2007 Kroger 200 (IRP)
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Map of Speedway | |||
| Date | July 28, 2007 | ||
| Official name | 2007 Kroger 200 | ||
| Location | Indianapolis Raceway Park in Brownsburg, Indiana | ||
| Course | Short track | ||
| Course length | 0.686 miles (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
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.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver
Qualifying
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
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. 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. 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.
Final laps
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. 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. 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
| 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
- ↑ "2007 Kroger 200". Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2007.
- ↑ "NASCAR: Leffler wins Kroger 200". Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
- ↑ "Almirola sets Indianapolis Busch pole". Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2007.
- ↑ "Leffler takes Toyota's first Busch win". Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2007.