Horsepower Rankings
1. Jimmie Johnson - Did what he had to do at Homestead to wrap up the title: A smooth and steady seventh-place run more than enough for Team Lowe's to earn that second straight Cup.
2. Matt Kenseth - Talk about going out in style: Robbie Reiser and Kenseth's final run together nets a big win following four consecutive top-five runs.
3. Jeff Gordon - Can't blame Gordon for not showing up during the Chase. He averaged a fifth-place run and notched two wins. JJ's four wins were just impossible to top.
4. Martin Truex Jr. - Another solid Homestead run, Truex and crew finished sixth, his third straight run of seventh or better.
5. Kyle Busch - Got involved in someone else's mess at HMS and still earned a top 20. Rotten luck in the Chase kept him from recording more than six top 10s.
6. Kurt Busch - May have been the only person that had anything for Kenseth at HMS. Kurt ended the season on a four-race run that saw him average a 7.5-place finish.
7. Jeff Burton - Burton ended the year on an upswing as well. Not only did he win the Busch finale, he averaged a seventh-place run over the last six Cup races.
8. Greg Biffle - Expected a bit more out of Biffle at Homestead, but the 13th followed a runner-up finish at Phoenix.
9. Ryan Newman - A late spin ruined Ryan's day at Homestead. Otherwise, this team had turned in three top fives in four races.
10. Clint Bowyer - Engine woes knocked him a few notches this weekend, but kudos to an ultra-solid third-place points finish for this sophomore squad.
11. Casey Mears - Your best friend has back-to-back titles; a few pointers during the
offseason may be in your best interest, Casey.
12. Denny Hamlin - A strong third at Homestead a nice finish to an otherwise forgettable Chase.
13. Carl Edwards - Busch champ, ninth-place in the Cup standings on the strength of three wins; Edwards had a solid year for a third-year driver.
14. Jamie McMurray - Top 15 in two of the last three races, Jamie Mac and the boys need to prove themselves next season.
15. Mark Martin - In a part-time role, Martin amazed with 11 top 10s this year.
16. Juan Pablo Montoya - Congrats on the Rookie of the Year honor, JPM.
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Inside the Numbers
2: 2007 season wins for Matt Kenseth, winner of the Ford 400. He has 16 in his career.
4: Races won this season from the pole position. Jeff Gordon won two, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer each won one.
5: Consecutive top-five finishes for Kenseth. He landed in every spot (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) in the final five races.
5.1: Average finish for Gordon during the Chase. He won two races and had nine top 10s. Amazing that he didn’t win it all.
8: Chase drivers filled the first eight finishing spots at Homestead-Miami.
10: Victories for Johnson in the season of his second Championship.
20: Final points position for Juan Pablo Montoya, who won the Rookie of the Year Award. David Ragan was the award’s runner-up.
34: Lowest starting position to win a race this season — Kevin Harvick at the Daytona 500.
77: Points separating Johnson from Gordon in the final standings.
214: Laps out of the 267 at Miami that were led by Kenseth.
353: Points that would have separated champion Jeff Gordon from runner up Jimmie Johnson if NASCAR was still using the “classic” points system (Read: Before the creation of the Chase).
1,289: Laps led by Johnson this season out of 10,582 possible. Gordon led 1,300.
14,186: Miles traveled on the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit this season over the course of 36 races.
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Points Watch
2007 NASCAR Nextel Chase for the Championship Standings
Standings current as of Tuesday, Nov. 20
| Position |
Driver |
Points |
2007 Wins |
Homestead Finish |
| 1. |
Jimmie Johnson |
6723 |
10 |
7th |
| 2. |
Jeff Gordon |
6646 |
6 |
4th |
| 3. |
Clint Bowyer |
6377 |
1 |
39th |
| 4. |
Matt Kenseth |
6298 |
2 |
1st |
| 5. |
Kyle Busch |
6293 |
1 |
29th |
| 6. |
Tony Stewart |
6242 |
3 |
30th |
7.
|
Kurt Busch |
6231 |
2 |
2nd |
| 7. |
Jeff Burton |
6231 |
1 |
8th |
| 9. |
Carl Edwards |
6222 |
3 |
5th |
| 10. |
Kevin Harvick |
6199 |
1 |
19th |
| 11. |
Martin Truex Jr. |
6164 |
1 |
6th |
| 12. |
Denny Hamlin |
6143 |
1 |
3rd |
Back-to-Back Champ
Jimmie Johnson became only the 10th driver in NASCAR history to win back-to-back Cup championships after a seventh-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway gave him the title by 77 points over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jeff Gordon. Johnson finished the 2007 season with 10 wins, four poles, 20 top-fives and 24 top-10 finishes. He also won four consecutive races in the Chase to pull away from Gordon and secure the title.
