamlin was seeded sixth based on the same criteria, followed by Truex, Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton and Harvick, with further tiebreakers based on third-place finishes, etc. 2. Kurt Busch by most wins finished in seventh place ahead of Jeff Burton. 3. Those in boldface were invited to the 2007 Nextel Cup Banquet November 30 in New York.

### Standings Plus/Minus Through The Chase

| Driver | Seed | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | Final | Final |
| Driver | Seed | Chg | Std | Chg | Std | Chg | Std | Chg | Std | Chg | Std | Chg | Std | Chg | Std | Chg | Std | Chg | Std | Chg | Std | Std | Chg |
| Jimmie Johnson | 1 | n/c | 1 | -2 | 3 | +2 | 1 | -1 | 2 | n/c | 2 | n/c | 2 | n/c | 2 | +1 | 1 | n/c | 1 | n/c | 1 | 1 | n/c |
| Jeff Gordon | 2 | n/c | 2 | +1 | 1 | -1 | 2 | +1 | 1 | n/c | 1 | n/c | 1 | n/c | 1 | -1 | 2 | n/c | 2 | n/c | 2 | 2 | n/c |
| Tony Stewart | 3 | n/c | 3 | +1 | 2 | -2 | 4 | n/c | 4 | n/c | 4 | n/c | 4 | -1 | 5 | -1 | 6 | +1 | 5 | -1 | 6 | 6 | -3 |
| Carl Edwards | 4 | -4 | 8 | +2 | 6 | -1 | 7 | +1 | 6 | +1 | 5 | n/c | 5 | +1 | 4 | -1 | 5 | -4 | 9 | n/c | 9 | 9 | -5 |
| Kurt Busch | 5 | -7 | 12 | +1 | 11 | +2 | 9 | +2 | 7 | n/c | 7 | -3 | 10 | +1 | 9 | n/c | 9 | -1 | 10 | +3 | 7 | 7 | -2 |
| Denny Hamlin | 6 | -3 | 9 | -3 | 12 | n/c | 12 | +3 | 9 | n/c | 9 | +1 | 8 | -2 | 10 | -1 | 11 | -1 | 12 | n/c | 12 | 12 | -6 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 7 | +1 | 6 | -1 | 7 | -1 | 8 | -2 | 10 | -1 | 11 | n/c | 11 | -1 | 12 | n/c | 12 | +1 | 11 | n/c | 11 | 11 | -4 |
| Matt Kenseth | 8 | +1 | 7 | -3 | 10 | -1 | 11 | n/c | 11 | -1 | 12 | n/c | 12 | +1 | 11 | +1 | 10 | +4 | 6 | +2 | 4 | 4 | +4 |
| Kyle Busch | 9 | +4 | 5 | +1 | 4 | -2 | 6 | -2 | 8 | +2 | 6 | n/c | 6 | n/c | 6 | +2 | 4 | n/c | 4 | -1 | 5 | 5 | -4 |
| Jeff Burton | 10 | -1 | 11 | +3 | 8 | -2 | 10 | -2 | 12 | +2 | 10 | +1 | 9 | +1 | 8 | +1 | 7 | -1 | 8 | n/c | 8 | 8 | +2 |
| Kevin Harvick | 11 | +1 | 10 | +1 | 9 | +4 | 5 | n/c | 5 | -3 | 8 | +1 | 7 | n/c | 7 | -1 | 8 | +1 | 7 | -3 | 10 | 10 | +1 |
| Clint Bowyer | 12 | +8 | 4 | -1 | 5 | +2 | 3 | n/c | 3 | n/c | 3 | n/c | 3 | n/c | 3 | n/c | 3 | n/c | 3 | n/c | 3 | 3 | +9 |
Chg = Change in position. n/c = No change in position. Std = Standing After Race

