Jump to content

2007 Kroger 200 (IRP)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2007 Kroger 200
Race details[1]
Map of Speedway
Map of Speedway
Date July 28, 2007 (2007-07-28)
Official name 2007 Kroger 200
Location Indianapolis Raceway Park in Brownsburg, Indiana
Course Short track
0.686 mi (1.104 km)
Distance 200 laps, 137.2 mi (220.801 km)
Weather Clear
Average speed 80.143 mph (128.978 km/h)
Attendance 40,000
Pole position
Driver Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 22.481
Most laps led
Driver Greg Biffle Roush Racing
Laps 94
Winner
No. 38 Jason Leffler Braun Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN2
Announcers Marty Reid, Randy LaJoie

The 2007 Kroger 200 was a NASCAR Busch Series race held at Indianapolis Raceway Park in Brownsburg, Indiana on July 28, 2007. The race was the 26th iteration of the event and the 22nd race of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series. Aric Almirola won the pole and led the 2nd most laps at 87 behind Greg Biffle who led the most laps at 94. But it was Jason Leffler who scored a historic upset victory giving the new first year manufacture Toyota its first ever NASCAR Busch Series victory.[2]

Background

[edit]

Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (formerly Indianapolis Raceway Park, O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, and Lucas Oil Raceway) is an auto racing facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of downtown Indianapolis. It includes a 0.686-mile (1.104 km) oval track, a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) road course (which has fallen into disrepair and is no longer used), and a 4,400-foot (1,300 m) drag strip which is among the premier drag racing venues in the world. The complex receives about 500,000 visitors annually.[citation needed]

Entry List

[edit]
  • (R) denotes rookie driver
# Driver Team Make
00 Mike Potter D.D.L. Motorsports Chevrolet
0 Eric McClure D.D.L Motorsports Chevrolet
01 Shelby Howard D.D.L. Motorsports Chevrolet
1 Kertus Davis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet
05 Brett Rowe Day Enterprise Racing Chevrolet
6 Erik Darnell Roush Racing Ford
7 Mike Wallace Phoenix Racing Chevrolet
08 Jason White Pennington Motorsports Dodge
9 Deac McCaskill Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge
10 Mike Bliss Braun Racing Toyota
14 Kyle Krisiloff (R) Carl A. Haas Motorsports Ford
16 Greg Biffle Roush Racing Ford
18 Brad Coleman (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet
19 Brian Keselowski Whitney Motorsports Dodge
20 Aric Almirola Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet
21 Tim McCreadie Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
22 Josh Wise Fitz Racing Dodge
24 Landon Cassill Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
25 Richard Johns Team Rensi Motorsports Ford
27 Jason Keller Brewco Motorsports Ford
28 Robert Richardson Jr. Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet
29 Brandon Miller Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
30 Danny O'Quinn Jr. SKI Motorsports Chevrolet
33 Cale Gale Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet
35 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Team Rensi Motorsports Ford
36 Brent Sherman McGill Motorsports Chevrolet
37 Bobby East Brewco Motorsports Ford
38 Jason Leffler Braun Racing Toyota
41 Scott Lagasse Jr. Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge
42 Kevin Hamlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge
44 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet
47 Kelly Bires Wood Brothers Racing/JTG Racing Ford
49 Derrike Cope Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet
52 Brad Teague Means Racing Ford
56 Frank Kreyer Mac Hill Motorsports Chevrolet
59 Marcos Ambrose (R) Wood Brothers Racing/JTG Racing Ford
60 Travis Kvapil Roush Racing Ford
66 Steve Wallace Rusty Wallace Inc. Dodge
72 D. J. Kennington MacDonald Motorsports Dodge
77 Ron Hornaday Jr. Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet
88 Brad Keselowski (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet
89 Morgan Shepherd Faith Motorsports Dodge
90 Stephen Leicht Robert Yates Racing Ford
99 Mark Green Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
Official Entry list

Qualifying

[edit]

