2007 NASCAR Cup Series Season (Fantasy)

2007 Rockwell Automation 400

Late News: Sierra Green DNQ's. She announces that she will be retiring effective immediately. Alan Prossi, Green Racing's Grand National driver will make several starts for the team later in the year. Katie Durhamm and Chip Ganassi have entered talks for a multi-year contract after an excellent season thus far from Durhamm and the #40 team. Alan Prossi will run one race for Frankie Parkins Racing as the team is liquidating.

Favorites: Kyle Rudd and Peter Hale are the only active winners here, so they will likely be fast. Alex Parker is on pole and looks to be rapid here, along with Dale Stremme Jr. - finally, the dark horse pick is Sarah Cooper. The #7 team has steadily worked it's way from nearly falling out of the 20 to within striking distance of the top 10.

DNQs
89 - Sierra Green



Lap 1: Alex Parker takes the green flag here at Milwaukee.

Lap 1: Lead Change: Dale Stremme Jr. (#12) passes Alex Parker on the initial restart for the lead. Kyle Rudd passes Parker as well.

Lap 7: Sarah Cooper has jumped up to 2nd place and is a second back of Dale Stremme Jr. for the lead. Meanwhile, Alex Parker has dropped to 13th already.

Lap 15: After falling to 15th on lap 3, Peter Hale has climbed all the way to 2nd place.

Lap 17: Lead Change: Stremme Jr., Hale, and Cooper all battle, but it's Sarah Cooper who takes the lead here at Milwaukee.

Lap 23: Lead Change: Peter Hale passes Sarah Cooper in a heated battle for the race lead. These two have been involved in several altercations through the years, but today will not be adding on to the list.



Lap 24: First Caution Flag of the night - Daisy Green gets spun by Stephanie Dillon (#3) coming out of turn 2.

Lap 28: Green Flag is back out - Hale leads from Cooper.



Lap 36: Caution is out - Lindsay Simmons gets dumped into the inside wall by Ty Majeski. Big damage for the #72.

Lap 42: Green Flag!

Lap 44: A slow Daisy Green has dropped Nate Beasley in the #84 from 9th to 21st on the restart.



Lap 44: A sizeable wreck has taken out a number of competitors - Chad Little Jr., Austin Bell, and Daisy Green (#88, #30, and #57 respectively) get together and Nick Rodriguez, Allison Coyne, Grant Dolson, Landon Amick, Ty Majeski, and Zoe Sharp all suffer damage. Zoe Sharp (#43) hits the barrels at the end of the pit road and bounces backwards.

Lap 50: Green Flag - 11 to go as Hale leads 'em down to turn 1.





Lap 50: And a massive crash! Landon Kaiser and Denny Jennings - 9 and 23 are both upside down. Steve Perry is caught up in it - Atkins, Davidson, Rachel Bowyer, Chad Little, Ross Evertson, Kyle Rudd, Jeb Warson and more are all involved in this pileup.

Lap 55: Green Flag. Let's see if we can finish off this race with a 6 lap green flag run.

Lap 58: Dale Stremme Jr. manages to steal 2nd from Sarah Cooper.



Lap 60: Out of turn 4, Peter Hale will walk away with his 3rd win of the year and his 21st career win! Dale Stremme Jr. finishes 2nd, Luis Suarez, Sarah Cooper and Chris England round out the top 5.

Results:


Thanks for tuning in. Points will be updated sometime in the next 48 hours. Next race: Nazareth(?)** **Nazareth in game has been very, very hard to simulate, plus injured 2 drivers last year (most notably Katie Durhamm), so a venue change may be set into order.

2007 NAPA AutoCare 400

News: Katie Durhamm and Chip Ganassi Racing sign a multi-year contract for Durhamm to stay in the #40 car. In addition, funding for the #40 team will be increased, hopefully leading to better results. Meanwhile, GoFAS Racing gets a small (very small) performance enhancement from Team Penske for being in an alliance. Rumor has it Furniture Row is looking for a new manufacturer. Ryan Garner will race here at Nazareth today in the #21 - his 3rd start of the year. Aaron Casanova will run in the #77 here for EagleOne.

