The 2007 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was the sixteenth stock car race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the first of the season's two road course events. It was held on June 24, 2007 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California before a crowd of 102,000. The 90-lap race was won by Juan Pablo Montoya of the Chip Ganassi Racing team who started from thirty-second position. Kevin Harvick finished second and his Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton came in third.
Although Jamie McMurray won the pole position, he was passed by Robby Gordon on the first lap. Gordon held the position until the first round of green-flag pit stops, and Carl Edwards took over the first position. He held it for twelve laps until Gordon got ahead of Edwards. At the race's final restart on lap 70, Tony Stewart took over the lead when he passed Gordon, but ceded it to McMurray after Stewart made a pit stop. McMurray slowed on lap 97 as he attempted to conserve fuel which allowed Montoya to close the gap. Montoya got ahead of McMurray for the lead after a seven-lap battle and held it to win the race. There were seven cautions and eleven lead changes by eight drivers.
It was Montoya's first win in the Nextel Cup Series, and became the first foreign driver since 1974 to win in the series. After the race Jeff Gordon's lead in the Drivers' Championship was reduced because he, along with his teammate Jimmie Johnson, were penalized for a car infringement. Chevrolet maintained its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, 49 points ahead of their nearest rival Ford with twenty races remaining in the season. The race attracted 6.5 million television viewers.
Background
The 2007 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was the sixteenth of thirty-six scheduled stock car races of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. It took place on June 24, 2007, in Sonoma, California, at Infineon Raceway, one of two road courses to hold NASCAR races, the other is Watkins Glen International. The standard road course at Infineon Raceway is a twelve-turn course that is long; the track was modified in 1998, adding the Chute, which bypassed turns five and six, shortening the course to . The Chute was only used for NASCAR events such as this race, and was criticized by many drivers, who preferred the full layout. In 2001, it was replaced with a 70-degree turn, 4A, bringing the track to its current dimensions of .
Before the race, Jeff Gordon led the Drivers' Championship with 2,392 points, with Denny Hamlin in second and Jimmie Johnson third. Matt Kenseth and Jeff Burton were fourth and fifth, and Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top twelve. Chevrolet led the Manufacturers' Championship with 129 points, 47 ahead of their nearest rival Ford in second. Dodge was third on 73 points, and Toyota was fourth on 47. Jeff Gordon was the race's defending champion.
Several teams chose to temporarily replace their regular drivers with road course ringers. Michael Waltrip Racing replaced Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann with two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champion Terry Labonte and the 1993 24 Hours of Daytona winner P. J. Jones. BAM Racing chose to replace Mike Bliss (who was competing at The Milwaukee Mile) with the 2005 Trans-Am Series champion Klaus Graf, while Hall of Fame Racing replaced Tony Raines with endurance driver Ron Fellows. Former SCCA Trans-Am champion Brian Simo was selected by Front Row Motorsports to drive the No. 37 Dodge, while American Le Mans Series and Busch Series East race winner Butch Leitzinger was selected to replace Bill Davis Racing driver Jeremy Mayfield. Brandon Ash attempted to qualify in his self-owned No. 02 car, and endurance racing driver Marc Goossens was entered in the No. 91 Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports Toyota. Scott Pruett announced he would not participate for the Chip Ganassi Racing team due to a scheduling conflict; Former V8 Supercars champion Marcos Ambrose, who was scheduled to drive the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing car withdrew.
Rookie of the Year competitor Juan Pablo Montoya made his NASCAR début on a road course after leaving Formula One in 2006, and was considered by several drivers to be a contender to win the race despite no previous experience of driving at Infineon Raceway. Montoya said he hoped to have a chance of winning, and expected his main rival to be Jeff Gordon. After he finished with a top-ten at the previous round (the Citizen Bank 400) Jamie McMurray hoped to continue his momentum into Sonona, and move up in the Drivers' Championship standings.