# 2007 Aaron's 312

The 2007 Aaron's 312 was a NASCAR Busch Series race held at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama on April 28, 2007. The race was the 16th iteration of the event. It was also the 10th race of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series. Brad Coleman won the pole for the race becoming one of the youngest pole winners in Busch Series history while Casey Mears led the most laps. But it would be Bobby Labonte winning the race in a close finish with his former Cup Series teammate and his teammate at Kevin Harvick Inc. in Tony Stewart, beating Stewart by .052 seconds in a last lap pass. But the race was most remembered for when Kyle Busch suffered in one of the most wildest crashes in the history of the racetrack.

## Background

The track, Talladega Superspeedway, is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Daytona International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Michigan International Speedway. The standard track at the speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.66 miles (4.28 km) long. The track's turns are banked at thirty-three degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 16.5 degrees. The back stretch has a two-degree banking. Talladega Superspeedway can seat up to 143,231 people.

### Entry List

* (R) denotes rookie driver
| # | Driver | Team | Make |
| 0 | Eric McClure | D.D.L. Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 01 | Morgan Shepherd | D.D.L. Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 1 | J. J. Yeley | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Clint Bowyer | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Regan Smith | Ginn Racing | Chevrolet |
| 05 | Justin Ashburn | Day Enterprise Racing | Chevrolet |
| 5 | Kyle Busch | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 6 | David Ragan (R) | Roush Racing | Ford |
| 7 | Mike Wallace | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Inc. | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Kasey Kahne | Gillett Evernham Motorsports | Dodge |
| 10 | Dave Blaney | Braun Racing | Toyota |
| 11 | Martin Truex Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Inc. | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Kyle Krisiloff (R) | Carl A. Haas Motorsports | Ford |
| 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Racing | Ford |
| 17 | Danny O'Quinn Jr. | Roush Racing | Ford |
| 18 | Brad Coleman (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet |
| 20 | Aric Almirola | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet |
| 21 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 22 | Mike Bliss | Fitz Racing | Dodge |
| 24 | Casey Mears | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 25 | David Gilliland | Team Rensi Motorsports | Ford |
| 27 | Ward Burton | Brewco Motorsports | Ford |
| 28 | Robert Richardson Jr. | Jay Robinson Racing | Chevrolet |
| 29 | Scott Wimmer | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 33 | Tony Stewart | Kevin Harvick Inc. | Chevrolet |
| 35 | Bobby Hamilton Jr. | Team Rensi Motorsports | Ford |
| 36 | Brent Sherman | McGill Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 37 | Jamie McMurray | Brewco Motorsports | Ford |
| 38 | Jason Leffler | Braun Racing | Toyota |
| 41 | Reed Sorenson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge |
| 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge |
| 47 | Jon Wood | Wood Brothers Racing/JTG Racing | Ford |
| 52 | Donnie Neuenberger | Means Racing | Ford |
| 59 | Marcos Ambrose (R) | Wood Brothers Racing/JTG Racing | Ford |
| 60 | Carl Edwards | Roush Racing | Ford |
| 66 | Steve Wallace | Rusty Wallace Inc. | Dodge |
| 70 | Justin Diercks | ML Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 77 | Bobby Labonte | Kevin Harvick Inc. | Chevrolet |
| 88 | Shane Huffman | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 90 | Stephen Leicht | Robert Yates Racing | Ford |
| 99 | David Reutimann | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota |
| Official Entry list ||||

