The 2007 Budweiser Shootout was uneventful as Tony Stewart had a firm command of the race when it mattered.
Qualifying
Budweiser Shootout drivers earn their way into the event by winning a pole during the previous season or being a past winner of this event. Twenty-one drivers qualified for the 2007 Budweiser Shootout including 15 pole winners from 2006 and 6 previous event winners.
The starting order is determined by a random draw and Dale Jarrett drew number one on Thursday to put his Toyota Camry on the pole for the event. Scott Riggs started alongside in second. Boris Said, Brian Vickers and Greg Biffle rounded out the top five lucky starters.
The First 20 Laps
The outside line made the early move and Scott Riggs lead the first lap. The lead changed hands over and over again throughout this twenty lap segment. Drivers were definitely racing, but there were no overly-aggressive moves in the early going.
At the end of the first segment the top five were neatly in line and there were no challenges for the lead. Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. lead the field into the ten minute intermission.
The Final 50 Lap Shootout
Just before the race returned to green for the final segment about half of the field pitted to top off the fuel tanks. Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson were among the drivers who were looking to gamble on running the full 50 laps without pitting.
A mystery caution set up a thirteen lap dash to the checkers. After an uneventful start to the Budweiser Shootout we finally had the makings of a race. With eight laps to go Tony Stewart got right up under leader Kyle Busch's back bumper and loosened him up just a little. Kyle had to save the car and went up the track allowing Tony to take over the lead.
Nobody was able to mount a serious challenge the rest of the way and Tony Stewart took the Budweiser Shootout win.
Top Ten
- Tony Stewart
- David Gilliland
- Kurt Busch
- Jimmie Johnson
- Kevin Harvick
- Mark Martin
- Kyle Busch
- Brian Vickers
- Jeff Burton
- Scott Riggs
Next Week
The Daytona 500 is up next Sunday afternoon. The Super Bowl of NASCAR, we begin the year with the biggest event of the season. 500 miles of restrictor plate racing guarantees many near misses and a close finish. The 2007 Championship battle begins next Sunday.
