2006 Nextel Cup Series

2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
Jimmie Johnson was the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Champion
Duration	February 19, 2006 through November 19, 2006
TV	Fox/FX; NBC/TNT
Season statistics
No. of races	36
First race	2006 Daytona 500
Last race	2006 Ford 400
Drivers' champion	Jimmie Johnson
Manufacturers' champion
Rookie of the Year	Denny Hamlin
Most popular driver	Dale Earnhardt, Jr
Previous	2005
Next	2007

The 2006 Nextel Cup Series was the 58th season of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. The season began with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19 and ended with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19.

Jimmie Johnson led the standings through much of the first 26 races, but at the Sony HD 500, Matt Kenseth assumed the points lead. Johnson, Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne qualified for the Chase.

In the first race of the Chase, Johnson was involved in an accident early, and fell to ninth in the standings. By the fourth race, Johnson was still in 8th place in points, 156 points behind leader Jeff Burton. Johnson went on to finish in the Top 2 in the next 5 races, before capturing his first championship by 56 points over Kenseth at Homestead. It was Hendrick Motorsports' sixth title.

This season was the final full time season with the Gen 4 cars, and the final season before Toyota joined the Cup Series. Ford debuted the new Ford Fusion & Chevrolet debuted the Monte Carlo SS model. It was notable for a number of new driver-team pairings, many of which achieved mixed success. It was also the final season of the first Cup Series TV deal between Fox & NBC, and the final season of the original 10-race, 10-driver Chase rules format.

Schedule

Round	Date	Race Name	Track	TV
	February 11, 2006	Budweiser Shootout	Daytona International Speedway	TNT
	February 16, 2006	Gatorade Duel 150s	Daytona International Speedway	TNT
1	February 19, 2006	Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway	NBC
2	February 26, 2006	Auto Club 500	California Speedway	FOX
3	March 12, 2006	UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	FOX
4	March 19, 2006	Golden Corral 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	FOX
5	March 26, 2006	Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	FOX
6	April 2, 2006	DirecTV 500	Martinsville Speedway	FOX
7	April 9, 2006	Samsung / Radio Shack 500	Texas Motor Speedway	FOX
8	April 22, 2006	Subway Fresh 500	Phoenix International Raceway	FOX
9	April 30, 2006	Aaron's 499	Talladega Superspeedway	FOX
10	May 6, 2006	Crown Royal 400	Richmond International Raceway	FX
11	May 13, 2006	Dodge Charger 500	Darlington Raceway	FOX
	May 20, 2006	Nextel All-Star Challenge	Lowe's Motor Speedway	FX
12	May 28, 2006	Coca-Cola 600	Lowe's Motor Speedway	FOX
13	June 4, 2006	Neighborhood Excellence 400 Presented by Bank of America	Dover International Speedway	FX
14	June 11, 2006	Pocono 500	Pocono Raceway	FOX
15	June 18, 2006	3M Performance 400	Michigan International Speedway	FOX
16	June 25, 2006	Dodge / Save Mart 350	Infineon Raceway	FOX
17	July 1, 2006	Pepsi 400	Daytona International Speedway	FOX
18	July 9, 2006	USG Sheetrock 400	Chicagoland Speedway	TNT
19	July 16, 2006	Lenox Industrial Tools 300	New Hampshire International Speedway	TNT
20	July 23, 2006	Pennsylvania 500	Pocono Raceway	TNT
21	August 6, 2006	Allstate 400 At The Brickyard	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	NBC
22	August 13, 2006	AMD at the Glen	Watkins Glen International	NBC
23	August 20, 2006	GFS Marketplace 400	Michigan International Speedway	TNT
24	August 26, 2006	Sharpie 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	TNT
25	September 3, 2006	Sony HD 500	California Speedway	NBC
26	September 9, 2006	Chevy Rock & Roll 400	Richmond International Raceway	TNT
Chase for the Nextel Cup
27	September 17, 2006	Sylvania 300	New Hampshire International Speedway	TNT
28	September 24, 2006	Dover 400	Dover International Speedway	TNT
29	October 1, 2006	Banquet 400 Presented by ConAgra Foods	Kansas Speedway	NBC
30	October 8, 2006	UAW-Ford 500	Talladega Superspeedway	NBC
31	October 14, 2006	Bank of America 500	Lowe's Motor Speedway	NBC
32	October 22, 2006	Subway 500	Martinsville Speedway	NBC
33	October 29, 2006	Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	NBC
34	November 5, 2006	Dickies 500	Texas Motor Speedway	NBC
35	November 12, 2006	Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented By Pennzoil	Phoenix International Raceway	NBC
36	November 19, 2006	Ford 400	Homestead-Miami Speedway	NBC