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Jimmie Johnson Wins Second Consecutive Nextel Cup Title
HOMESTEAD, FLA. – Future generations of NASCAR historians and fans will marvel at the meteoric rise of Jimmie Johnson’s Nextel Cup career that climbed to another level of excellence here Sunday night when he earned his second consecutive NASCAR Nextel Cup championship.
The driver, who debuted on the day America went to war in Afghanistan in 2001, took just 219 races to enshrine himself with names like Petty, Earnhardt, Gordon, Allison and others among NASCAR royalty.
“I cannot put into words what I am feeling right now,” said Johnson, who finished seventh in Sunday’s race enabling him to beat teammate Jeff Gordon, who finished fourth, by 77 points in the 2007 “Chase for the Nextel Cup.”
Sunday’s race concluded a spectacular 2007 season that saw Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports team post 10 victories moving his career total to 33 and into a tie with Fireball Roberts for the 18th most victories.
“This trophy represents so much hard work by so many people and is the culmination of so many dreams of mine and others that’s its almost impossible to talk about,” said Johnson.
“There are so many people to thank. Rick Hendrick, Lowe’s, my teammates, the list is endless but I am very appreciative of all that people have done for me in this sport and in life.”
On Sunday, Johnson started from the pole and led the first lap but never contended for the victory or ventured outside the top 10. After the race, he admitted he was points racing to preserve his 89-point lead, but he doubted he could have ever caught race winner Matt Kenseth.
After the race, Johnson speculated he could have finished in the top three. He also said common sense took over late in the race.
“So the racer in me, I was trying to pass (Martin Truex’s) car on the last lap, and then I’m like what are you trying to do? Just stop. It’s tough to not go. But it was a balance of putting up a strong performance tonight and finishing the season up right.”
The seventh-place finish might have ended Johnson’s streak of four consecutive victories but it was good enough to secure a place in the record books.
“I love that we are going to be in record books,” Johnson said. I think our team, and Chad and I, we like to go out and let our stats speak for ourselves. That’s been my style and the way we’ve done things all along. We’ll leave the opinions to everyone else, and hope that our record speaks for itself. We’ll work hard, and do everything we can to win races and championships.”
Nobody expected Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports team to equal last season’s title that included five victories highlighted by wins at the Daytona 500, Talladega and the Brickyard 400. But 2007 turned out to be even better. His ten victories topped the most of any driver and his surge in the final third of the season included victories in six of the last 12 races.
In the “Chase” Johnson posted an average finish of 5.0 while Gordon’s was 5.1.
“It’s absolutely phenomenal,” said Crew Chief Chad Knaus. “I’m very proud and very pleased of what we were able to accomplish. And the 24 and 48 shop this year, it’s amazing what can happen when you have a group of 92 guys that are going out there and not so much racing against once another, but racing against the competition. That is really what this team did this year.”
Car owner Rick Hendrick knew one of his drivers would win the title and the other would finish second. But both deserved credit for the overall performance of the team.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “You dream about winning one of those, and doing it back-to-back, it’s really special. To have the two cars run like this all year it’s great. I think the most gratifying thing to me was during the race and after the race the way (Gordon’s) team handled it. I told them before the race that I was going to the guy that finished second first, and I did. And everybody just, they’re happy for each other, and it’s been a great night. “
With two trophies sitting in his trophy case the question now is will Johnson duplicate Cale Yarborough’s feat when he won three consecutive titles in 1976-78?
Johnson isn’t ready to rule it out.
“The good thing, I feel, is we’re just really hitting our stride. I think we have a lot of good years ahead of us, and we’ll be fighting for more championships and certainly winning more races as years go by. Hopefully we can be a three-time champion in the near future.”
Hendrick agreed.
