2007 NASCAR Cup Series Season (Fantasy)

2007 Emerson 500

Late News: Alex Parker and Clint Johnson will swap crews for the next few weeks. So will Kyle Rudd and Nate Beasley. This is Hendrick's way of trying to get the #84 of Beasley into the Chase, and keep Clint Johnson in the #25 in the Chase. Chris Burton, driving the #78 for Furniture Row announces he will no longer be a Joe Gibbs Racing affiliated driver after 2007. Furniture Row has not made any statements on the matter. Tony Irwin Jr. will make his 4th attempt here at Gateway for TriStar-Evernham Motorsports. Zander Nunez announces he will be in the #77 EagleOne machine at Richmond next weekend.

Favorites: Passing has known to be hard here, so Clint Johnson, on pole, will have a great shot at the win - especially with Alex Parker's old crew. Nate Beasley and Carson Atkins also start in the top 5, and are desperate to make the Chase. Dale Stremme Jr. is also a solid pick to win. Dark horse pick is Marco Montoya. The #42 has done well at Gateway, generally, and was top 5 in practice.

DNQs
83 - Ty Majeski (4 Race DNQ Streak)

Overview
Race #: 24/36
Distance: 50 Laps
Polesitter: Clint Johnson - Team: Hendrick Motorsports



Lap 1: Green - Clint Johnson leads the field down to the turn.

Lap 6: Dale Stremme Jr. (#12) has jumped to 2nd. Kaitlyn Sauter has fallen out of the top 10 after starting 6th.

Lap 11: Andy Houston and Chad Little Jr. (#2 and #88) are in a big battle for 19th and 20th. Nate Beasley and Sarah Cooper jump one position each to 3rd and 5th respectively.

Lap 14: Sarah Cooper (#7) passes her teammate, Carson Atkins for 4th.

Lap 21: Alex Parker (#5), jumps into the top 5, passing Atkins.

Lap 25: Katie Durhamm (#40), passes Hannah Tanner (#24) for 8th.



Lap 28: Caution: A multi-car wreck here, Chad Little Jr. (#88) and Landon Kaiser (#9) crash hard. Ross Evertson (#34) has major damage, and joins Chad Little Jr. in the garage. Stephanie Dillon in the #3 has damage and will pit, but continues on.

Lap 33: Green Flag! Clint Johnson and Dale Stremme Jr. still lead the field.

Lap 35: A great start for Alex Parker, who jumps into 3rd place after that restart.

Lap 43: Katie Durhamm jumps into 5th, passing Sarah Cooper. Jeb Warson has climbed to 9th.

Lap 48: Andy Houston jumps to 10th. Houston was running in 5th here earlier this year before retiring from the race.



Lap 50: It's been flag to flag domination for Clint Johnson. He wins the Emerson 500, scoring his 10th career win. Dale Stremme Jr. and Alex Parker are 2nd and 3rd, and Nate Beasley holds off Katie Durhamm for 4th and 5th.

Results:


Thanks for tuning in. Points will be updated shortly. Next race: Richmond

2007 Chevy Rock n' Roll 400

News: Zander Nunez will race the #77 here today. The #25 and #5 will re-trade crews. Ryan Garner will race here at Richmond. He has stated that he will only be making one, maybe two starts at most after this race for the rest of the year.

Favorites: Hannah Tanner in the #24 finished this race back in February in 2nd, and is on pole today. She'll be fast. Peter Hale has 2 wins at the track, and Alex Parker has 4. They both will be contenders for sure. Dark horse pick is Landon Kaiser in the #9. Kaiser has gone on hot streaks whenever he scores a top 10 this season, and he looks like he could be in the middle of another one here today.

DNQs
23 - Denny Jennings

Overview
Race #: 25/36
Distance: 80 Laps
Polesitter: Hannah Tanner - Team: Hendrick Motorsports



Lap 1: Green flag - Hannah Tanner and Marco Montoya (#24 and #42), lead them into turn 1.

Lap 2: Lead Change: Marco Montoya leads lap 1 by a few inches.

Lap 3: Lead Change: Hannah Tanner edges Montoya out - the two are still side by side for the lead.

Lap 9: Top 2 of Tanner and now Peter Hale (#20) have pulled away from the rest of the pack.



Lap 16: Caution: Carson Atkins, 4 points out of the Chase currently has crashed! Major damage to the #98 car. Erin Keller (#38) and Ty Majeski (#83) also have damage.



Lap 16: And more cars spun, avoiding the crash! Two more Chase bubble drivers are in it - Luis Suarez (#19) and Nate Beasley (#84) get turned! 3 of the 5 Chase Bubble drivers involved in this first caution of the race.