Results

Round	Race	Pole Winner	Winner	Make	Cautions	Caution Laps	Average Speed	Number of Lead Changes
	2006 Budweiser Shootout	Ken Schrader	Denny Hamlin		3	13	153.627	14
	2006 Gatorade Duel 150 (Race #1)	Jeff Burton	Elliott Sadler		3	10	140.625	2
	2006 Gatorade Duel 150 (Race #2)	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon		3	11	146.490	3
1	2006 Daytona 500	Jeff Burton	Jimmie Johnson		11	39	142.667	32
2	2006 Auto Club 500	Kurt Busch	Matt Kenseth		7	26	147.852	18
3	2006 UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400	Greg Biffle	Jimmie Johnson		7	30	133.358	22
4	2006 Golden Corral 500	Kasey Kahne	Kasey Kahne		8	43	144.098	27
5	2006 Food City 500	N/A	Kurt Busch		18	104	79.427	19
6	2006 DirecTV 500	Jimmie Johnson	Tony Stewart		16	87	72.741	12
7	2006 Samsung / Radio Shack 500	Kasey Kahne	Kasey Kahne		9	43	137.943	22
8	2006 Subway Fresh 500	Kyle Busch	Kevin Harvick		7	29	107.063	20
9	2006 Aaron's 499	Elliott Sadler	Jimmie Johnson		8	34	142.891	56
10	2006 Crown Royal 400	Greg Biffle	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.		11	61	97.061	12
11	2006 Dodge Charger 500	Kasey Kahne	Greg Biffle		6	24	135.127	25
	2006 Nextel All-Star Challenge	Kasey Kahne	Jimmie Johnson		4	16	103.294	8
12	2006 Coca-Cola 600	Scott Riggs	Kasey Kahne		15	66	128.840	37
13	2006 Neighborhood Excellence 400 Presented by Bank of America	Ryan Newman	Matt Kenseth		9	51	109.865	23
14	2006 Pocono 500	Denny Hamlin	Denny Hamlin		7	28	131.656	25
15	2006 3M Performance 400	Kasey Kahne	Kasey Kahne		9	37	118.788	17
16	2006 Dodge / Save Mart 350	Kurt Busch	Jeff Gordon		7	12	73.953	9
17	2006 Pepsi 400	Boris Said	Tony Stewart		6	19	153.143	29
18	2006 USG Sheetrock 400	Jeff Burton	Jeff Gordon		8	34	132.077	18
19	2006 Lenox Industrial Tools 300	Ryan Newman	Kyle Busch		11	49	101.384	21
20	2006 Pennsylvania 500	Denny Hamlin	Denny Hamlin		7	29	132.626	13
21	2006 Allstate 400 At The Brickyard	Jeff Burton	Jimmie Johnson		8	24	137.182	18
22	2006 AMD at the Glen	Kurt Busch	Kevin Harvick		10	22	76.718	14
23	2006 GFS Marketplace 400	Jeff Burton	Matt Kenseth		10	36	135.097	26
24	2006 Sharpie 500	Kurt Busch	Matt Kenseth		10	62	90.025	18
25	2006 Sony HD 500	Kurt Busch	Kasey Kahne		7	29	144.462	26
26	2006 Chevy Rock & Roll 400	Denny Hamlin	Kevin Harvick		7	48	101.342	16
27	2006 Sylvania 300	Kevin Harvick	Kevin Harvick		10	47	102.195	17
28	2006 Dover 400	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Burton		10	48	111.966	12
29	2006 Banquet 400 Presented by ConAgra Foods	Kasey Kahne	Tony Stewart		11	45	121.753	20
30	2006 UAW-Ford 500	David Gilliland	Brian Vickers		6	22	157.602	63
31	2006 Bank of America 500	Scott Riggs	Kasey Kahne		10	52	132.142	34
32	2006 Subway 500	Kurt Busch	Jimmie Johnson		18	107	70.446	16
33	2006 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500	N/A	Tony Stewart		9	39	143.421	24
34	2006 Dickies 500	Brian Vickers	Tony Stewart		12	51	134.891	23
35	2006 Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented by Pennzoil	Jeff Gordon	Kevin Harvick		10	58	96.131	12
36	2006 Ford 400	Kasey Kahne	Greg Biffle		11	43	125.375	15

