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2007 Sam's Town 250

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2007 Sam's Town 250
Race details[1]
Map of Speedway
Map of Speedway
Date October 27, 2007 (2007-10-27)
Official name 2007 Sam's Town 250
Location Memphis Motorsports Park in Millington, Tennessee
Course Short track
0.75 mi (1.20 km)
Distance 253 laps, 189.75 mi (305.373 km)
Scheduled Distance 250 laps, 187.5 mi (301.8 km)
Weather Clear
Average speed 62.487 mph (100.563 km/h)
Attendance 36,500
Pole position
Driver Wood Brothers Racing/JTG Racing
Time 22.901
Most laps led
Driver David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing
Laps 194
Winner
No. 99 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN2
Announcers Marty Reid, Rusty Wallace, Randy LaJoie

The 2007 Sam's Town 250 was a NASCAR Busch Series race held at Memphis Motorsports Park in Millington, Tennessee on October 27, 2007. The race was the 9th iteration of the event and the 32nd race of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series. The race also marked the Busch Series debut of that years' IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti and for Rolex Sports Car Series driver Colin Braun, both of whom were making their second career start in NASCAR. Australian Marcos Ambrose won the pole for the race but it was David Reutimann who dominated the whole race leading the most laps and won the race giving him his first Busch Series win. But this race was most remembered for a major wreckfest as the race almost set a record for most cautions in a race as the race saw a total of 25 cautions for 117 laps with the longest green flag run only being 19 laps. The race was one caution short of the all-time NASCAR record set by another Busch Series race at Hickory Motor Speedway in 1992 that had 26 cautions. The race still remains as the second most caution period race in all of NASCAR history ahead of the 2005 Coca-Cola 600.[2]

Background

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The Memphis International Raceway (more commonly known as MIR) was founded in 1986 by Ed Gatlin, who along with a group of investors, bought a 400-acre tract of land within the northeastern section of Shelby County, and built a drag strip with an adjacent road course, including a dirt track and a go-kart track.[3] The facility opened in 1987 with a drag strip and 1.8-mile (2.9 km) road course. It includes a 3/4-mile tri-oval short track, built in 1998, which once hosted the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series, as well as an ASA Late Model Series race. The 4,400-foot (1,340 m) drag strip hosts events such as International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) World Finals and Nitro Jam, Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA), HOT ROD Power Tour, Super Chevy Show, Fun Ford Series and Mega Mopar Action Series.

Entry List

[edit]
  • (R) denotes rookie driver
  • (i) denotes driver is ineligible for points
# Driver Team Make
0 Eric McClure D.D.L. Motorsports Chevrolet
01 Kertus Davis D.D.L. Motorsports Chevrolet
1 Sterling Marlin Phoenix Racing Ford
05 Brett Rowe Day Enterprise Racing Chevrolet
5 Landon Cassill Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
6 Auggie Vidovich Roush Racing Ford
7 Mike Wallace Phoenix Racing Chevrolet
9 Chase Miller Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge
10 Brent Sherman Braun Racing Toyota
11 Jason Keller CJM Racing Chevrolet
12 Marc Mitchell CJM Racing Chevrolet
14 Kyle Krisiloff (R) Carl A. Haas Motorsports Ford
16 Colin Braun Roush Racing Ford
18 Brad Coleman (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet
20 Casey Atwood Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet
21 Tim McCreadie Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
22 Mike Bliss Fitz Racing Dodge
25 Richard Johns Team Rensi Motorsports Ford
26 Kenny Wallace Roush Racing Ford
27 Brad Baker Baker Curb Racing Ford
28 Robert Richardson Jr. Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet
29 Scott Wimmer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
30 Stanton Barrett SKI Motorsports Chevrolet
33 Cale Gale Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet
35 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Team Rensi Motorsports Ford
36 Jeremy Clements McGill Motorsports Chevrolet
37 John Graham Baker Curb Racing Ford
38 Jason Leffler Braun Racing Toyota
40 Matt Carter Specialty Racing Ford
41 Bryan Clauson Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge
42 Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge
43 Bobby East (i) Baker Curb Racing Ford
44 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet
47 Kelly Bires Wood Brothers Racing/JTG Racing Ford
49 Brian Keselowski Whitney Motorsports Dodge
52 Chris Lawson Means Racing Ford
54 Carl Long Fridel-Carter Motorsports Dodge
56 Danny O'Quinn Jr. Mac Hill Motorsports Chevrolet
59 Marcos Ambrose (R) Wood Brothers Racing/JTG Racing Ford
60 Matt McCall Roush Racing Ford
64 Chase Austin Rusty Wallace Inc. Dodge
66 Steve Wallace Rusty Wallace Inc. Dodge
71 Ron Young RB1 Motorsports Chevrolet
72 D. J. Kennington MacDonald Motorsports Dodge
77 Brandon Miller Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet
88 Brad Keselowski (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet
89 Morgan Shepherd Faith Motorsports Dodge
90 Stephen Leicht Robert Yates Racing Ford
99 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota
Official Entry list

