The entry requirements for the Chase changed this year. Previously, the top ten drivers in the points standings and anyone else within 400 points of the leader after the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 would qualify for the Chase. This year, the top twelve drivers in the points standings after the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 automatically qualified for the Chase with each drivers' point total reset to 5,000 points, with a ten-point bonus for each race won during the first 26 races. In addition, as NASCAR makes the full-time transition to the Car of Tomorrow, half of the races used the new template, and the other half used the older template, which was officially retired from Cup competition following the Ford 400. The title "Chase for the Nextel Cup" was also retired, as the season ending playoff will be renamed the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" in 2008.
Key: S-Starts; P-Poles; W-Wins; T5-Top 5 finishes; T10-Top 10 finishes; DNF-Did not finish; Pts-Points. NOTES:'
1. The original seedings saw Edwards placed fourth ahead of Kurt Busch based on most second-place finishes, while Denny Hamlin was seeded sixth based on the same criteria, followed by Truex, Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton and Harvick, with further tiebreakers based on third-place finishes, etc.
2. Kurt Busch by most wins finished in seventh place ahead of Jeff Burton.
3. Those in boldface were invited to the 2007 Nextel Cup Banquet November 30 in New York.
Chg = Change in position.n/c = No change in position.Std = Standing After Race
Standings at beginning of Chase
Jimmie Johnson, 5,060 points, leader
Jeff Gordon, 5,040, -20
Tony Stewart, 5,030, -30
Carl Edwards, 5,020, -40
Kurt Busch, 5,020, -40
Denny Hamlin, 5,010, -50
Martin Truex, Jr., 5,010, -50
Matt Kenseth, 5,010, -50
Kyle Busch, 5,010, -50
Jeff Burton, 5,010, -50
Kevin Harvick, 5,010, -50
Clint Bowyer, 5,000, -60
Standings at end of the "regular season"
At the conclusion of the "regular season" (the 2007 Chevy Rock & Roll 400), these were the point standings before the Chase adjustments were made. Also indicated are how far up or down in the standings a driver went when the Chase points were awarded:
Jeff Gordon, 3,849 pts., leader, down one spot.
Tony Stewart, -312 pts, down one spot.
Denny Hamlin, -359, down three spots.
Jimmie Johnson, -410 pts., up three spots.
Matt Kenseth, -419 pts., down three spots.
Carl Edwards, -427 pts., up two spots.
Jeff Burton, -521 pts., down three spots.
Kyle Busch, -547 pts., down one spot.
Clint Bowyer, -670 pts., down three spots.
Kurt Busch, -689 pts. and two wins, up five spots.
Martin Truex, Jr., -689 pts. and one win, up four spots.
Kevin Harvick, -694 pts., up one spot.
Races
Drivers in italics did not qualify for the 2007 Chase.
NOTES: 1. Drivers in Italics are mathematically eliminated from winning the championship.
2. Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart were mathematically eliminated when Jimmie Johnson started the 2007 Checker Auto Parts 500
* - Kurt Busch finished one place ahead of Jeff Burton based on most wins (Two wins vs. one).
Television
ABC carried the entire Chase for the Nextel Cup in 2007, marking the first time that the entire Chase was carried on network television. (In previous years, it had been on a combination of NBC and TNT.) The commentators for ABC were Jerry Punch and Rusty Wallace, who are joined by newcomer Andy Petree, a former team owner and Dale Earnhardt's crew chief in 1993 and 1994. The hosts were Brent Musburger (race) and Suzy Kolber (studio).
^It was discovered in post-race inspection that the right rear of the #99 Office Depot Ford driven by Carl Edwards was too low. Edwards was subsequently penalized 25 owner and driver points, and his crew chief was fined $25,000 (US), after the appeal filed was denied by NASCAR.