## Qualifying

Brad Coleman won the pole with a time of 51.959 and a speed of 184.299. Coleman became the third youngest pole winner in Busch Series history at 19 years old behind a pair of 18 year olds such as Joey Logano in 2008, Trevor Bayne in 2009, Chase Elliott in 2014, Ty Gibbs in 2021, and Sammy Smith in 2023 all of whom behind 17 year old Casey Atwood in 1998.
| Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 18 | Brad Coleman (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 51.959 | 184.299 |
| 2 | 10 | Dave Blaney | Braun Racing | Toyota | 52.026 | 184.062 |
| 3 | 38 | Jason Leffler | Braun Racing | Toyota | 52.062 | 183.935 |
| 4 | 24 | Casey Mears | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 52.131 | 183.691 |
| 5 | 27 | Ward Burton | Brewco Motorsports | Ford | 52.204 | 183.434 |
| 6 | 2 | Clint Bowyer | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 52.233 | 183.332 |
| 7 | 6 | David Ragan (R) | Roush Racing | Ford | 52.283 | 183.157 |
| 8 | 17 | Danny O'Quinn Jr. | Roush Racing | Ford | 52.284 | 183.154 |
| 9 | 60 | Carl Edwards | Roush Racing | Ford | 52.307 | 183.073 |
| 10 | 37 | Jamie McMurray | Brewco Motorsports | Ford | 52.325 | 183.010 |
| 11 | 4 | Regan Smith | Ginn Racing | Chevrolet | 52.336 | 182.972 |
| 12 | 5 | Kyle Busch | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 52.348 | 182.930 |
| 13 | 11 | Martin Truex Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Inc. | Chevrolet | 52.369 | 182.856 |
| 14 | 41 | Reed Sorenson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 52.392 | 182.776 |
| 15 | 99 | David Reutimann | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 52.402 | 182.741 |
| 16 | 25 | David Gilliland | Team Rensi Motorsports | Ford | 52.430 | 182.644 |
| 17 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Racing | Ford | 52.449 | 182.577 |
| 18 | 47 | Jon Wood | Wood Brothers/JTG Racing | Ford | 52.459 | 182.543 |
| 19 | 20 | Aric Almirola | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 52.464 | 182.525 |
| 20 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 52.497 | 182.410 |
| 21 | 29 | Scott Wimmer | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 52.505 | 182.383 |
| 22 | 35 | Bobby Hamilton Jr. | Team Rensi Motorsports | Ford | 52.509 | 182.369 |
| 23 | 14 | Kyle Krisiloff (R) | Carl A. Haas Motorsports | Ford | 52.539 | 182.265 |
| 24 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Gillett Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 52.551 | 182.223 |
| 25 | 21 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 52.566 | 182.171 |
| 26 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Inc. | Chevrolet | 52.585 | 182.105 |
| 27 | 90 | Stephen Leicht | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 52.628 | 181.956 |
| 28 | 66 | Steve Wallace | Rusty Wallace Inc. | Dodge | 52.658 | 181.853 |
| 29 | 70 | Justin Diercks | ML Motorsports | Chevrolet | 52.665 | 181.829 |
| 30 | 7 | Mike Wallace | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 52.673 | 181.801 |
| 31 | 22 | Mike Bliss* | Fitz Racing | Dodge | 52.748 | 181.542 |
| 32 | 59 | Marcos Ambrose (R) | Wood Brothers/JTG Racing | Ford | 52.798 | 181.371 |
| 33 | 1 | J. J. Yeley | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 52.844 | 181.213 |
| 34 | 36 | Brent Sherman | McGill Motorsports | Chevrolet | 52.900 | 181.021 |
| 35 | 77 | Bobby Labonte | Kevin Harvick Inc. | Chevrolet | 52.900 | 181.021 |
| 36 | 88 | Shane Huffman | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 52.999 | 180.683 |
| 37 | 33 | Tony Stewart | Dale Earnhardt Inc. | Chevrolet | 53.111 | 180.302 |
| 38 | 28 | Robert Richardson Jr. | Jay Robinson Racing | Chevrolet | 53.141 | 180.200 |
| 39 | 0 | Eric McClure | D.D.L. Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.450 | 179.158 |
| 40 | 01 | Morgan Shepherd | D.D.L. Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.557 | 178.800 |
| 41 | 05 | Justin Ashburn | Day Enterprise Racing | Chevrolet | 53.803 | 177.983 |
| 42 | 52 | Donnie Neuenberger | Means Racing | Ford | 54.576 | 175.462 |
| Official Starting grid |||||||