Qualifying

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Marcos Ambrose won the pole for the race with a time of 22.901 and a speed of 117.899.

Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 59 Marcos Ambrose (R) Wood Brothers/JTG Racing Ford 22.901 117.899
2 99 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 22.933 117.734
3 42 Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 23.013 117.325
4 38 Jason Leffler Braun Racing Toyota 23.063 117.071
5 11 Jason Keller CJM Racing Chevrolet 23.089 116.939
6 18 Brad Coleman (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 23.103 116.868
7 1 Sterling Marlin Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 23.118 116.792
8 43 Bobby East (i) Baker Curb Racing Ford 23.128 116.742
9 30 Stanton Barrett SKI Motorsports Chevrolet 23.143 116.666
10 20 J. J. Yeley** *** Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 23.156 116.600
11 7 Mike Wallace Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 23.157 116.595
12 29 Scott Wimmer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 23.163 116.565
13 66 Steve Wallace Rusty Wallace Inc. Dodge 23.185 116.455
14 26 Jamie McMurray** *** Roush Racing Ford 23.188 116.440
15 16 Colin Braun Roush Racing Ford 23.219 116.284
16 22 Mike Bliss Fitz Racing Dodge 23.236 116.199
17 47 Kelly Bires Wood Brothers/JTG Racing Ford 23.285 115.954
18 90 Stephen Leicht Robert Yates Racing Ford 23.313 115.815
19 33 Cale Gale Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet 23.319 115.785
20 5 Landon Cassill Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.329 115.736
21 72 D. J. Kennington MacDonald Motorsports Dodge 23.331 115.726
22 41 Bryan Clauson Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 23.339 115.686
23 35 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Team Rensi Motorsports Ford 23.346 115.652
24 25 Richard Johns Team Rensi Motorsports Ford 23.346 115.652
25 88 Brad Keselowski (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 23.390 115.434
26 6 David Ragan (R)** *** Roush Racing Ford 23.399 115.390
27 71 Ron Young RB1 Motorsports Chevrolet 23.408 115.345
28 77 Brandon Miller Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet 23.438 115.198
29 14 Kyle Krisiloff (R) Carl A. Haas Motorsports Ford 23.439 115.193
30 56 Danny O'Quinn Jr. Mac Hill Motorsports Chevrolet 23.451 115.134
31 40 Matt Carter Specialty Racing Ford 23.457 115.104
32 10 Brent Sherman Braun Racing Toyota 23.463 115.075
33 05 Brett Rowe Day Enterprise Racing Ford 23.482 114.982
34 0 Eric McClure D.D.L. Motorsports Chevrolet 23.509 114.850
35 27 Brad Baker Baker Curb Racing Ford 23.529 114.752
36 49 Brian Keselowski Whitney Motorsports Dodge 23.567 114.567
37 21 Tim McCreadie Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 23.645 114.189
38 9 Chase Miller Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge 23.730 113.780
39 60 Carl Edwards** *** Roush Racing Ford 23.823 113.336
40 36 Jeremy Clements* McGill Motorsports Chevrolet 23.963 112.674
41 37 John Graham* Baker Curb Racing Ford 24.198 111.579
42 28 Robert Richardson Jr.* Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet 24.544 110.007
43 64 Chase Austin Rusty Wallace Inc. Dodge 23.607 114.373
Failed to qualify, withdrew, or driver changes
44 01 Kertus Davis D.D.L. Motorsports Chevrolet 23.663 114.102
45 54 Carl Long Fridel-Carter Motorsports Dodge 23.686 113.991
46 89 Morgan Shepherd Faith Motorsports Dodge 23.737 113.746
47 12 Marc Mitchell CJM Racing Chevrolet 23.877 113.080
48 44 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet 23.897 112.985
49 52 Chris Lawson Means Racing Ford 24.344 110.910
DC 6 Auggie Vidovich Roush Racing Ford
DC 20 Casey Atwood Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet
DC 26 Kenny Wallace Roush Racing Ford
DC 60 Matt McCall Roush Racing Ford
Official Starting grid

