Pepsi 400 is one of the many races in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, which is held around U.S. Independence Day weekend (Saturday nearest to July 4th). Until 1985, this race was dubbed as the Firecracker 400. But when Pepsi-Cola took over as the title sponsor, the name was changed to Pepsi 400. Then in 2007, Coca Cola became the official soft drink of all International Speedway Tracks and thus the name was again changed to 'Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola'.
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In the year 2007, the Pepsi 400 was the 18th race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series held on July 7th 2007. It was the last race before the race was renamed Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola for the next event in 2008. Jamie McMurray defeated Kyle Busch for the Pepsi 400. This was Jamie's first victory since 2002 and the winning margin was an astounding 0.005 seconds. This desperately needed win came after a streak of 166 race losses. This was the second closest victory margin since NASCAR began electronic scoring. At the Pepsi 400, Jamie McMurray was driving for the Roush Fenway Racing Team in a Ford stock car. Pennsylvania 500 winner Kurt Busch came third in the race. The Pepsi 400 was the final race in which the cars were equipped with 'restrictor plates'. This device was used to limit the maximum speed of the NASCAR cars. However, for the 2008 races and onwards, these devices have been removed. The top five racers (in chronological order) for the Pepsi 400 were:
1. Jamie McMurrary ( Roush Fenway Racing) 2. Kyle Busch (Hendrick Motorsports) 3. Kurt Busch (Penske Racing) 4. Carl Edwards (Roush Fenway Racing) 5. Jeff Gordon (Hendrick Motorsports) Preview for 2008 Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola This year, the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola will be held on July 5th 2008 at the Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida. The race event will begin at 8:00 pm local time