### Standings at beginning of Chase

* Jimmie Johnson, 5,060 points, leader
* Jeff Gordon, 5,040, -20
* Tony Stewart, 5,030, -30
* Carl Edwards, 5,020, -40
* Kurt Busch, 5,020, -40
* Denny Hamlin, 5,010, -50
* Martin Truex, Jr., 5,010, -50
* Matt Kenseth, 5,010, -50
* Kyle Busch, 5,010, -50
* Jeff Burton, 5,010, -50
* Kevin Harvick, 5,010, -50
* Clint Bowyer, 5,000, -60

### Standings at end of the "regular season"

At the conclusion of the "regular season" (the 2007 Chevy Rock & Roll 400), these were the point standings before the Chase adjustments were made. Also indicated are how far up or down in the standings a driver went when the Chase points were awarded:
* Jeff Gordon, 3,849 pts., leader, down one spot.
* Tony Stewart, -312 pts, down one spot.
* Denny Hamlin, -359, down three spots.
* Jimmie Johnson, -410 pts., up three spots.
* Matt Kenseth, -419 pts., down three spots.
* Carl Edwards, -427 pts., up two spots.
* Jeff Burton, -521 pts., down three spots.
* Kyle Busch, -547 pts., down one spot.
* Clint Bowyer, -670 pts., down three spots.
* Kurt Busch, -689 pts. and two wins, up five spots.
* Martin Truex, Jr., -689 pts. and one win, up four spots.
* Kevin Harvick, -694 pts., up one spot.

## Races

Drivers in italics did not qualify for the 2007 Chase.
| Date | Race | Track | 2006 winner | 2007 winner | Car |
| September 16 | Sylvania 300 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway Loudon, New Hampshire | Kevin Harvick | Clint Bowyer | CoT |
| September 23 | Dodge Dealers 400 | Dover International Speedway Dover, Delaware | Jeff Burton | Carl Edwards | CoT |
| September 30 | LifeLock 400 | Kansas Speedway Kansas City, Kansas | Tony Stewart≠ | Greg Biffle | S |
| October 7 | UAW Ford 500 | Talladega Superspeedway Talladega, Alabama | Brian Vickers≠ | Jeff Gordon | CoT |
| October 13 | Bank of America 500 | Lowe's Motor Speedway Concord, North Carolina | Kasey Kahne | Jeff Gordon | S |
| October 21 | Subway 500 | Martinsville Speedway Martinsville, Virginia | Jimmie Johnson | Jimmie Johnson | CoT |
| October 28 | Pep Boys Auto 500 | Atlanta Motor Speedway Hampton, Georgia | Tony Stewart≠ | Jimmie Johnson | S |
| November 4 | Dickies 500 | Texas Motor Speedway Justin, Texas | Tony Stewart≠ | Jimmie Johnson | S |
| November 11 | Checker Auto Parts 500 | Phoenix International Raceway Avondale, Arizona | Kevin Harvick | Jimmie Johnson | CoT |
| November 18 | Ford 400 | Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida | Greg Biffle≠ | Matt Kenseth | S |
KEY: S — Standard. CoT — Car of Tomorrow. ≠ — Did not qualify for 2006 Chase.

### Race results

(NOTE: Actual finish is in parentheses.)

#### Race 7 - 2007 Pep Boys Auto 500

NOTE: Drivers in Italics are mathematically eliminated from winning the championship.

#### Race 8 - 2007 Dickies 500

NOTES: 1. Drivers in Italics are mathematically eliminated from winning the championship. 2. Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart were mathematically eliminated when Jimmie Johnson started the 2007 Checker Auto Parts 500

#### Race 9 - 2007 Checker Auto Parts 500

NOTE: Drivers in italics are mathematically eliminated from winning the championship.

#### Race 10 - 2007 Ford 400

* - Kurt Busch finished one place ahead of Jeff Burton based on most wins (Two wins vs. one).

## Television

ABC carried the entire Chase for the Nextel Cup in 2007, marking the first time that the entire Chase was carried on network television. (In previous years, it had been on a combination of NBC and TNT.) The commentators for ABC were Jerry Punch and Rusty Wallace, who are joined by newcomer Andy Petree, a former team owner and Dale Earnhardt's crew chief in 1993 and 1994. The hosts were Brent Musburger (race) and Suzy Kolber (studio).