* – Made the field via owners points

** – There were 4 different driver changes by Raceday as there were drivers qualifying the cars for the Cup Series drivers. Auggie Vidovich qualified for David Ragan, Casey Atwood qualified for J. J. Yeley, Kenny Wallace qualified for Jamie McMurray, and Matt McCall qualified for Carl Edwards. This was during the peak of the Buschwhacker era where Cup Series drivers would drive in the Busch Series and would ask for other drivers to qualify their Busch Series car while they tried to qualify the Cup Series race which would be the Pep Boys Auto 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

*** – J. J. Yeley, Jamie McMurray, David Ragan, and Carl Edwards all had to start at the rear of the field due to driver changes.

Race

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Outside pole sitter David Reutimann took the lead from pole sitter Marcos Ambrose and Reutimann led the first lap of the race. The first caution flew on lap 8 when D. J. Kennington spun down the frontstretch and ended up getting stuck in the wet infield grass after it rained the previous night. The race would restart on lap 16. But on the restart, the second caution would fly when Kyle Krisiloff, Robert Richardson Jr., and Bobby Hamilton Jr. crashed in turn 2. The race would restart on lap 21 with Reutimann continuing to lead. On lap 39, the third caution would fly when Bryan Clauson spun off of turn 4 after he got squeezed in by Richard Johns and then got bumped and spun by Jamie McMurray. David Reutimann won the race off of pit road but Ron Young did not pit and he led the field to the restart on lap 45. On the restart, David Reutimann immeadietly took the lead from Young. But, the fourth caution would fly on the same lap. Kyle Krisiloff bumped and ran into Robert Richardson Jr. in turn 2 which pushed Richardson up the track. Richardson didn't like that and decided to retaliate on the backstretch by hooking a dead left into Krisiloff and turning him into the outside wall right in front of the pack of cars. The race would restart on lap 52. But on the restart, the 5th caution would fly when Ron Young spun in turns 3 and 4 after he got bumped by Brad Coleman. The race would restart on lap 56 and got some green flag racing in, but not for long. The 6th caution would fly on lap 60 when John Graham spun down the frontstretch. The race would restart on lap 65 with Reutimann still leading. On the restart, Bobby East spun in turn 2 after getting bumped by Landon Cassill but no caution was thrown since he got back going again. On lap 74, the 7th caution would fly when Matt Carter spun in turn 4 after contact with Richard Johns. The race would restart on lap 79. On lap 80, the 8th caution would fly when Chase Austin spun in turns 1 and 2. The race would restart on lap 85. But on lap 86, the 9th caution would fly when Chase Austin crashed in turn 3. The race would restart on lap 90. On lap 93, the 10th caution would fly when Ron Young spun off of turn 2 after he made contact with Kelly Bires where he spun down and got T-boned in the drivers side door by Chase Miller. The race would restart on lap 99. On lap 100, the 11th caution would fly when Jeremy Clements crashed in turn 2 after contact with Brandon Miller. Clements was unhappy with Miller and showed his displeasure with him under caution when he door slammed him. Miller followed Clements to pit road where Clements cut off Miller and the two moved on. The race would restart on lap 104. But on the restart, the 12th caution would fly when Steve Wallace crashed in turn 3 after he got bumped by Brad Keselowski. The race would restart on lap 109. But on the restart, the 13th caution would fly when Landon Cassill spun in turns 1 and 2 after he got bumped by Jamie McMurray. The race would restart on lap 114 and got some green flag laps in. But once again, not for long. On lap 118, the 14th caution would fly when Brad Baker spun in turn 4 after he got turned by Tim McCreadie and collected Brad Coleman in the process. The caution was also the new season high for the Busch Series after it passed the 13 cautions from the fall Dover race that happened 3 races ago.

