2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400

Race details
Race 3 of 36 in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
The 2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 program cover.
Date	March 11, 2007
Official name	10th Annual UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400
Location	North Las Vegas, Nevada, Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km)
Distance	267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.542 km)
Scheduled Distance	267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.542 km)
Average speed	128.183 miles per hour (206.291 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Kasey Kahne	Evernham Motorsports
Time	29.212
Most laps led
Driver	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Laps	111
Winner
No. 48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	FOX
Announcers	Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip
Radio in the United States
Radio	Motor Racing Network

The 2007 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 was the third stock car race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the 10th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 11, 2007, before an audience of 156,000 in North Las Vegas, Nevada at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent D-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 267 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson would manage to mount a late-race charge to the front, passing for the lead with 28 laps to go in the race to take his 24th career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.^[1][2] To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin would finish second and third, respectively.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a 1,200-acre (490 ha) complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

• (R) denotes rookie driver.

The first practice session was held on Friday, March 9, at 2:30 PM EST. The session would last for one hour and 30 minutes. Kasey Kahne, driving for Evernham Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.840 and an average speed of 180.965 miles per hour (291.235 km/h).^[3]

The second practice session was held on Saturday, March 10, at 12:00 PM EST. The session would last for 50 minutes. Clint Bowyer, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.219 and an average speed of 178.695 miles per hour (287.582 km/h).^[3]

The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, March 10, at 1:20 PM EST. The session would last for one hour. Clint Bowyer, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.385 and an average speed of 177.719 miles per hour (286.011 km/h).^[3]

Qualifying was held on Friday, March 9, at 6:10 PM EST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap. While positions 1-42 would be determined by qualifying speed, the top 35 teams in owner's points would be assured that they would earn a spot in the field if they had managed to make an effort to qualify. The remaining seven positions from positions 36-42 would be assigned to those drivers with the fastest qualifying speeds whose car owners are not among the top 35. The final starting position, position 43, can be utilized by a car owner whose driver is a current or past NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion who participated as a driver during the current of previous season and was entered in the event for that owner in that car prior to the entry deadline. In the case that iff there was more than one series champion vying for the position, it would be given to the most recent series champion. If the final provisional starting position is not filled by a current or past series champion, it will be assigned to the next eligible car owner according to qualifying results.^[3]

Kasey Kahne, driving for Evernham Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 29.212 and an average speed of 184.855 miles per hour (297.495 km/h).^[4]

Ten drivers would fail to qualify.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Mark Martin 495 1 2 Jeff Gordon 489 (-6) 1 3 Jeff Burton 453 (-42) 11 4 Jimmie Johnson 406 (–89) 6 5 Matt Kenseth 397 (–98) 2 6 Kevin Harvick 389 (–106) 2 7 Kyle Busch 382 (–113) 10 8 Denny Hamlin 374 (–121) 1 9 J. J. Yeley 365 (–130) 6 10 Elliott Sadler 342 (–153) 1 11 David Stremme 339 (–156) 1 12 David Gilliland 335 (–160) Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.