Aric Almirola won the pole for the race with a time of 22.481 and a speed of 109.853.[3]

Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 20 Aric Almirola Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 22.481 109.853
2 6 David Ragan (R)** *** Roush Racing Ford 22.576 109.391
3 77 Ron Hornaday Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet 22.582 109.361
4 47 Kelly Bires Wood Brothers/JTG Racing Ford 22.641 109.076
5 38 Jason Leffler Braun Racing Toyota 22.726 108.668
6 99 David Reutimann** *** Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 22.745 108.578
7 90 Stephen Leicht Robert Yates Racing Ford 22.795 108.340
8 60 Carl Edwards** *** Roush Racing Ford 22.797 108.330
9 18 Brad Coleman (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 22.805 108.292
10 16 Greg Biffle Roush Racing Ford 22.815 108.245
11 01 Shelby Howard D.D.L. Motorsports Chevrolet 22.823 108.207
12 41 Scott Lagasse Jr. Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 22.834 108.155
13 27 Jason Keller Brewco Motorsports Ford 22.854 108.060
14 1 J. J. Yeley** *** Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 22.854 108.060
15 88 Brad Keselowski (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 22.868 107.994
16 29 Scott Wimmer** *** Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.873 107.970
17 21 Tim McCreadie Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.889 107.895
18 33 Cale Gale Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet 22.900 107.843
19 7 Mike Wallace Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 22.909 107.800
20 37 Bobby East Brewco Motorsports Ford 22.912 107.786
21 36 Brent Sherman McGill Motorsports Chevrolet 22.959 107.566
22 10 Mike Bliss Braun Racing Toyota 22.969 107.519
23 24 Landon Cassill Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.976 107.486
24 59 Marcos Ambrose (R) Wood Brothers/JTG Racing Ford 22.979 107.472
25 66 Steve Wallace Rusty Wallace Inc. Dodge 22.991 107.416
26 19 Brian Keselowski Whitney Motorsports Dodge 22.995 107.397
27 25 Richard Johns Team Rensi Motorsports Ford 23.007 107.341
28 35 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Team Rensi Motorsports Ford 23.015 107.304
29 22 Josh Wise Fitz Racing Dodge 23.037 107.201
30 42 Kevin Hamlin*** Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 23.053 107.127
31 30 Danny O'Quinn Jr. SKI Motorsports Chevrolet 23.081 106.997
32 14 Kyle Krisiloff (R) Carl A. Haas Motorsports Ford 23.178 106.549
33 89 Morgan Shepherd*** Faith Motorsports Dodge 23.272 106.119
34 72 D. J. Kennington MacDonald Motorsports Dodge 23.414 105.475
35 0 Eric McClure D.D.L. Motorsports Chevrolet 23.467 105.237
36 56 Frank Kreyer Mac Hill Motorsports Chevrolet 23.508 105.054
37 49 Derrike Cope Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet 23.529 104.960
38 05 Brett Rowe*** Day Enterprise Racing Chevrolet 23.729 104.075
39 52 Brad Teague Means Racing Ford 23.848 103.556
40 28 Robert Richardson Jr. Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet 23.858 103.512
41 44 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet 23.862 103.495
42 9 Deac McCaskill* Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge
43 08 Jason White Pennington Motorsports Dodge 23.864 103.486
Failed to qualify, withdrew, or driver changes
44 00 Mike Potter D.D.L. Motorsports Chevrolet 23.980 102.986
DC 1 Kertus Davis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet
DC 6 Erik Darnell Roush Racing Ford
DC 29 Brandon Miller Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
DC 60 Travis Kvapil Roush Racing Ford
DC 99 Mark Green Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
Official Starting grid