Final laps

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Sterling Marlin won the race off of pit road but 10 cars stayed out including Stephen Leicht and Leicht would lead the field to the restart on lap 125. On lap 129, the 15th caution would fly which would be the biggest crash on the day taking out 5 cars on the frontstretch. It started when Ron Young got turned by a car and spun down the infield grass. Sterling Marlin got bumped from behind and spun up to the outside wall and Brian Keselowski also got bumped and spun to the infield grass with Young. Carl Edwards attempted to navigate through the carnage but did not see Marlin stopped up high until the last second and ended up getting bumped from behind by Matt Carter in the process and ended up turning Edwards into Marlin and all three stopped up high. In comparison to the last two years of the race in 2005 and 2006, there were 15 cautions in both of those races. The 2005 race cautions happened in 254 laps while the 2006 race happened in 252 laps of the race, but this race had 15 in only 129 laps ran. The race was red flagged for a short bit for the wreck. The race would get back going again on lap 141. On lap 146, the track record for cautions was broken when the 16th flew when Kelly Bires spun in turn 2. Stephen Leicht pitted during the caution and handed the lead to rookie Marcos Ambrose and Ambrose led the field to the restart on lap 151. Eventually, the race would remain green for at least 10 laps for the first time since the race restarted on lap 65. On lap 161, an incident occurred when Richard Johns got sideways off of turn 4 and came down into Colin Braun and Brad Coleman. Coleman would cut a right front tire and hit the outside wall in turn 1. The 17th caution flew on the same lap. The caution was listed for debris which meant this would be the first and only non-incidental caution of the race. Marcos Ambrose pitted during the caution which would give the lead to Jason Keller and Keller led the field to the restart on lap 170. On lap 173, David Reutimann took the lead which would be only the 2nd and final lead change on track in the race. On lap 176, the 18th caution would fly when Mike Wallace spun off of turn 4 and had Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards both spin to avoid Wallace. The race would restart on lap 182. On lap 183, the 19th caution would fly when Bobby East spun in turn 4 after getting bumped by Steve Wallace. The race would restart on lap 189. On lap 191, the 20th caution would fly when Brandon Miller got dumped by Dario Franchitti in turn 3 and crashed hard into the outside wall. The race would restart on lap 199. With 51 laps to go on lap 200, the 21st caution would fly when John Graham and Dario Franchitti spun in turn 3. The race would restart with 46 laps to go. With 43 to go, the 22nd caution would fly when Tim McCreadie spun in turns 3 and 4. The race would restart with 39 laps to go. The restart would be the first green flag run to go over 5 laps since the race restarted on lap 151. But with 31 laps to go, the 23rd caution would fly when Bobby East and Colin Braun crashed in turn 4. The caution would pass the Cup Series' all-time record in cautions. The race would restart with 27 laps to go. The race got a green flag run in of over 10 laps before the 24th caution flew with 17 to go when Steve Wallace crashed in turn 3 after getting spun by Brian Keselowski. Wallace was unhappy with Keselowski and Wallace caught up to Keselowski during the caution and bumped him in the rear a few times before cutting him off on the entrance of pit road. The race would restart with 13 laps to go. The restart had another green flag run of over 10 laps. It looked like the race was going to come to an end. But with just a lap and a half to go, the 25th and final caution would fly when Brent Sherman spun off of turn 4. This meant that the race would get extended to a green-white-checkered finish for the 4th Memphis race in a row. On the restart, David Reutimann would pull away from second place and Reutimann would win the caution-filled race. The race would be Reutimann's first and only Busch Series win of his career. Mike Bliss, David Ragan, Marcos Ambrose, and Jason Leffler rounded out the top 5 while Scott Wimmer, Jamie McMurray, Jason Keller, Brad Keselowski, and Brian Keselowski rounded out the top 10.[4]

