Taking the lead for the first time on lap three Kenseth simply drove away from the competition at every opportunity and opened a lead of more than ten seconds during a green flag stretch that lasted from lap 80 to lap 148. The driver of the #17 Roush-Fenway Ford took the penultimate restart of the lead in first place on lap 197 and only relinquished top spot during a round of green flag pitstops 30 laps from home. Although a two-tyre gamble by Truex Jr briefly elevated the DEI driver into top spot Kenseth retook the lead for good on lap 248 and was easily able to outpace the field on the final lap 257 restart.

Kenseth's 16th career victory came at a fitting time for the 2003 champion as his long serving crew chief Robbie Reiser now prepares for a life away from the pit box as the new General Manager of Roush-Fenway Racing. The win also completes a stunning end of season rally that has seen the #17 team move from 12th in the chase to fourth in the final standings on the back of five straight top five finishes.

Kurt Busch finished second on the day to end the year seventh in the standings while Hamlin claimed third on the road on his birthday but still misses out on a place at the banquet table at the end of year awards as he finishes last in the Chase.

Carl Edwards completed the top five behind Gordon to cement ninth place in the overall standings while Truex Jr joins Hamlin on the sidelines for awards night despite a sixth place finish in the #1 DEI Chevrolet.

Jeff Burton overcame an early race brush with the wall and a collision that effectively ended Dale Earnhardt Jr's chances of victory to finish eighth with Mark Martin the first non-Chase driver home in ninth position. Rookie David Ragan rounded out the top ten but was unable to prevent Juan Montoya, who finished 15th, from taking the 2007 Raybestos Rookie of the Year crown.

David Stremme narrowly missed a top ten finish in his final drive for the #40 Chip Ganassi Racing team although 12th place was like a win for Dave Blaney as he rubber-stamped his passage into the 2008 Daytona 500 by virtue of his #22 Bill Davis Racing team finishing 35th in the final owner standings.

Greg Biffle never looked capable of extending his Homestead winning streak to four and could only manage 13th place while Kyle Busch's career at Hendrick Motorsports ended with a disappointing 20th place run.

Ricky Rudd's 32 year Cup Series career drew to a close with a 21st place finish in his 906th start and as Rudd stepped away from the cockpit, his team boss Robert Yates stepped down as an active team owner. Tony Raines' tenure with Hall of Fame Racing ended with a 29th place effort, two places ahead of the driver who will replace him next year, outgoing Joe Gibbs driver JJ Yeley.

Johnny Sauter's days at Haas CNC Racing concluded with the biggest crash of the day on lap 157 while Sam Hornish Jr and Patrick Carpentier both made contact with the walls and finished 37th and 40th respectively.

By far the biggest groan from the packed Homestead grandstands came when Dale Earnhardt Jr spun entering pit road on lap 50 after fighting his way up from 43rd place to 13th and then found himself punted into the start-line wall during a typical chain reaction restart crash. With his #8 Budweiser Chevrolet heavily damaged Earnhardt Jr soldiered on to the finish but could do no better than 36th.