2007 AT&T 250: Hamlin Drives Home, Almirola Gets the Credit

The 2007 AT&T 250 was a NASCAR Busch Series race held at the Milwaukee Mile on 23 June 2007. It was the 17th of 35 races in that season, and the official winner was Aric Almirola, even though Denny Hamlin drove the car to the flag. The rule that gives the result to the starting driver made the outcome controversial.

What was the background to the race?

The Busch Series first came to the Milwaukee Mile in 1984 and 1985, then took a seven-year break before returning in 1993. The track was built as a horse racing venue and held its first automobile race in 1903, which makes it the oldest motor racing track in the United States.

Wisconsin drivers had been having a good run there. The last two Busch wins at Milwaukee went to Johnny Sauter and Paul Menard, both home-state drivers. Four drivers born in Wisconsin entered, aiming to keep that run going: Scott Wimmer, Todd Kluever, Kelly Bires and Frank Kreyer.

Wimmer arrived with three consecutive top-five finishes and five straight top tens. He said he had been going to the Milwaukee Mile for as long as he could remember, and that any Wisconsin driver, whatever the series, wanted to win there.

The championship was led by Carl Edwards with 2,534 points, ahead of Dave Blaney on 1,833 and Kevin Harvick on 1,798. Jack Roush's No. 60 team, which Edwards drove, also led the Owners' Championship with 2,534 points, and Richard Childress's No. 29, shared by Wimmer and Jeff Burton, was second with 2,323. Chevrolet led the Manufacturers' Championship with 115 points. Defending race winner Paul Menard did not take part.

NASCAR's starting-driver rule gave Aric Almirola the win, while Denny Hamlin drove the car to the flag.

How did practice and qualifying go?

Scott Wimmer was quickest in both practice sessions, setting 29.981 seconds in the first and 29.821 seconds in the second. In the first session he was ahead of Almirola, Stephen Leicht, David Reutimann and Shane Huffman. Forty-four cars entered qualifying, but NASCAR's procedure meant only forty-three could race.

Aric Almirola took the pole for Joe Gibbs Racing with 29.608 seconds. He had also qualified Denny Hamlin's car on pole the year before, but this time he was set to step aside for Hamlin. Hamlin was racing at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, and was due to travel to Milwaukee for the Saturday night event.

Almirola joked that it was strange to take two poles in a row at Milwaukee and not get to race. He said he would sit on the pit box and learn all he could from Hamlin, whom he described as very good at racing the Busch cars. Jason Leffler started alongside him on the front row, with Wimmer, Brad Coleman and Shane Huffman completing the top five.

Danny Efland was the only driver who failed to qualify. Carl Edwards replaced Travis Kvapil in the No. 60 car after practice and qualified ninth. He had also travelled from Sonoma and nearly missed qualifying, which he said would have been a close call.

How did the driver change happen?

Hamlin was racing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series that weekend, and his helicopter could not find a landing spot near the Milwaukee Mile in time for the start. Almirola therefore started the race himself. Joe Gibbs Racing made the swap under the caution that followed Ron Hornaday Jr.'s accident on lap 57.

The helicopter's pad was blocked by parked cars, so Hamlin had to land elsewhere and arrive by ground transport. Ragan, the third Nextel Cup regular who had travelled from Sonoma, replaced Erik Darnell in Roush's No. 6 car, and he had to start at the rear because of the swap and an engine change. He could not start the race in Almirola's car, and the team's decision to make the change came during the race itself.

Almirola had led from pole for the first 43 laps before Edwards passed him. Edwards went on to lead 123 laps in total. Hamlin took over the car under the caution, lost a lap and fell to 34th place.

Hamlin received the free pass on lap 149 to return to the lead lap. He then completed his comeback and retook the lead on lap 173, after which he kept it to the finish.

What happened during the race?

The 250-lap race started at 8:00 p.m. EDT and was televised live on ESPN2. Cautions for oil, accidents and tyre trouble shaped the afternoon, and the race was full of changes at the front.

The first caution came on lap 30 for oil in turn four. Mike Wallace briefly assumed the lead before Hamlin retook it. Edwards suffered a flat right rear tyre and pitted with 77 laps remaining, but he recovered to finish eighth.

A caution on lap 223 came after an accident involving Kreyer. Wimmer took the lead after pit stops and held it until another caution for Kevin Hamlin's accident. On the restart Wimmer battled with Leffler, and Denny Hamlin made a three-wide move and took the lead back with thirteen laps left.

Marc Mitchell, Richard Johns and Brent Sherman crashed on lap 244, which brought the final caution. The race restarted with four laps remaining, and Hamlin held the lead to the finish.

Who finished where?

Hamlin crossed the line first, and NASCAR credited the win to Almirola because he had started the race. Wimmer finished second, Leffler third and Coleman fourth. Keller, Bodine, Reutimann, Edwards, Benson and Huffman completed the top ten.

Hamlin's margin over Wimmer was .502 seconds. NASCAR rules credit the finishing position to the starting driver, so Almirola's official result was the win, and it was his first Busch Series victory.

The prize money of $66,823 was credited to Almirola. Team president J. D. Gibbs confirmed that Almirola would receive the winner's check, and Hamlin appeared in victory lane to represent the team.

Why was the driver change controversial?

The change angered Almirola, who left the track before the race ended. The ESPN writer Terry Blount called the substitution a Busch-league move, arguing that the Busch Series had enough Cup dominance without replacing drivers after a race had started.

Almirola later said he understood the Gibbs side of the situation, because a Cup star helps sell sponsorship. His sponsor, Rockwell Automation, was headquartered in Wisconsin, and he believed the company wanted Hamlin in the car. He said he had been part of the win, but he did not consider it his first victory.

Gibbs said Almirola had been frustrated and upset, and that he had left him a message on Saturday night. He said the crew had discussed the option as a group and decided Hamlin could win. He acknowledged that the decision was a huge discouragement for Almirola, and he was relieved that Hamlin won the race.

Wimmer was surprised by the change, because Almirola had been running well. He said he would have had a better chance with fewer cautions, since his car had been strong on the longer runs but not on the short ones.

What did the standings look like afterwards?

Carl Edwards kept the lead of the Drivers' Championship with 2,686 points. Reutimann moved into second, 776 points behind, and Ragan into third, 846 points behind. Blaney and Harvick slipped to fourth and fifth, and Leffler, Ambrose, Hamilton, Smith and Leicht completed the top ten.

Roush's No. 60 team kept the Owners' Championship lead with the same 2,686 points. Wimmer's second-place finish brought Childress's No. 29 team within 188 points of Roush. Chevrolet kept its manufacturer lead with 124 points, ahead of Ford on 113, Dodge on 72 and Toyota on 65.

Race results at a glance