* – Made the field via owners points

** – There were 5 different driver changes by Raceday as there were drivers qualifying the cars for the Cup Series drivers. Kertus Davis qualified for J. J. Yeley, Erik Darnell qualified for David Ragan, Brandon Miller qualified for Scott Wimmer, Travis Kvapil qualified for Carl Edwards, and Mark Green qualified for David Reutimann. This was during the peak of the Buschwhacker era where Cup Series drivers would drive in the Busch Series and would ask for other drivers to qualify their Busch Series car while they tried to qualify the Cup Series race which would be the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

*** – David Ragan, David Reutimann, Carl Edwards, J. J. Yeley, Scott Wimmer, Kevin Hamlin, Morgan Shepherd, and Brett Rowe all had to go to the rear of the field. Ragan, Reutimann, Edwards, Yeley, and Wimmer all had driver changes, Hamlin had unapproved impound adjustment, Shepherd had an engine change, and Rowe missed the drivers meeting.

Race

[edit]

Pole sitter Aric Almirola led the first lap of the race. The first caution of the race flew on lap 14 when Landon Cassill crashed in turns 1 and 2 after he got spun by Steve Wallace. During the caution period, some drivers pitted.[citation needed] On pit road, a scary accident occurred. Ron Hornaday went in to pit and one of his tire carriers went out there but went a bit too far out and got clipped by the oncoming Richard Johns, whose stall was two ahead of Hornaday. The contact sent the crew member to flip onto his head while the tire landed on Johns' roof. Fortunately, the crew guy was not severely hurt. The race would restart on lap 19. On lap 44, the second caution would fly when David Ragan crashed in turn 4 after he got spun by Josh Wise. Bobby East and Ron Hornaday did not pit and East led the field to the restart on lap 51. On the restart, Hornaday took the lead from East.[citation needed] On lap 55, Aric Almirola took the lead. On lap 69, the third caution flew when Scott Lagasse Jr. came up in front of Brad Coleman down the frontstretch and Coleman hooked Lagasse and both went into the outside wall. The race would restart on lap 74. On lap 96, the 4th caution would fly when Brett Rowe blew a right front tire and hit the outside wall in turns 3 and 4. Greg Biffle won the race off of pit road but Deac McCaskill, Brian Keselowski, and D. J. Kennington did not pit and McCaskill led the field to the restart on lap 102. On the next lap, Greg Biffle would take the lead from McCaskill.[citation needed]

Final laps

[edit]

On lap 140, the 5th caution would fly when Richard Johns hit the outside wall in turns 1 and 2. The race would restart on lap 145.[citation needed] But on lap 146, the 6th caution would fly when Deac McCaskill crashed in turn 4 after getting spun by Landon Cassill. The race would restart with 51 laps to go. With 45 to go, the 7th caution flew when Deac McCaskill crashed again in almost the same spot as before. The race would restart with 37 laps to go. With 36 to go, Carl Edwards challenged his teammate Biffle for the lead. Biffle raced side by side with Edwards for a lot of laps and Edwards got the lead change with 33 to go but could not pass Biffle and ended up falling back to 4th after he got passed by David Reutimann and Jason Leffler with around 26 to go. It looked like Biffle was gonna hold off everyone and win after Reutimann and Leffler began to fight hard with each other for 2nd place.[citation needed] Leffler and Reutimann even made contact a few times before Leffler got passed Reutimann with 13 to go and Leffler began to close in on Biffle. It looked like it was going to be almost a photo finish between Biffle and Leffler. But with 9 to go, the 8th and final caution flew when Josh Wise spun down the frontstretch. The race would restart with 5 laps to go in the race. With 4 to go, Biffle's car slid high in turns 1 and 2 giving Leffler a shot to take the lead from him. Leffler fought hard with Biffle for the lead and with 3 to go, Leffler passed Biffle for the lead. Biffle tried to catch him but Leffler began to pull away and Jason Leffler won the race. This would the third and final time a non Cup Series driver won a Busch Series race in 2007. The win would make NASCAR history as it would be Leffler's second and final career Busch Series win, but it would also be Toyota's first ever Busch Series win as a manufacturer. Since this win, Toyota has won 196 races as of 2023, 91 of those wins coming from Kyle Busch from 2008 to 2022. Greg Biffle, David Reutimann, Carl Edwards, and Ron Hornaday rounded out the top 5 while Aric Almirola, Scott Wimmer, Kevin Hamlin, Mike Bliss, and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top 10.[4]

