2007 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 20 of 36 in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season | |||
Map of the basic speedway
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| Date | July 29, 2007 | ||
| Official name | Allstate 400 at the Brickyard | ||
| Location | Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km) |
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| Distance | 160 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures up to 86 °F (30 °C); wind speeds up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 117.379 miles per hour (188.903 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Chip Ganassi Racing | ||
| Time | 48.858 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 65 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Jerry Punch, Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett | ||
The 2007 Allstate 400 at The Brickyard, the 14th running of the event, was the twentieth race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and the first of the season that was televised by NASCAR on ESPN. It was held on July 29, 2007 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana.
Two Nextel Cup Series teams announced changes in their ownership just before this race:
For the second time since 2004, a winning driver uttered an obscenity in a live post-race interview when Stewart said "This one's for every one of those fans in the stands who pull for me every week and take all the bullshit from everybody else" to the ESPN reporter. At first, it was perceived to be in response to critics who have gone after his blunt and abrasive personality, but it has since been reported that Stewart was the subject of statements made by Pardon the Interruption co-hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon on the show that aired the day after Stewart's win at the USG Sheetrock 400. After Stewart joked about celebrating the victory by drinking a case of Schlitz beer, the co-hosts concluded that the driver was a bad role model for children. Whether the comments were a form of revenge against the network is open for interpretation.
On the Tuesday after the race, Stewart was fined US$25,000 by NASCAR, and lost 25 points in the driver's championship due to the infraction. His team, Joe Gibbs Racing, also was penalized 25 points in the owners' championship. However, his classification of fifth in the championship standings remained the same despite the penalty.Dale Earnhardt Jr., who said the word "shit" after winning the 2004 EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway had been given the same penalty that year.
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