Oddities of 2007 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Clint Bowyer

At Daytona, Scott Riggs and Elliot Sadler lost 25 points for unapproved adjustments. Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne lost 50 points and had qualifying times negated for illegal aerodynamic adjustments. Michael Waltrip's team took the biggest hit, losing 100 points for an illegal substance in the fuel. Darlington saw Dale Earnhardt Jr. lose 100 points for unapproved rear wing adjustments. Dover saw Kurt Busch fined 25 points for endangering a crew member on pit road. Sonoma saw Hendrick teammates and perennial championship contenders Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon docked 100 points each for unapproved modifications. Johnny Sauter and Kyle Busch failed to meet minimum height requirements at New Hampshire and lost 25 points. Tony Stewart's language after a win at Indianapolis cost him 25 points. Jeremy Mayfield's illegal use of weights cost him 25 points.

The second Dover race saw Carl Edwards lose 25 points for being too low. A car too low cost Reed Sorenson 25 points at Talladega. In the end, sixteen drivers lost points and were fined.

Answer: Kyle Petty

The Dodge of Kyle Petty earned the important position and would be guaranteed a starting spot in the first five races of 2008. Glen Wood's iconic number 21 Ford finished 36th in owner's points, but part-time driver Bill Elliot will be allowed to use one of six provisionals given to past champions to start the season.

After five races, NASCAR uses the 2008 standings. Dave Blaney helped Bill Davis get one of his Toyotas to 34th place, while Scott Riggs couldn't help James Rocco's Dodge; the team finished 37th.

Answer: 20th

Former open-wheel star and Bogota native Juan Pablo Montoya won at Sonoma, the first by a non-American driver since Canadian driver Earl Ross in 1974. Montoya won the Rookie of the Year honors in Nextel Cup. He joined Mario Andretti as the only motorsports driver to win a Formula One race, a NASCAR event, and the Indy 500.

Answer: 14

After the severe penalty at Daytona, the two-time Daytona 500 champion failed to qualify for the next eleven events and actually was in negative points territory (72 for his Daytona 500 finish, minus the 100 point penalty caused him to be 28 in the red). Terry Labonte drove the number 55 Toyota at three events; Labonte had the past champion's provisional. Waltrip's season resulted in two top tens and a pole at Talladega. Waltrip also owned the cars of David Reutimann (10 DNQ's) and Dale Jarrett, who ran out of past champion's provisionals early in the season and successfully attempted 24 races.

Answer: 34th

That went to rookie Paul Menard, who later became a beneficiary of DEI buying out the Ginn racing team. Menard ran failed to qualify for six races, including the Daytona 500.

Answer: True

The Ohio native and former sprint car champion finished 31st in 33 races. The next highest was Brian Vickers, who finished the season 38th.

Answer: 24

Martin ran a limited schedule for Ginn Racing/DEI. He had five top fives and eleven top tens, including a second place finish at the Daytona 500. The four-time series runner-up was mentioned as a substitute for expectant father Jeff Gordon.

Answer: 13th

Ryan Newman finished 13th. Other winless drivers in the top twenty were Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Bobby Labonte, and Kasey Kahne.

Answer: True

Gordon did not run the Pennsylvania 500 in Pocono due to his actions the day before in the Busch Series, which will be renamed Nationwide Series in 2008. P.J. Jones filled in for him. Gordon finished 26th in the standings.

Answer: False

Gilliand was 28th in the Robert Yates-owned Ford, the lowest for a driver who made all the races.