Lap 21: Green Flag - Hannah Tanner leads. Carson Atkins rejoins the race 1 lap down in 42nd. Beasley and Suarez are in 33rd and 38th respectively. Also, Chris Burton (#78), is down a cylinder, outside the top 35. If Burton misses the Chase, it will be the first time he has ever missed the Chase in his career. He is 16th in points currently.



Lap 21: Caution: OH NO! Sarah Cooper in the #7 gets hooked by Kaitlyn Sauter and hits the inside safer barrier wall. Cooper was 9th in points, +17 to the good entering this race, and had a chance to capitalize on others mistakes', but now, she will drop back to 41st, and behind Katie Durhamm for the final transfer spot.

Lap 27: Green Flag - Hannah Tanner still leads. Katie Durhamm is now the only Chase Bubble driver within the top 30. What a lucky day for that #40 team.

Lap 37: Top 6 have broken away - Alex Parker (#5) jumps on Chad Little Jr. (#88) for 3rd.

Lap 45: Parker tries twice to get around Peter Hale for 2nd but fails both times.

Lap 50: Lead Change: Peter Hale slips by Hannah Tanner for the race lead.

Lap 51: The lapped car of Carson Atkins boxes Hannah Tanner in, allowing for Parker to get by for 2nd.

Lap 56: Lead Change: Alex Parker edges Peter Hale to the line.

Lap 59: Lead Change: Peter Hale and Alex Parker continue to battle for the lead, with Hale clearing Parker.

Lap 64: Dale Stremme Jr. passes Landon Kaiser for 5th.

Lap 70: Hale and Parker are pulling away, but are going to be running into lapped cars soon.

Lap 74: Lead Change: Just under 7 to go - Alex Parker pins Peter Hale behind Brian Silvia in the #55 to take the lead.



Lap 80: Checkered Flag in the air - Alex Parker will hold off Hale and Tanner to score win #4 on the year, and his 30th career win. Chad Little Jr. finishes 4th, while points leader Dale Stremme Jr. rounds out the top 5.

Results:


Thanks for tuning in. Points will be updated soon. Next race: Indianapolis (Regular Season Finale)

2007 Brickyard 400

Late News: Silly Season has officially started. #1) Nicole Sadler, who made 11 starts for Ganassi in 2006 will return to Ganassi in 2008 to pilot the #41. It's a 1 year contract. Also, Richard Petty Enterprises announces they will return back to Chevrolet for the 2008 season. Petty also has talked about running 2 cars for next year potentially. Aaron Casanova will make his 3rd career start here at Indianapolis. David Green confirms that Remi Arsenault will drive the Charlotte Roval in the #74 later in the Chase.


In other news, the Chase will be set after this race. Top 10 + 2 Wild Cards will be reset to 2000 points. Top 10 get bonus points of 15 down to 10-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Wins are an extra 5 bonus points, Wild Card drivers will start with 0 Chase points.


Favorites: Landon Kaiser starts on pole here. He won at Indy in 2005 and is looking for career win #3. Alex Parker starts 3rd and has 3 wins in the last 5 races. The #5 car has 4 wins in the last 5 starts, including Clint Johnson's win at Gateway. Parker and his team are really heating up as the Chase begins. Other notables to watch for are Kyle Rudd and Dale Stremme Jr. - Stremme Jr. looking to beat Peter Hale out for the regular season championship. Dark horse pick is Katie Durhamm and Luis Suarez. Those 2 are outside the Chase bubble and start close to the front. A good run by them will put them into the Chase.

DNQs
87 - Josh Berry

Overview
Race #: 26/36
Distance: 32 Laps
Polesitter: Landon Kaiser - Team: TriStar-Evernham Motorsports



Lap 1: Green Flag - Kaiser leads Luis Suarez and Alex Parker into turn 1. Parker makes it 3 wide immediately.

Lap 2: Lead Change: Alex Parker is out in front.

Lap 5: Peter Hale - running 2nd in points, passes point leader Dale Stremme Jr. for 2nd. Kaiser has fallen to 4th. Top 3 in points are in the top 3 in the race.

Lap 8: Marco Montoya gets stuck on the high lane and drops from 4th - 12th in one lap.



Lap 10: Caution: It's the big one - Hannah Tanner gets turned by Grant Dolson and James Davidson (#10), Andy Houston (#2), Allison Coyne (#60), Nick Rodriguez (#16), Austin Bell (#30), among others are all collected.

Lap 16: Green Flag - Alex Parker leads. Drivers out include: Andy Houston (Wild Card spot holder), Hannah Tanner (Locked into Chase), Rachel Bowyer (#4), Nick Rodriguez, Stephanie Dillon (#3), Daisy Green (#57), and Allison Coyne.

Lap 23: Chase Outlook - Sarah Cooper would be in by +5 over Katie Durhamm (#40) and Luis Suarez (#19). Should Suarez win, he will jump to 10th in points and knock both Durhamm and Cooper out.

Lap 25: Peter Hale lets his teammate, Luis Suarez by to race for a win and a Chase spot.