Favorites: Last year, Chris England won this race. He is the only driver to ever win here at Nazareth. Alice Peters is on pole and looks to be a threat. It's hard to judge who else will be good, but generally, Alex Parker, Dale Stremme Jr, Peter Hale, and the other top guys are good bets. Dark horse is Alice Peters. Although she's been strong this year and has contended for wins, Peters hasn't won in nearly a year and a half, since 2005.

DNQs:
57 - Daisy Green

Overview
Race #: 20/36
Distance: 45 Laps
Polesitter: Alice Peters - Team: Richard Childress Racing



Lap 1: Alice Peters leads the field onto the front stretch to see the green flag.

Lap 3: Alice Peters leads from Dale Stremme Jr. - Kaitlyn Sauter who started 2nd has dropped to 6th.

Lap 9: Chris Burton in the #78 to 3rd, Sauter has dropped to 22nd now. Jeb Warson has climbed to 5th after starting 14th.

Lap 11: Lead Change: Dale Stremme Jr. passes Alice Peters for the lead.

Lap 19: The top 2 have reached lapped traffic.

Lap 24: Kyle Rudd has jumped into the top 10 and is now 9th.

Lap 30: Carson Atkins is now 4th, Rudd has jumped to 7th. Steve Perry has climbed from the 20's to 11th. The leaders pass Kevin Grant who started in the top 10 but has fallen to 36th, down a cylinder.

Lap 38: The top 2 are still only separated by 0.4 seconds. How will the ending to this race play out?



Lap 45: Off the final turn - Dale Stremme Jr. is going to do it - he'll win at Nazareth! It's his 2nd win on the calendar and his 18th overall. He passes Kyle Larson for 5th on the all time wins list.

Results:


Thanks for tuning in. Points will be updated shortly. Next Race: Watkins Glen

2007 Go Bowling at the Glen

News: The Ringers are back for Watkins Glen. Scott Gaines will take over Ganassi's #39. Edda Jonsdottir is in the #77 for EagleOne. Kevin Krass will run in the #14 for Hornaday Inc. Frankie Parkins sells her team to David Green, who will put Remi Arsenault in the #74 for a 2 race deal (Charlotte Roval being the other race). The new team is David Green Racing. James Davidson to the rear for engine change.

Favorites: Alex Parker won at COTA earlier this year, and starts on pole today. The polesitter has generally been good at the Glen. Marco Montoya will start up front too, and will be a factor. Scott Gaines, Chris England, and Grant Dolson all also start up in the top 10 and like road courses. Dark horse pick is Carson Atkins, who finished in the top 5 last week and looks to try to make the Chase in his rookie year.

DNQs
23 - Denny Jennings
57 - Daisy Green
83 - Ty Majeski
87 - Josh Berry

Overview
Race #: 21/36
Distance: 18 Laps
Polesitter: Alex Parker - Team: Hendrick Motorsports



Lap 1: Green Flag, Alex Parker will lead the field off into turn 1. Marco Montoya in the #42 and Chris England (#11) pass Dale Stremme Jr. for 2nd and 3rd.

Lap 3: Kevin Krass to the pits with brake issues.

Lap 5: Chris England passes Marco Montoya for 2nd. Montoya, Stremme Jr, Chris Burton, and Carson Atkins fight for 3rd.

Lap 6: Suarez passes Scott Gaines for 8th.

Lap 7: Zoe Sharp in the #43 pulls over to the side of the road and retires.

Lap 8: Sarah Cooper has passes Scott Gaines, Luis Suarez, and Chris Burton to now run in 6th.

Lap 10: Scott Gaines and Grant Dolson drop out of the top 10. Meanwhile, England is slowly reeling in Alex Parker.

Lap 12: Dale Stremme passes Marco Montoya for 3rd.

