Special Awards

In each Sprint Cup Series race, drivers compete for prize money along with special awards provided by many series sponsors. A summary of each award, along with a listing of the 2007 award winners, is as follows:

COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD
The Coors Light Pole Award is presented to the fastest eligible qualifier in each Sprint Cup Series race. The Coors Light Pole winner for each race will receive $5,500. The driver who wins the most Coors Light Pole Awards during the season will receive $100,000.
• 2007 award recipient: Jeff Gordon

RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
The highest-finishing eligible rookie driver will receive $1,500 per race. At the end of the season, the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award and a check for $75,000 will be awarded to the driver who has compiled the most rookie points.

To gain rookie points, the driver must be eligible as specified by NASCAR and must carry the Raybestos decal on the car. Points are awarded based on the best 17 finishes by each eligible rookie driver during the season, in addition to other bonuses and criteria. See page 46 for a description of the Rookie of the Year scoring system.
• 2007 award recipient: Juan Montoya

MAHLE CLEVITE ENGINE BUILDER AWARD
At the conclusion of the season, the top engine builder who has accumulated the greatest number of Mahle Clevite Points will be awarded $100,000. Points will be awarded for qualifying and finishing position. Qualifying points will be awarded based on qualifying position. The points are as follows: 1st -- 5 points, 2nd -- 3 points and 3rd -- 2 points.

If an ineligible team (one that does not run the decal) finishes among the top three, such team will not receive the qualifying points, and furthermore the qualifying points will not "roll over" to any other eligible team. Finishing points will be awarded based on finishing position.

Engine builders for each of the top 15 finishing teams will receive points based on finishing position as follows: 1st -- 15 points, 2nd -- 14 points, 3rd -- 13 points, etc., down to 15th place, which receives one point. In the event an engine builder prepares engines for more than one team, the points will be accrued by the team and may not be combined.

In the event an ineligible team finishes among the top 15 positions, such team will not receive the finishing points, and further more such finishing points will not "roll over" to any other eligible team.

At the conclusion of the season, in the event there is a tie for first, the engine builder whose team has the highest season end point total will be the recipient of the award. Each week, the engine builder that earns the most points will be awarded $6,000.
• 2007 award recipient: Earl Wheeler (Hendrick Motorsports)

DIRECTV CREW CHIEF OF THE YEAR
The DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race will be awarded to the crew chief of the driver who has demonstrated the best qualifying and race effort based on finishing times during the weekend.

Following each race, each participating crew chief's car's start and finishing positions will be combined, with points equally given to qualifying and finishing positions. The lowest combined score of start and finish positions will earn "Crew Chief of the Race." (For example, a first-place finish nets one point, as does a pole position; a 10th place start position or finish nets 10 points.) If a tie should result from the tally of these positions, the award will go to the race's higher-finishing car.

Each winning crew chief will be honored with a $5,800 cash award. In addition, the crew chief that accrues the most DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race awards throughout the season will be named the DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Year. This honor, along with a $108,300 cash award, will be presented to the winner during Champions Week in New York.
• 2007 award recipient: Mike Ford

DOW AUTOMOTIVE STRATEGIC CALL OF THE RACE AWARDS
This award is presented to the team that makes the best strategic call over the course of each race. A $5,900 bonus is awarded in each race and the team receiving the highest number of these awards over the entire season will collect a $100,000 year-end award.
• 2007 award recipient: Jimmie Johnson

GOODYEAR GATORBACK FASTEST LAP AWARD
A $5,500 award will be presented to the eligible driver who turns the fastest lap while leading the race. A $75,000 bonus will be presented to the driver at the end of the season that wins the most Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap Awards.
• 2007 Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap Award recipient: Jimmie Johnson

MECHANIX WEAR MOST VALUABLE PIT CREW AWARD
The season will be spilt into four quarters. At the end of each quarter, the winning crew will be determined by a vote from each team's crew chief. The four quarterly winners will then be eligible for the Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award and a check for $100,000.

This award will once again be determined by a vote from each team's crew chief and be awarded at the season's final race at Homestead.
• 2007 award recipient: No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet team

MOBIL 1 COMMAND PERFORMANCE AWARD
The Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race will be awarded to the winner of each race or the next highest finishing eligible competitor. The recipient will receive $5,000 per race. The driver who wins the most Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race Awards at the end of the season will receive $100,000.
• 2007 award recipient: Kurt Busch

SPRINT LEADER BONUS
A $10,000 award will be presented to the winning driver of each race if the winning driver is leading the Sprint Cup Series point standings at the completion of the event. If the winning driver is not the leader of the point standings, the money will then be rolled over and posted at the next championship event, making the award worth $20,000. The posted award will continue to increase by $10,000 until a driver wins the award, at which time the process will start over again with a posting of $10,000.

SUNOCO DIAMOND PERFORMANCE AWARD
$1,350 is presented to the highest-finishing eligible driver in each Sprint Cup Series race. At the end of the season, a bonus of $100,000 is presented to the highest-finishing eligible driver in the point standings.
• 2007 award recipient: Jimmie Johnson

USG IMPROVING THE FINISH AWARD
This award will be presented to the car that improves the most positions (from starting position to race finish) at every Sprint Cup Series event. The car that improves the most positions in each event wins $5,000. At the end of the season, the driver who receives the most USG Improving the Finish awards will receive $111,312.
• 2007 award recipient: Matt Kenseth

WIX FILTERS LAP LEADER AWARD
The eligible driver who leads the most laps during the race will receive $5,400. At the end of the season, the driver who wins the most WIX Lap Leader Awards will receive $75,000.
• 2007 award recipient: Jeff Gordon