Final Points Standings

Pos.	Driver	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Points	Difference
1	Jimmie Johnson	36	5	13	24	1	6475
2	Matt Kenseth	36	4	15	21	0	6419	-56
3	Denny Hamlin	36	2	8	20	3	6407	-68
4	Kevin Harvick	36	5	15	20	1	6397	-78
5	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	36	1	10	17	0	6328	-147
6	Jeff Gordon	36	2	14	18	2	6256	-219
7	Jeff Burton	36	1	7	20	4	6228	-247
8	Kasey Kahne	36	6	12	19	6	6183	-292
9	Mark Martin	36	0	7	15	0	6168	-307
10	Kyle Busch	36	1	10	18	1	6027	-448
11	Tony Stewart	36	5	15	19	0	4727	-1,748
12	Carl Edwards	36	0	10	20	0	4428	-2,047
13	Greg Biffle	36	2	8	15	2	4075	-2,400
14	Casey Mears	36	0	2	8	0	3914	-2,561
15	Brian Vickers	36	1	5	9	1	3906	-2,569
16	Kurt Busch	36	1	7	12	6	3900	-2,575
17	Clint Bowyer	36	0	4	11	0	3833	-2,642
18	Ryan Newman	36	0	2	7	2	3748	-2,727
19	Martin Truex Jr	36	0	2	5	0	3673	-2,802
20	Scott Riggs	35	0	1	8	2	3619	-2,856
21	Bobby Labonte	36	0	3	8	0	3567	-2,908
22	Elliott Sadler	36	0	1	7	1	3469	-3,006
23	Dale Jarrett	36	0	1	4	0	3438	-3,037
24	Reed Sorenson	36	0	1	5	0	3434	-3,041
25	Jamie McMurray	36	0	3	7	0	3405	-3,070
26	Dave Blaney	36	0	1	2	0	3259	-3,216
27	Joe Nemechek	36	0	0	2	0	3255	-3,220
28	Jeff Green	36	0	0	2	0	3253	-3,222
29	J.J. Yeley	36	0	0	3	0	3220	-3,255
30	Robby Gordon	36	0	1	3	0	3113	-3,362
31	Ken Schrader	36	0	0	2	0	3049	-3,426
32	Kyle Petty	36	0	0	2	0	2928	-3,547
33	David Stremme	34	0	0	0	0	2865	-3,610
34	Sterling Marlin	36	0	0	1	0	2854	-3,621
35	Tony Raines	29	0	0	1	0	2609	-3,866
36	Travis Kvapil	31	0	0	0	0	2451	-4,024
37	Michael Waltrip	33	0	0	0	0	2350	-4,125
38	Scott Wimmer	24	0	0	0	0	1812	-4,663
39	Jeremy Mayfield	22	0	0	0	0	1684	-4,791
40	Kevin Lepage	22	0	0	0	0	1346	-5,129
41	Terry Labonte	17	0	1	1	0	1278	-5,197
42	David Gilliland	15	0	0	0	1	1178	-5,297
43	Kenny Wallace	17	0	0	0	0	984	-5,491
44	Bill Elliott	10	0	0	0	0	765	-5,710
45	Paul Menard	7	0	0	1	0	669	-5,806
46	Chad Chaffin	10	0	0	0	0	553	-5,922
47	Boris Said	4	0	1	2	1	415	-6,060
48	Mike Bliss	6	0	0	0	0	387	-6,088
49	Brent Sherman	6	0	0	0	0	372	-6,103
50	Mike Wallace	4	0	0	0	0	355	-6,120

Drivers in the Chase for the Nextel Cup are highlighted in yellow. Complete statistics can be found at Racing-Reference.info.

Rookie of the Year

Denny Hamlin won the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award in 2006.

Rookie of the Year Standings

Position	Driver	Points	Race Wins
1	Denny Hamlin	330	2
2	Clint Bowyer	271	0
3	Martin Truex, Jr.	243	0
4	Reed Sorenson	222	0
5	J.J. Yeley	213	0
6	David Stremme	192	0

Manufacturer's Championship

With 23 wins, Chevrolet won the 2006 Manufacturer's Championship.

Position	Make	Points	Race Wins
1		279	23
2		203	7
3		202	6

Other Season Awards:

• Chex National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver: Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
• USG Improving the Finish Award: Tony Stewart
• Clevite Engine Builder of the Year Award: Hendrick Motorsports
• Sunoco Diamond Performance Award: Jimmie Johnson
• Wix Filters Lap Leader Award: Tony Stewart
• Bank Of America Mid-Race Leader Award: Tony Stewart
• Commit Lozenges Commit to Win Award: Kasey Kahne
• Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Season Award: Kevin Harvick
• Bud Pole Award: Kasey Kahne
• Goodyear Gatorback Belts Fastest Lap Award: Matt Kenseth
• Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award (voted by fellow crew chiefs): #31 Richard Childress Racing Pit Crew, led by Scott Miller
• Checkers/Rally's Double Drive Thru Challenge Award (lowest amount of time spent on pit road): Jimmie Johnson
• DirecTV Crew Chief of the Year: Mike Ford (Crew Chief for Denny Hamlin)