Race results

[edit]
Pos Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Run Laps Led Status Points
1 38 Jason Leffler Braun Racing Toyota 200 3 running 190
2 16 Greg Biffle Roush Racing Ford 200 94 running 180
3 99 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 200 0 running 165
4 60 Carl Edwards Roush Racing Ford 200 1 running 165
5 77 Ron Hornaday Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet 200 5 running 160
6 20 Aric Almirola Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 200 87 running 155
7 29 Scott Wimmer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 0 running 146
8 42 Kevin Hamlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 200 0 running 142
9 10 Mike Bliss Braun Racing Toyota 200 0 running 138
10 88 Brad Keselowski (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 running 134
11 27 Jason Keller Brewco Motorsports Ford 200 0 running 130
12 21 Tim McCreadie Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 0 running 127
13 35 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Team Rensi Motorsports Ford 200 0 running 124
14 33 Cale Gale Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet 200 0 running 121
15 25 Richard Johns Team Rensi Motorsports Ford 200 0 running 118
16 1 J. J. Yeley Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 200 0 running 115
17 66 Steve Wallace Rusty Wallace Inc. Dodge 200 0 running 112
18 6 David Ragan (R) Roush Racing Ford 200 0 running 109
19 22 Josh Wise Fitz Racing Dodge 200 0 running 106
20 7 Mike Wallace Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 200 0 running 103
21 14 Kyle Krisiloff (R) Carl A. Haas Motorsports Ford 200 0 running 100
22 30 Danny O'Quinn Jr. SKI Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 running 97
23 19 Brian Keselowski Whitney Motorsports Dodge 200 0 running 94
24 90 Stephen Leicht Robert Yates Racing Ford 200 0 running 91
25 72 D. J. Kennington MacDonald Motorsports Dodge 199 0 running 88
26 08 Jason White Pennington Motorsports Dodge 197 0 running 85
27 28 Robert Richardson Jr. Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet 196 0 running 82
28 56 Frank Kreyer Mac Hill Motorsports Chevrolet 195 0 running 79
29 0 Eric McClure D.D.L. Motorsports Chevrolet 193 0 running 76
30 24 Landon Cassill Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 192 0 running 73
31 18 Brad Coleman (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 190 0 running 70
32 59 Marcos Ambrose (R) Wood Brothers/JTG Racing Ford 174 0 running 67
33 36 Brent Sherman McGill Motorsports Chevrolet 170 0 running 64
34 41 Scott Lagasse Jr. Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 160 0 running 61
35 9 Deac McCaskill Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge 153 5 crash 63
36 01 Shelby Howard D.D.L. Motorsports Chevrolet 143 0 suspension 55
37 05 Brett Rowe Day Enterprise Motorsports Chevrolet 94 0 suspension 52
38 47 Kelly Bires Wood Brothers/JTG Racing Ford 82 1 engine 54
39 37 Bobby East Brewco Motorsports Ford 74 4 crash 51
40 89 Morgan Shepherd Faith Motorsports Dodge 34 0 engine 43
41 49 Derrike Cope Jay Robinson Racing Dodge 30 0 overheating 40
42 52 Brad Teague Means Racing Ford 23 0 transmission 37
43 44 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet 6 0 brakes 34
Official Race results

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2007 Kroger 200". Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2007.
  2. ^ "NASCAR: Leffler wins Kroger 200". Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
  3. ^ "Almirola sets Indianapolis Busch pole". Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2007.
  4. ^ "Leffler takes Toyota's first Busch win". Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2007.


Previous race:
2007 Gateway 250
NASCAR Busch Series
2007 season
Next race:
2007 NAPA Auto Parts 200