Lap 13: TriStar-Evernham teammates Carson Atkins and Sarah Cooper steal 4th and 5th from Montoya. England is 0.3 seconds behind Alex Parker for the lead.



Lap 16: Caution: Crash - Austin Bell and Allison Coyne (#30 and #60) get together and spin. Nick Rodriguez (#16) also gets some damage.



Lap 18: Caution flag remains for the rest of the race. Alex Parker is going to lead every lap and score the victory here at Watkins Glen - his 2nd of the year and his 28th career win overall. Chris England, the fastest car on track comes up 2nd - Dale Stremme Jr. holds off Carson Atkins and Sarah Cooper for 3rd, 4th, and 5th.

Results


Thanks for tuning in. Points will be updated later. Next Race: Kentucky

2007 Quaker State 400

News: Logan Wintergreen will run here at Kentucky in the #81 for Joe Gibbs Racing. He will be joined by fellow Grand National driver Sean Kroger making his second start in the series in the #21. David Green announces he will run a number of races in the #74 for the rest of the season as an owner driver. This will be his first start since Sonoma last year. Rumors flying about a new potential Toyota team.

Favorites: Chris Burton has 2 wins here and looks to make it a 3rd perhaps. He is still searching for his first win of the year. Kyle Rudd and Chris England both start near the front and haven't won here yet. Dark horse pick is Anna Kelley, who starts outside pole here today.

DNQs
57 - Daisy Green
83 - Ty Majeski

Overview
Race #: 22/36
Distance: 54 Laps
Polesitter: Chris England - Team: Joe Gibbs Racing



Lap 1: Green Flag - Chris England leads them into turn 1.



Lap 3: Caution: Peter Hale spins the #25 of Clint Johnson - he comes back across the track and hits Marco Montoya and Austin Bell (#42 and #30). Caution is out! Everyone else avoids the crash. Clint Johnson entered this race +32 ahead of the cutoff. His margin continues to shrink race after race.



Lap 3: More crashing down in turn 2 - Chase implications! David Green, trying to avoid the wreck hits Luis Suarez in the #19! Suarez, 1 point to the good, has significant damage.

Lap 8: Green Flag in the air! Lead Change: Alice Peters to the inside of Chris England! She'll take the lead here.



Lap 9: Caution: Chase bubble contenders keep getting knocked out. Chris Burton and Katie Durhamm - 13th and 14th in points crash. All 3 Ganassi cars are involved with Marco Montoya in the #42 and Kaitlyn Sauter in the #41 getting damage.

Lap 14: Green Flag - Alice Peters in the #31 leads the field.

Lap 19: Alex Parker passes 3 cars and moves up into 5th.

Lap 24: Kyle Rudd (#48) passes Chris England for 2nd.

Lap 31: Alice Peters and Kyle Rudd battle for the lead.



Lap 34: Caution: James Davidson turns Erin Keller in the #38 into the wall. The defending race winner is out.

Lap 37: Everyone comes into the pits. Peters leaves first, Alex Parker and Chris England follow. Disasters for Kyle Rudd and Nate Beasley - the teammates were both running in the top 5, but fall to 13th and 14th after stops.

Lap 40: Green Flag - Peters leads the way.

Lap 41: Lead Change: Alex Parker sneaks around Alice Peters for the lead. Peter Hale and Chris England are right behind them.



Lap 41: Caution! James Davidson pushes up into the #43 of Zoe Sharp and flips over.

Lap 46: Green Flag - 9 to go. Alex Parker trying to win back-to-back races.

Lap 51: Anna Kelley and Kyle Rudd pass Peter Hale for 4th and 5th.



Lap 54: Alex Parker is going to hold off a hard charging Chris England and Alice Peters to score his 3rd win of the year, and his 29th overall career win. Anna Kelley and Kyle Rudd round out the top 5.

Results:


Thanks for tuning in. Points will be updated shortly. Next Race: Michigan