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Pepsi 400 Preview

Jul 7, 2007 - 11:07 AM

July 7, 2007
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida
Race 18 of 36 on the Nextel Cup circuit

TV: TNT, 8 p.m. EDT

Laps: 160
Track Length: 2 1/2 miles 
Race Length: 400 miles

Qualifying Record: Bill Elliott, Ford, 210.364 mph, 1987
Race Record: Bobby Allison, Mercury, 173.473 mph, 1980


DRIVERS TO WATCH
----------------

Jeff Burton
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 31 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2007 Earnings: $3,472,190

Finished seventh last Sunday at New Hampshire but fell one spot
to fifth in the standings; ran third at Sonoma to end a slide of
four consecutive finishes outside the top 10; trails series
points leader Jeff Gordon by 383 points; has six top-five
finishes and nine top-10s this season; captured his first
victory of the season at Texas; ran 15th in this race but
finished third in the season-opening Daytona 500 at this track.

Jeff Gordon
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2007 Earnings: $3,837,963

Thrived in his first race without suspended crew chief Steve
Letarte, finishing second last week at New Hampshire and nearly
catching race winner Denny Hamlin; still owns a comfortable
156-point cushion atop the series standings despite being docked
100 points last week for failing post-qualifying inspections at
Sonoma, where he ran seventh; has four checkered flags this
season and 79 career, just four shy of tying Cale Yarborough for
fifth place all-time; reached a landmark milestone at
Talladega, recording his 77th career victory to pass the late
Dale Earnhardt for sixth all-time; has completely dominated the
circuit this season and is on pace to capture his fifth career
title, leading the series in poles (6), top-five finishes (11)
and top-10s (15); crashed in this event last season en route to
a 40th-place finish; a three-time winner of this event and a
six-time winner at this track, he ran 10th in this year's
Daytona 500.

Denny Hamlin
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 11 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2007 Earnings: $2,687,135

Benefited from a late pit gamble at New Hampshire to win his
first race of the season and third career; pulled within 156
points of Gordon and owns a comfortable cushion for second place
in the standings; has avoided the sophomore slump by finishing
out of the top-10 just three times in the past 13 races; has
seven top-five finishes and 11 top-10s this season; finished
second at Darlington and has four third-place finishes at Las
Vegas, Martinsville, Phoenix and Richmond; finished 17th in this
event last season.

Jimmie Johnson
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 48 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2007 Earnings: $3,670,737

Like teammate Jeff Gordon, Johnson responded well to his first
race without suspended crew chief Chad Knaus, running fifth last
week at New Hampshire; climbed one spot to fourth in the
standings but still trails Gordon by 381 points; has posted
victories this season at Las Vegas, Atlanta, Martinsville and
Richmond; despite collecting nine top-five finishes, has been
hurt by three finishes outside the top 35; struggled to 32nd
place in this event last season.

Matt Kenseth
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 17 Ford Fusion
2007 Earnings: $3,207,390

Rebounded from recent struggles to finish ninth at New
Hampshire; ran 34th and 42nd, respectively, over the previous
two races but still is third in the standings, 365 points behind
Gordon; captured his only victory of the season in the
campaign's second race at California; has six top-five finishes
and 11 top-10s this season; ran fifth in this event last season.

Tony Stewart
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 20 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2007 Earnings: $3,020,117

Has finished in the top 10 in seven of his last nine races but
ran 12th last week at New Hampshire; is sixth in the standings
but trails Gordon by 428 points; has yet to record a win this
season and collected just four top-five finishes over the first
17 races this season; one of the circuit's most inconsistent
drivers, collecting 11 top-10 finishes while placing 25th or
worse in the other five events; has won this race each of the
last two seasons.


2006 Top 10
-----------
 1. Tony Stewart (20), Chevrolet
 2. Kyle Busch (5), Chevrolet
 3. Kurt Busch (2), Chevrolet
 4. Boris Said (60), Ford
 5. Matt Kenseth (17), Ford
 6. Elliott Sadler (38), Ford
 7. Casey Mears (42), Dodge
 8. Jamie McMurray (26), Ford
 9. Kevin Harvick (29), Chevrolet
10. Clint Bowyer (07), Chevrolet

Past Champions
--------------
2006  Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 153.143 mph
2005  Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 131.016 mph
2004  Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 145.117 mph
2003  Greg Biffle, Ford, 166.109 mph
2002  Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 135.952 mph
2001  Dale Earnhardt Jr., 157.601 mph 
2000  Jeff Burton, Ford, 148.576 mph 
1999  Dale Jarrett, Ford, 169.213 mph 
1998  Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 144.549 mph 
1997  John Andretti, Chevrolet, 157.791 mph 
1996  Sterling Marlin, Chevrolet, 161.602 mph 
1995  Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 166.976 mph 
1994  Jimmy Spencer, Ford, 155.558 mph   
1993  Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 151.755 mph 
1992  Ernie Irvan, Chevrolet, 170.457 mph 
1991  Bill Elliot, Ford, 159.116 mph 
1990  Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 160.894 mph 
1989  Davey Allison, Ford, 132.207 mph 
1988  Bill Elliot, Ford, 163.302 mph 
1987  Bobby Allison, Buick, 161.074 mph 
1986  Tim Richmond, Chevrolet, 131.916 mph 
1985  Greg Sacks, Chevrolet, 158.730 mph 
1984  Richard Petty, Pontiac, 171.204 mph 
1983  Buddy Baker, Ford, 167.442 mph 
1982  Bobby Allison, Buick, 163.099 mph 
1981  Cale Yarborough, Buick, 142.588 mph 
1980  Bobby Allison, Mercury, 173.473 mph 
1979  Neil Bonnett, Mercury, 172.890 mph 
1978  David Pearson, Mercury, 154.340 mph 
1977  Richard Petty, Dodge, 142.716 mph 
1976  Cale Yarborough, Chevrolet, 160.966 mph 
1975  Richard Petty, Dodge, 158.381 mph
1974  David Pearson, 73 Mercury, 138.301 mph 
1973  David Pearson, 71 Mercury, 158.468 mph 
1972  David Pearson, 71 Mercury, 160.821 mph 
1971  Bobby Isaac, 71 Dodge, 161.947 mph
1970  Donnie Allison, 69 Ford, 162.235 mph 
1969  LeeRoy Yarborough, 69 Ford, 160.875 mph 
1968  Cale Yarborough, 68 Mercury, 167.247 mph 
1967  Cale Yarborough, 67 Ford, 143.583 mph
1966  Sam McQuagg, 66 Dodge, 153.813 mph 
1965  A.J. Foyt, 65 Ford, 150.046 mph 
1964  A.J. Foyt, 64 Dodge, 151.451 mph 
1963  Fireball Roberts, 63 Ford, 150.927 mph 
1962  Fireball Roberts, 62 Pontiac, 153.688 mph 
1961  David Pearson, 61 Pontiac, 154.294 mph 
1960  Jack Smith, 60 Pontiac, 146.842 mph 
1959  Fireball Roberts, 59 Pontiac, 140.581 mph