2007 AT&T 250
The 2007 AT&T 250 was a NASCAR Busch Series stock car race that took place on June 23, 2007. Held at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin, the race was the 17th of 35 in the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series season. Aric Almirola of Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) was the listed winner of the race, Richard Childress Racing's Scott Wimmer finished second, and Braun Racing's Jason Leffler finished third.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 17 of 35 of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series season | |||
|
Map of the Milwaukee Mile | |||
| Date | June 23, 2007 | ||
| Official name | AT&T 250 | ||
| Location | Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.000 mi (1.609 km) | ||
| Distance | 250 laps, 250.0 mi (402.25 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures hovering between 66 °F (19 °C) and 55 °F (13 °C); wind speeds reaching up to 13.8 miles per hour (22.2 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 85.203 mph (137.121 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 29.608 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | |
| Laps | 123 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 20 | Aric Almirola | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN2 | ||
| Announcers | Allen Bestwick, Rusty Wallace, Andy Petree | ||
The race became controversial because of a driver change made by the No. 20 JGR team. Almirola qualified the car on pole position, though Gibbs intended to have NASCAR Nextel Cup Series regular Denny Hamlin run the race. The Cup Series was racing that weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, and Hamlin's helicopter could not find a landing spot at Milwaukee Mile in time for the start of the race. Almirola was thus forced to start the race and ran the first 59 laps before he was pulled out of the car under caution; Hamlin finished the race and came from behind to win after losing a lap to the leaders during the driver change. NASCAR rules say the driver who starts the race gets credit for the result, making Almirola the official race winner. The driver change frustrated Almirola, who proceeded to leave the track before the race ended, and it was further criticized by ESPN writer Terry Blount, who called the substitution "a Busch-league move".
The win for which Almirola was given credit was the first of his Busch Series career. Carl Edwards, who led nearly half of the race for Roush Fenway Racing (RFR), recovered from a flat tire to finish eighth, maintaining a significant lead in the Drivers' Championship. Edwards's No. 60 RFR team also maintained their Owners' Championship lead, and Chevrolet continued to lead the Manufacturers' Championship.