Lap 29: Gap has closed to -0.15 seconds. Suarez's season on the line here.

Lap 31: Top 2 fighting hard. Ty Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing enacted team orders to let the #19 by the #20 and it might pay off here if he can win.



Lap 32: Checkered flag is waving - coming to the line, and it'll be Parker, denying Suarez a Chase spot, and winning the race. Hale comes home 3rd, Kyle Rudd is 4th, and Jeb Warson finishes 5th.

Results:


Thanks for tuning in. Points will be uploaded soon. Next Race: Darlington

2007 Southern 500

Late News: Zoe Sharp signs a 1 year contract extension with Richard Petty Enterprises to stay in the #43. Ross Evertson, driving the #34 for Front Row Racing will sign a 2 year extension through 2009. Front Row Racing itself will buy engines from Chad Little Incorporated for the next 2 years as well. Meanwhile, Logan Wintergreen, a Furniture Row Racing driver, announces he won't be racing at Joe Gibbs Racing after this year. This further confirms that Furniture Row will be switching manufacturer's after 2007. Blake McCready will run the #80 for Joe Gibbs Racing here at Darlington. Aaron Casanova will also make his 4th career start in the #77 here.

Favorites: Luis Suarez won this race last year, as is on pole here. Alex Parker's crew has 5 wins in the last 6 races - they are on a hot streak, and Parker himself has 4 wins in that stretch - they will be favorites. Kyle Rudd and Jeb Warson have historically run well here. Dark horse pick is Landon Kaiser, who has been heating up as the Chase goes on. He'll be on pace for a potential win here.

DNQs
83 - Ty Majeski

Overview
Race #: 27/36
Distance: 74 Laps
Polesitter: Luis Suarez - Team: Joe Gibbs Racing



Lap 1: Green Flag - Suarez is off into turn 1.



Lap 2: Caution: Zoe Sharp (#43) scrapes the wall and spins into Grant Dolson (#47), David Green (#74), and Landon Amick (#32).

Lap 4: Lead Change/Pitting: Cars pitting for fuel - about 8-10 cars stay out, 30-35 or so come in including: Top 2 (Suarez, Kaiser), Warson, Alice Peters, Clint Johnson, Marco Montoya, Andy Houston, Kyle Rudd, among others.

Lap 7: Green Flag - new top 5 is Alex Parker in first, then Chris England, Chris Burton, Katie Durhamm, and Steve Perry.

Lap 16: Lead Change: Chris England (#11) takes the lead over from Alex Parker (#5).



Lap 23: Caution: David Green's (#74) engine blows up down the back stretch. He retires from the race.

Lap 25: Lead Change: About 15 more cars come to pit - most of the guys who stayed out on the first caution come in, as well as Kyle Rudd, Nate Beasley, Carson Atkins, Chad Little Jr. and some guys struggling with handling. Landon Kaiser in the #9 is the new leader now.

Lap 29: Green Flag: Top 3 are Kaiser, Jeb Warson (#22), and Ross Evertson (#34). Guys on new tires starting 23rd and back with Chris Burton in the #78 leading the charge.

Lap 35: Top 14 all single file and near each other.



Lap 39: Caution: Alex Parker, the points leader has crashed! Marco Montoya (#42) and him got hooked together and Parker was turned hard. He will retire from the race.

Lap 44: Green Flag is out.

Lap 48: Ross Evertson for Front Row Racing is in 2nd position. Front Row has been impressing as of late with their new engines from Chad Little Inc.

Lap 55: The cars who pitted 2 cautions ago have only climbed back up to the 14th with Carson Atkins leading that pack.

Lap 58: Anna Kelley passes Jeb Warson for 3rd.

Lap 59: Drivers up front being told to stretch their fuel out - they are all about 1-4 laps shy.

Lap 66: Leaders are saving fuel, that has allowed for the cars with newer tires to climb into the back half of the top 10, with Beasley in 8th leading the group.

Lap 69: Will the fuel hold up? Kaiser, Clint Johnson, and Dale Stremme Jr. are all hoping for it to hold up.

Lap 70: Kevin Grant in the #27 is the first to come in.

Lap 71: Lead Change: And the leader is in! Kaiser comes in for fuel. Luis Suarez, running 8th is in as well. Clint Johnson (#25) has taken point with 4 laps to go.

Lap 72: Alice Peters, Allison Coyne, Grant Dolson and others come in.



Lap 73: Caution: Kevin Grant (#27) turns Rachel Bowyer in the #4. Caution is out - race is over.



Lap 74: The fuel will hold out - Clint Johnson holds on for his second win of the year and 11th overall win. Dale Stremme Jr., Anna Kelley, Andy Houston, and Nate Beasley are the top 5.

Results:


Thanks for tuning in. Points will be updated later today. Next Race: Homestead-Miami