## Race

Pole sitter Brad Coleman led the first lap of the race. The first caution flew on lap 4 of the race when Jason Leffler hit the backstretch wall after getting hit from behind by Casey Mears. The race would restart on lap 8 of the race. On lap 9, Clint Bowyer tried to take the lead from Coleman but coming through the tri-oval, Bowyer tried to side draft when he made contact with Ward Burton and sent Burton spinning. Burton spun back up the track sending several other cars scattering around and spinning. Martin Truex Jr., Scott Wimmer, Marcos Ambrose, and David Reutimann all spun and crashed trying to avoid Burton bringing out the second caution of the race for the 6 car accident. The race would restart on lap 15. On the restart, David Ragan took the lead and Brad Coleman would fall very far in the back of the pack after no one else drafted behind Coleman. On lap 16, Juan Pablo Montoya took the lead. On lap 18, Casey Mears attempted to take the lead but failed to do so. On lap 19, Carl Edwards took the lead from Montoya. On lap 21, Casey Mears took the lead with a big push from Kyle Busch. On lap 23, Tony Stewart took the lead. On lap 25, Mears would take the lead back.
On lap 27, the biggest crash of the day would occur that involved one of the scariest crashes in the history of the track. Going down the backstretch, Kyle Busch attempted to slingshot his teammate Mears to take the lead on the outside. Tony Stewart went up to help Busch but Stewart hit Busch in the left rear causing Busch to turn left into the side of Mears which would spin his car around to the right. Busch's car had enough grip to flip his car upside down and hit the outside wall drivers side first upside down. Busch's car slid onto its roof all the way down to the turn 3 infield grass where the grass sent his car into violent sidewinder barrel rolls. Busch's car barrel rolled 7 times before it landed on its wheels. Busch would climb out of his car unharmed in a matter of seconds after it crashed. The force of the crash was so severe, it cracked Busch's HANS device in the process.
Some drivers pitted while others stayed out including Kasey Kahne and Kahne would lead the field back to the restart on lap 32. On lap 33, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the lead from Kahne. On lap 34, Aric Almirola took the lead but was immeadietly passed by David Gilliland. On lap 35, Clint Bowyer took the lead. On lap 38, David Reutimann took the lead. On lap 40, Carl Edwards took the lead. On lap 43, Clint Bowyer took the lead. On lap 44, Regan Smith's hood all of a sudden came up and blocked his view. On lap 47, Casey Mears took the lead. On lap 48, Mike Wallace took the lead. On lap 48, Kevin Harvick and J. J. Yeley both made it 3 wide for the lead but both were unable to pass Wallace for the lead. On lap 52, Mike's nephew Steve Wallace attempted to take the lead but couldn't get in front of him. On lap 53, Casey Mears took the lead. On lap 56, the fourth caution flew when David Gilliland spun down the frontstretch after contact with Tony Stewart and ended up hitting the turn 1 outside wall. Casey Mears won the race off of pit road and he led the field to the restart on lap 61. On the restart, Aric Almirola attempted to take the lead but failed to do so. On lap 64, Steve Wallace took the lead but Mears would take it back on the next lap.

### Final laps

With 50 laps to go, Greg Biffle took the lead. Mears took it back on the next lap. With 43 laps to go, Kevin Harvick took the lead with help from Dale Earnhardt Jr. but Junior passed Harvick and took the lead. Mears took it back on the next lap with 42 to go. With 36 to go, Juan Pablo Montoya took the lead. With 34 to go, Carl Edwards took the lead. With 33 to go, Kevin Harvick took the lead. With 32 to go, Aric Almirola took the lead. With 30 laps to go, Kevin Harvick took the lead. With 28 to go, the 5th caution would fly when Greg Biffle crashed into the outside wall in turn 3 where he would collect Jon Wood in the process. Kevin Harvick won the race off of pit road and he led the field to the restart with 23 laps to go. With 21 to go, Casey Mears took the lead. With 19 to go, Stephen Leicht attempted to take the lead but failed to get in front of Mears. Carl Edwards tried on the same lap but failed to do so. With 16 to go, the 6th caution would fly when Aric Almirola crashed in turn 4. The race would restart with 12 laps to go. With 8 laps to go, the 2nd multi car crash would occur on the backstretch taking out 7 cars. It started when Reed Sorenson pushed Steve Wallace at the wrong angle and turn Wallace down and collected Marcos Ambrose and Ambrose spun up and collected Sorenson, Kasey Kahne, Mike Bliss, Stephen Leicht, and David Reutimann. The wreck would cause a short red flag. The race would restart with 3 laps to go. But the caution would fly on the same lap for the 8th and final time for debris that came off of Kasey Kahne's car. The wreck would set up an attempt of a green-white-checkered finish. On the restart, Tony Stewart took the lead with a push from his teammate Bobby Labonte. On the last lap, Labonte stayed behind Stewart until they came through the tri-oval. Labonte pulled to Stewart's outside at just the perfect time and Labonte beat Stewart by .052 seconds and Stewart would finish in 2nd. Casey Mears, David Ragan, and Kyle Krisiloff rounded out the top 5 while Kevin Harvick, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ward Burton, Brad Coleman, and Carl Edwards rounded out the top 10.