“I just don’t see anything that is going to slow Jimmie down. He just gets better every time I see him get in the car”
But for now, Johnson has a second championship to celebrate and a fulfilled dream to enjoy.
“Since I was a kid, I just wanted to race. I wanted to be the best at racing. I didn’t know where it would lead me or what was in store for me or where it would go, but I loved to race,” Johnson said.
“And to be here racing on the main stage of NASCAR, and to have the success of the championships means the world to me. It is something I’m very, very proud of and thankful of as well. And thankful for the relationships and friendships that I have. I look forward to the future, a lot of good times ahead of us.”
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Montoya Named Rookie of the Year
CONCORD, N.C. (Nov. 19, 2007) – Juan Pablo Montoya, with the support of his Texaco/Havoline team, won the 2007 Raybestos Rookie of the Year (ROY) title after collecting one win, three top-fives and six top-10 finishes in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. Montoya became the fourth driver for his primary sponsor Texaco/Havoline to earn the prestigious honor, and second for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS).
“This season has been a great season for me and the Texaco/Havoline team,” said Montoya. “Earning the Raybestos Rookie of the Year title is an honor and it means a lot to me, my team and our sponsors. This title and our victory at Infineon are things to cheer about within the team and the organization. I think more importantly is how the performance of my team and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates elevated through the entire year. It gave me the opportunity to win this award.”
Texaco/Havoline, which just celebrated its 21st year in the sport as a primary sponsor, has adorned the firesuits of four rookie winners. Montoya joins Davey Allison (1987), Kenny Irwin, Jr. (1998) and Jamie McMurray (2003), who have carried the star to a rookie title. Montoya’s Crew Chief Donnie Wingo and his team have led their second rookie to the title in four years. Wingo, along with a majority of the Texaco/Havoline crew, worked with McMurray during his impressive rookie run in 2003. It is CGRFS’ second title in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series.
This is Montoya’s second rookie title for Team Owner Chip Ganassi – he captured the 1999 CART rookie title for Ganassi’s open-wheel team. That very season, at the age of 24, Montoya proceeded to set several CART Series records en route to claiming his first and Ganassi’s fourth-consecutive CART Championship. Montoya claimed a record breaking seven wins in his rookie season, including the most consecutive wins by a rookie (three) and the most laps led by a rookie (954).
“I think winning the Raybestos Rookie of the Year was a really nice ending to Juan’s season,” said Team Owner Chip Ganassi. “What he was able to accomplish this season in just his first in a stockcar was nothing short of phenomenal and the great thing is that he is only going to get better. Now I just can’t wait for 2008 to begin.”
Montoya will participate in several media events over the next two weeks to honor his rookie title. He will attend the Raybestos Rookie luncheon tomorrow at the Speedway Club at Lowe’s Motor Speedway from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and officially pull the yellow stripe from the bumper of his No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge. Montoya will then travel to New York when the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series invades the city next week. He will dine at the 21 Club from 1 to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 28, with Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson, and receive his official award at the NMPA (National Motorsports Press Association) Myers Bros. lunch at Cipriani’s on Thursday, Nov. 29, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Montoya joins an impressive list of drivers who have captured the Rookie of the Year title, and many who have gone on to win the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup title. In addition to the drivers from Texaco/Havoline’s history, Montoya joins Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth who were all past ROY winners. Montoya also becomes just the second driver in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup history born outside the United States to win rookie of the year. Canadian Earl Ross won the title in 1974.
About Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
With 13 wins already in 2007, including the company’s best stretch in history with six victories in 30 days, CGRFS continues to add to its tally of 89 trips to victory lane. Chip Ganassi created his own one-car IndyCar team in 1990 and established a partnership with a new sponsor, Target. Today, his teams include two IRL IndyCars, one Indy Pro Series car and along with Felix Sabates he has three cars in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, two entries in the NASCAR Busch Series and two Daytona Prototypes in the world of Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series racing. Ganassi’s IndyCar teams have amassed five Championships and 56 wins since 1994; his NASCAR teams have 12 wins and a Rookie-of-the-Year title; and the Grand American team has won two of the last three Rolex Series Daytona Prototype Championships and is the two-time defending Champions of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Chip Ganassi Racing operates out of state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis, Ind., and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Pa.
For more information log onto www.chipganassiracing.com
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