Race 2 Win: NEXTEL Cup Series Race Notes

Nextel Cup Series

WIX FILTERS LAP LEADER NOTES FOR FORD 400 NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES RACE AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2007.

Denny Hamlin led three times for 19 laps to earn WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race honors in tonight’s Ford 400. Hamlin claimed the honor for the fifth time this season. He had led 905 laps in 18 races.

Hamlin scored a third-place finish in tonight’s race, his 12th top-five and 18th top-10 of the season. He finished the season 12th in the NEXTEL Cup Series championship standings.

Jeff Gordon clinched the overall WIX Filters Lap Leader Award last week at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway. Gordon captured WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race honors in eight events this season. He led 1,300 laps in 23 races for a total of 1605.142 miles.

GORDON QUOTES: IS THIS THE FIRST TIME YOU’VE WON THE WIX FILTERS LAP LEADER AWARD? “I don’t know. That’s a good question. I don’t even know how long the WIX Filters Lap Leader Award’s even been up [laughs] but it’s certainly the first time in a while, if ever. That says a lot about our year, it says a lot about our team and the type of racecars this DuPont Chevrolet team has been bringing to the racetrack. I’m really proud of that. I know it’s all about which lap you lead but still you’ve got to lead laps in order to get yourself there. And plus we’ve qualified really well this year which has started us up front a lot of times to lead those laps.” CAN YOU LEAD A LOT OF LAPS AND STILL BE RACING SMART AND NOT ABUSING YOUR EQUIPMENT? “I think it’s actually easier today than it used to be. I think that these days, as fast as we’ve got these cars going, track position means even more than it ever has before. And once you get it, you fight hard to maintain it. The cars are working so good that you don’t seem to burn up your stuff quite as bad as you used to. It maybe a little bit different if you’re at Atlanta or Darlington. I think that one of the things that I wanted to focus on this year versus last year was qualifying better and obviously we’ve picked that up tremendously and that’s helped us lead a lot of laps as well.”

HAMLIN QUOTES: “We had an awesome car all day long. The cautions didn’t fall the way we needed them to. We lost our track position there that one time and could never really get it back. We needed it go green that one time when

WIX FILTERS LAP LEADER AWARD STANDINGS
Jeff Gordon 8
Tony Stewart 5
Denny Hamlin 5 
Jimmie Johnson 4
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3
Martin Truex Jr. 3 
Clint Bowyer 2 
Kyle Busch 2
Robby Gordon 1
Kasey Kahne 1 
Kevin Harvick 1 

WIX FILTERS LAP LEADER AWARD WINNERS BY RACE
EVENT DRIVER
Daytona 500 Tony Stewart (35 laps) 
Auto Club 500 Matt Kenseth (133 laps)
UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 Jeff Gordon (111 laps)
Kobalt Tools 500 Jimmie Johnson (135 laps)
Food City 500 Tony Stewart (257 laps)
Goody’s Cool Orange 500 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (137 laps)
Samsung 500 Jeff Gordon (173 laps)
Subway Fresh Fit 500 Tony Stewart (132 laps)
Aaron’s 499 Jeff Gordon (71 laps) 
Crown Royal 400 Jeff Gordon (114 laps)
Dodge Avenger 500 Denny Hamlin (179 laps)
Coca-Cola 600 Jimmie Johnson (83 laps)
Autism Speaks 400 presented by Visa Martin Truex Jr. (216 laps)
Pocono 500 Denny Hamlin (49 laps) 
Citizens Bank 400 Jimmie Johnson (56 laps)
Toyota/Save Mart 350 Robby Gordon (48 laps)
LENOX Industrial Tools 300 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (64 laps)
Pepsi 400 Clint Bowyer (55 laps)
USG SHEETROCK 400 Tony Stewart (108 laps)
Allstate 400 at The Brickyard Tony Stewart (65 laps)
Pennsylvania 500 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (eight laps)
Centurion Boats at The Glen Jeff Gordon (51 laps)
3M Performance 400 Jeff Gordon (25 laps)
Sharpie 500 Kasey Kahne (305 laps)
Sharp AQUOS 500 Kyle Busch (97 laps)
Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Jeff Gordon (191 laps)
Sylvania 300 Clint Bowyer (222 laps)
Dodge Dealers 400 Denny Hamlin (61 laps)
LifeLock 400 Tony Stewart (13 laps)
UAW-Ford 500 Denny Hamlin (40 laps)
Bank of America 500 Jimmie Johnson (95 laps)
Subway 500 Jeff Gordon (168 laps)
Pep Boys Auto 500 Martin Truex Jr. (135 laps)
Dickies 500 Kyle Busch (153 laps)
Checker Auto Parts 500 Martin Truex Jr. (72 laps)
Ford 400 Denny Hamlin (19 laps)