Aftermath

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The race featured a total of 25 cautions for a total of 117 laps which is nearly half the race was run under caution. The mark was one short of the all-time record that occurred in the 1992 Mountain Dew 500 at Hickory Motor Speedway when 26 cautions flew for 132 of the 300 laps ran in the race. The average speed of the race was only 62.487 mph compared to the 74.336 mph average from last years' race. NASCAR has not seen this many cautions since this race. The race still stands as the 2nd most cautioned period race in all of NASCAR history behind the 1992 Mountain Dew 500 and in front of the 2005 Coca-Cola 600.[5]

Race results

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Pos Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Run Laps Led Status Points
1 99 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 253 194 running 195
2 22 Mike Bliss Fitz Racing Dodge 253 1 running 175
3 6 David Ragan (R) Roush Racing Ford 253 0 running 165
4 59 Marcos Ambrose (R) Wood Brothers/JTG Racing Ford 253 20 running 165
5 38 Jason Leffler Braun Racing Toyota 253 0 running 155
6 29 Scott Wimmer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 253 0 running 150
7 26 Jamie McMurray Roush Racing Ford 253 0 running 146
8 11 Jason Keller CJM Racing Chevrolet 253 7 running 147
9 88 Brad Keselowski (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 253 0 running 138
10 49 Brian Keselowski Whitney Motorsports Dodge 253 0 running 134
11 20 J. J. Yeley Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 253 0 running 130
12 90 Stephen Leicht Robert Yates Racing Ford 253 27 running 132
13 7 Mike Wallace Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 253 0 running 124
14 47 Kelly Bires Wood Brothers/JTG Racing Ford 253 0 running 121
15 56 Danny O'Quinn Jr. Mac Hill Motorsports Chevrolet 253 0 running 118
16 21 Tim McCreadie Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 253 0 running 115
17 71 Ron Young[a] RB1 Motorsports Chevrolet 253 4 running 67
18 41 Bryan Clauson Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 253 0 running 109
19 30 Stanton Barrett SKI Motorsports Chevrolet 253 0 running 106
20 5 Landon Cassill Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 253 0 running 103
21 10 Brent Sherman Braun Racing Toyota 253 0 running 100
22 05 Brett Rowe Day Enterprise Racing Ford 253 0 running 97
23 25 Richard Johns Team Rensi Motorsports Ford 253 0 running 94
24 9 Chase Miller Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge 253 0 running 91
25 60 Carl Edwards Roush Racing Ford 253 0 running 88
26 1 Sterling Marlin Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 253 0 running 85
27 37 John Graham Baker Curb Racing Ford 253 0 running 82
28 0 Eric McClure D.D.L. Motorsports Chevrolet 253 0 running 79
29 33 Cale Gale Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet 252 0 running 76
30 16 Colin Braun Roush Racing Ford 252 0 running 73
31 28 Robert Richardson Jr. Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet 251 0 running 70
32 42 Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 250 0 running 67
33 18 Brad Coleman (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 240 0 running 64
34 27 Brad Baker Baker Curb Racing Ford 239 0 running 61
35 66 Steve Wallace Rusty Wallace Inc. Dodge 234 0 parked 58
36 43 Bobby East (i) Baker Curb Racing Ford 224 0 engine 0
37 77 Brandon Miller Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet 190 0 crash 52
38 35 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Team Rensi Motorsports Ford 190 0 running 49
39 40 Matt Carter Specialty Racing Ford 129 0 crash 46
40 36 Jeremy Clements McGill Motorsports Chevrolet 100 0 crash 43
41 64 Chase Austin Rusty Wallace Inc. Dodge 86 0 crash 40
42 14 Kyle Krisiloff (R) Carl A. Haas Motorsports Ford 47 0 parked 37
43 72 D. J. Kennington MacDonald Motorsports Dodge 44 0 handling 34
Official Race results

Notes

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  1. ^ Young was docked 50 driver points for illegal shock absorbers

References

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  1. ^ "2007 Sam's Town 250". Retrieved October 27, 2007.
  2. ^ "Reutimann wins Busch race". Retrieved October 28, 2007.
  3. ^ Wade, Kelly (2020-12-15). "Can't Help Falling In Love With Memphis International Raceway". WinLightNews.com. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  4. ^ "Reutimann wins Busch fender-bender fest at Memphis". Retrieved October 28, 2007.
  5. ^ "Busch Series Breakdown: 2007 Sam's Town 250 at Memphis". 27 October 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2007.


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