## Race results

| Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps Run | Laps Led | Status | Points |
| 1 | 77 | Bobby Labonte | Kevin Harvick Inc. | Chevrolet | 120 | 2 | running | 190 |
| 2 | 33 | Tony Stewart | Kevin Harvick Inc. | Chevrolet | 120 | 3 | running | 175 |
| 3 | 24 | Casey Mears | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 120 | 52 | running | 175 |
| 4 | 6 | David Ragan (R) | Roush Racing | Ford | 120 | 1 | running | 165 |
| 5 | 14 | Kyle Krisiloff (R) | Carl A. Haas Motorsports | Ford | 120 | 0 | running | 155 |
| 6 | 21 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 120 | 8 | running | 155 |
| 7 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 120 | 5 | running | 151 |
| 8 | 27 | Ward Burton | Brewco Motorsports | Ford | 120 | 0 | running | 142 |
| 9 | 18 | Brad Coleman (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 120 | 14 | running | 143 |
| 10 | 60 | Carl Edwards | Roush Racing | Ford | 120 | 6 | running | 139 |
| 11 | 17 | Danny O'Quinn Jr. | Roush Racing | Ford | 120 | 0 | running | 130 |
| 12 | 35 | Bobby Hamilton Jr. | Team Rensi Motorsports | Ford | 120 | 1 | running | 132 |
| 13 | 2 | Clint Bowyer | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 120 | 7 | running | 129 |
| 14 | 22 | Mike Bliss | Fitz Racing | Dodge | 120 | 0 | running | 121 |
| 15 | 88 | Shane Huffman | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 120 | 0 | running | 118 |
| 16 | 36 | Brent Sherman | McGill Motorsports | Chevrolet | 120 | 1 | running | 120 |
| 17 | 1 | J. J. Yeley | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 120 | 0 | running | 112 |
| 18 | 0 | Eric McClure | D.D.L. Motorsports | Chevrolet | 120 | 1 | running | 114 |
| 19 | 28 | Robert Richardson Jr. | Jay Robinson Racing | Chevrolet | 120 | 0 | running | 106 |
| 20 | 20 | Aric Almirola | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 120 | 2 | running | 108 |
| 21 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Gillett Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 119 | 5 | running | 105 |
| 22 | 05 | Justin Ashburn | Day Enterprise Racing | Chevrolet | 118 | 0 | running | 97 |
| 23 | 4 | Regan Smith | Ginn Racing | Chevrolet | 116 | 0 | running | 94 |
| 24 | 99 | David Reutimann | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 110 | 2 | crash | 96 |
| 25 | 59 | Marcos Ambrose (R) | Wood Brothers/JTG Racing | Ford | 109 | 0 | crash | 88 |
| 26 | 66 | Steve Wallace | Rusty Wallace Inc. | Dodge | 109 | 1 | crash | 90 |
| 27 | 41 | Reed Sorenson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 109 | 0 | crash | 82 |
| 28 | 90 | Stephen Leicht | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 109 | 0 | crash | 79 |
| 29 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Inc. | Chevrolet | 94 | 2 | transmission | 81 |
| 30 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Racing | Ford | 89 | 1 | crash | 78 |
| 31 | 47 | Jon Wood | Wood Brothers/JTG Racing | Ford | 89 | 0 | crash | 70 |
| 32 | 10 | Dave Blaney | Braun Racing | Toyota | 87 | 0 | running | 67 |
| 33 | 7 | Mike Wallace | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 74 | 5 | engine | 69 |
| 34 | 29 | Scott Wimmer | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 71 | 0 | running | 61 |
| 35 | 38 | Jason Leffler | Braun Racing | Toyota | 71 | 0 | running | 58 |
| 36 | 37 | Jamie McMurray | Brewco Motorsports | Ford | 59 | 0 | overheating | 55 |
| 37 | 25 | David Gilliland | Team Rensi Motorsports | Ford | 55 | 1 | crash | 57 |
| 38 | 52 | Donnie Neuenberger | Means Racing | Ford | 34 | 0 | overheating | 49 |
| 39 | 5 | Kyle Busch | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 26 | 0 | crash | 46 |
| 40 | 70 | Justin Diercks | ML Motorsports | Chevrolet | 17 | 0 | overheating | 43 |
| 41 | 11 | Martin Truex Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Inc. | Chevrolet | 9 | 0 | crash | 40 |
| 42 | 01 | Morgan Shepherd | D.D.L. Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 | 0 | handling | 37 |
| Official Race results |||||||||