10 LAPS: The 2007 Nextel Cup story is told on these key laps
Sometimes the moments were obvious. Other times, they were not. In a season when NASCAR Nextel Cup cars ran 10,582 laps between February and November, a few laps stood out.
They were laps that altered the season. They ranged from a lap with what looked like a simple pass to a series of laps run under seemingly mundane caution flags.
One key moment came in a Busch Series race, it but had as much impact on fans as any Cup race they saw.
Inside are the laps at 10 races that changed 2007.
1. Lap 500, Martinsville (April)
Jeff Gordon tried to bump Jimmie Johnson out of the lead on the last lap, but Johnson withstood the challenge from his teammate and mentor.
The moment was significant because Johnson has never beaten his friend in such a close duel until this moment.
"That was my hero I beat!" Johnson screamed on his radio after winning. "I've dreamed of beating him at this track."
The victory was Johnson's third on his way to a series-high 10 wins. The confidence Johnson gained in April helped him charge past Jeff Gordon late in the season to win his second consecutive Cup title.
2. Lap 120, California (February)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. blew an engine and spun. It was the first of six blown engines he suffered, and it was a big reason why he missed the Chase for the Championship for the second time in three years.
After the spin, he climbed from the smoking car and bowed to the crowd. It was foreshadowing, as he later announced he would bid adieu to Dale Earnhardt Inc. after the season to join Hendrick Motorsports. To make room for Earnhardt, car owner Rick Hendrick released young star Kyle Busch.
3. Lap 240, Atlanta (March)
Juan Pablo Montoya passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to finish fifth in just his fifth Nextel Cup series race.
Montoya's performance in March impressed many in the garage and showed that a stock-car background isn't a prerequisite for Cup success. Montoya's season -- he later won at Infineon Raceway and finished second at Indianapolis -- lured other open-wheel drivers to Cup. Jacques Villeneuve, Dario Franchitti, Patrick Carpentier and Sam Hornish Jr. all will drive full time in Cup in 2008.
4. Lap 96, Kansas (Busch race)
Carl Edwards tried to pass teammate Matt Kenseth after a restart, but Matt Kenseth closed the door. They touched, and Edwards' tire went flat. Later, after crashing, Edwards stood on the track and mockingly applauded Matt Kenseth.
Three weeks later, after a non-descript bumping incident between the two during the Martinsville race in October, Edwards confronted Matt Kenseth after the race.
Speed Channel captured Edwards throwing a fake punch, Matt Kenseth flinched, and Edwards' image as a happy-go-lucky guy was shattered. Drivers soon begin to describe Edwards' dark and moody side, depicting a side of Edwards few outside the garage see.
5. Lap 457, Martinsville (October)
Jimmie Johnson's comeback began on this lap. Coming into the race, he was 68 points behind series leader Jeff Gordon, who had won the past two races. During the race, Johnson bumped the back of his teammate's car as they battled for the lead, just like Jeff Gordon did to Johnson at Martinsville back in April. The tactic worked. Johnson slipped underneath Jeff Gordon off Turn 4 and led the rest of the way.
Johnson's pass and win provided the momentum he needed to beat Jeff Gordon for the title. The win was the first of Johnson's four consecutive Chase victories.
6. Lap 156, Kansas (Cup race)
Momentum changed during the Chase's third race. Although heavy rain started to fall when the race was more than half over and considered official, series officials restarted the event. Had the race ended then, Tony Stewart would have won and title contenders Jimmie Johnson (25th at the time) and Jeff Gordon (28th) would have had one of their worst finishes in weeks.
It's debatable if Tony Stewart would have held off Johnson and Jeff Gordon in the Chase. But if Tony Stewart had left Kansas with the points lead, teams might have had to race differently.
Instead, the race restarted and Ken Schrader spun in front of the pack. Tony Stewart rear-ended Martin Truex Jr., which caused his left-front fender to rub against his tire. The tire blew 20 laps later, Tony Stewart crashed and finished 39th. Johnson placed third and Jeff Gordon rallied for fifth.
7. Laps 38, 99, 150 and 212, Phoenix (April)
Each lap was the start of a debris caution that angered Tony Stewart. On his radio show two days later, he said NASCAR was "playing God" with its overzealous officiating. He questioned the sport's integrity, likening it to pro wrestling.
In the season's first eight races, including Phoenix, 28.6 percent of all cautions were for debris. Coincidence or not, the percentage of debris cautions declined after Tony Stewart's comments and dropped dramatically for the Chase races.
8. Lap 1, Bristol (March)
Mark Martin led the standings entering the fifth race of the season, but ignored public pressure and followed his vow to sit out select races. This is the first race of the season he missed.
Some fans were confounded that Martin, who opened the season with four consecutive top-10 finishes, could skip a race. Yet when the green flag waved at the start, Regan Smith, not Martin, was in the car.
If Martin had run every race, it's possible he would have made the Chase -- and bumped someone out of it.
9. Lap 192, Talladega (April)
Jeff Gordon led the final eight laps to win and pass Dale Earnhardt in career victories. Jeff Gordon's milestone victory was another sign of how the sport is changing to fans. They see the polished Jeff Gordon, a part of the sport's TV age, passing the rough-and-tumble Earnhardt, who raced in a different era.
10. Lap 252, Las Vegas
Kasey Kahne, a preseason title contender after winning a series-high six races in 2006, was collected in a multi-car crash. Kasey Kahne fell to 36th in the points after his second consecutive DNF. The crash started his season-long woes. His team struggled with the Car of Tomorrow and was not even a threat on the 1.5-mile tracks -- places he dominated the previous year. He finished 19th in the points.
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