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NASCAR'S BIGGEST STORIES of 2007

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 21, 2007

RHYMES WITH GREAT - 48

Parity, unprecedented depth of good teams and an expanded Chase field couldn't slow Hendrick Motorsports and Jimmie Johnson.
Hendrick Motorsports won 18 of the 36 races, placed three of its four drivers in the Chase, and won a second consecutive championship with Johnson and the No. 48 team.

After winning six times during the 26-race regular season, but struggling with consistency, Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus came on with a vengeance in the Chase. They won four of the final five races of the season to beat teammate Jeff Gordon by 77 points.

Johnson became the first driver to repeat as champion since Gordon in 1997-98 and the first driver with double-digit wins (10) since Gordon had 13 in 1998.

POSITIONING FOR A CHARGE

Global automobile giant Toyota made a splash in its first season competing in NASCAR's top two divisions, but not until late in the year and not on the track.

The first foreign manufacturer to compete full time in NASCAR took a huge step in September when it landed powerhouse Joe Gibbs Racing to race its cars starting next year. The alliance gives Toyota three of the top drivers in the sport in Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch (who will move over from Hendrick Motorsports) and realistic Daytona 500 and championship aspirations for 2008.

On the track, Toyota struggled mightily in Nextel Cup - largely because most of its teams were start-up operations and most of its drivers did not have automatic qualifying berths.

SIMPLE OWNERSHIP NO MORE

As Hendrick Motorsports dominated, other teams strengthened for the future with partnerships and mergers.
Boston Red Sox owner John Henry purchased half of Roush Racing in a $50 million deal, and the premier Ford team was renamed Roush-Fenway Racing. Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett purchased majority interest in what's now known as Gillett-Evernham Motorsports.

Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Ginn Racing merged, and the combined team kept the DEI name. Just before the merger/acquisition was announced, DEI and Richard Childress Racing combined their engine shops.

Arizona Diamondbacks executives Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel purchased majority of interest in Hall of Fame Racing from Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Bill Saunders. Robert Yates sold his interest in Robert Yates Racing to his son, Doug, and the team formed an even tighter alliance with Roush-Fenway Racing.

Michael Waltrip Racing took on an equal-ownership partner in Robert Kauffmann, managing partner of the Fortress Investment Group.

HE BUILT A NATIONAL SPORT

Bill France Jr., who guided NASCAR from its Southern roots to mainstream national acceptance, passed away in June after years of declining heath. France, who was 74, led NASCAR from 1972 to 2003 and helped turn it into a $3 billion industry.

About 2,000 people attended France's funeral including many of the biggest names in auto racing.

OPEN-WHEEL INVASION

Former Indy 500 winner and Formula One star Juan Pablo Montoya didn't exactly tear up the Nextel Cup series in his rookie season, but with one victory and three top-five finishes and six top-10s, he did well enough to make others think they could make the transition.

By the end of the season, three-time Indy Racing League champion Sam Hornish Jr., 2007 IRL champ and Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti, former Formula One world champion Jacques Villeneuve and former CART/Champ Car standout Patrick Carpentier were planning to race full time in Sprint Cup next year.

Counting Montoya and former Champ Car standout A.J. Allmendinger, six former open-wheel standouts are set to race in the Sprint Cup series in 2008.

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