2006 Daytona 500

2006 Daytona 500

Race details
Race 1 of 36 in the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season
Daytona International Speedway
Date	February 19, 2006 (2006-02-19)
Location	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.02336 km)
Distance	203 laps, 507.5 mi (816.742 km)
Scheduled Distance	200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Average speed	142.734 miles per hour (229.708 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Jeff Burton	Richard Childress Racing
Time	47.581
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner	Elliott Sadler	Robert Yates Racing
Duel 2 Winner	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Most laps led
Driver	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Laps	32
Winner
48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
U.S. Television
Network	NBC
Announcers	Bill Weber, Benny Parsons, and Wally Dallenbach Jr.

The 2006 Daytona 500, the 48th running of the event, was the first race in the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. It took place on February 19, 2006 at Daytona International Speedway. Jimmie Johnson won the race in a green-white-checker finish. It was the second Daytona 500 in a row to go longer than 500 miles; this race, like the previous Daytona 500, had a total distance of 507.5 miles, or 203 laps. It was also the first Daytona 500 to end after dark, ending even later than the 2005 race, in which the checkered flag had waved just a few moments after sunset.

Johnson's car failed pre-race inspection and as a result his crew chief, Chad Knaus was suspended for the first 4 races and the team was fined $200,000. As a result Darian Grubb replaced him as crew chief. Knaus was not blocked, however, from contacting the team and by many accounts still had significant input. Johnson would go on to win his first championship that year.

Qualifying and Gatorade Duels

Further information: 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series#Qualifying and Gatorade Duels

Jeff Burton won the pole for the race with a speed of over 189 mph, and would start alongside Jeff Gordon in an all-Chevy front row. Gordon would win the second Gatorade Duel (his third career victory in a Daytona qualifying race) after Elliott Sadler won in race 1, which was delayed by showers.

Race summary

The weather dawned cloudy and cold for the 48th running of "The Great American Race", as Jeff Burton led the field to the green at 2:45 p.m., which at the time was the latest scheduled start in the history of the race. (The reason for this was that NBC chose it as its lead-in program to the primetime portion of its day's coverage of the Winter Olympic Games from Turin.) There were several lead changes in the early portion going en route to a race record of 32. Tony Stewart was a magnet for controversy, tangling with Jeff Gordon on lap 48 and Matt Kenseth on lap 106. Stewart was penalized for aggressive driving after the Kenseth incident, in which he blocked the 17 car down into the grass on the backstretch, which led to a Kenseth spin. Kenseth took matters into his own hands and was black flagged for hitting Stewart's car in retaliation on pit road. All three drivers involved in the incidents would repair their cars and get back into contention. Carl Edwards, a popular dark horse candidate for the Nextel Cup title, had his race end early when he was collected in a five-car incident on lap 80 that included Dale Jarrett, Kyle Petty and two other cars. It was the biggest crash of the day, as the "Big One" never happened. Edwards finished 43rd.

Jimmie Johnson had one of the strongest cars all day. He took the lead with 10 laps to go just as the caution flag came out for an incident between Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray. It set up a 10-lap battle for the win, which was extended into "overtime" when McMurray and Jeff Burton collided on lap 197. The green-white-checker finish ended as Casey Mears and Ryan Newman battled for second, leaving Johnson to take the victory. The race ended under caution just before Johnson crossed the line after Greg Biffle crashed in the final turn. The 48th Daytona 500 was the first win for the 48 car on a restrictor plate track, his 19th career victory and the first win on his streak of five straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Championships from 2006 until 2010.

One surprise of the race was Kirk Shelmerdine, who finished 20th. He had barely qualified for the race and his independently-owned #27 finished the race with a borrowed engine, donated tires, and a volunteer pit crew.

Results

1. 48-Jimmie Johnson, Led 24 of 203 Laps
2. 42-Casey Mears
3. 12-Ryan Newman, Led 23 Laps
4. 38-Elliott Sadler, Led 5 Laps
5. 20-Tony Stewart, Led 20 Laps
6. 07-Clint Bowyer*
7. 25-Brian Vickers, Led 21 Laps
8. 8-Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Led 32 Laps
9. 21-Ken Schrader
10. 88-Dale Jarrett
11. 9-Kasey Kahne
12. 6-Mark Martin, Led 19 Laps
13. 7-Robby Gordon
14. 29-Kevin Harvick, Led 1 Lap
15. 17-Matt Kenseth, Led 28 Laps
16. 1-Martin Truex, Jr.
17. 96-Terry Labonte
18. 55-Michael Waltrip
19. 36-Bill Elliott, Led 1 Lap
20. 27-Kirk Shelmerdine
21. 49-Brent Sherman*
22. 22-Dave Blaney
23. 5-Kyle Busch, Led 5 Laps
24. 09-Mike Wallace
25. 61-Kevin Lepage, Led 1 Lap
26. 24-Jeff Gordon, Led 1 Lap
27. 32-Travis Kvapil, Led 1 Lap
28. 40-David Stremme*
29. 41-Reed Sorenson*
30. 11-Denny Hamlin*
31. 16-Greg Biffle, Led 1 Lap
32. 31-Jeff Burton, 1 Lap Down; Led 18 Laps
33. 01-Joe Nemechek, 3 Laps Down
34. 14-Sterling Marlin, 3 Laps Down
35. 43-Bobby Labonte, Completed 197 Laps (Accident)
36. 19-Jeremy Mayfield, 6 Laps Down
37. 26-Jamie McMurray, 196 Laps (Accident); Led 1 Lap
38. 2-Kurt Busch, 187 Laps (Accident); Led 1 Lap
39. 45-Kyle Petty, 30 Laps Down
40. 00-Hermie Sadler, 169 Laps (Engine Failure)
41. 18-J. J. Yeley*, 46 Laps Down
42. 66-Jeff Green, 47 Laps Down
43. 99-Carl Edwards, 78 Laps (Accident)

* Rookie

Failed to qualify:

• 10-Scott Riggs
• 78-Kenny Wallace
• 4-Scott Wimmer
• 23-Mike Skinner
• 74-Derrike Cope
• 52-Larry Gunselman
• 37-Chad Blount
• 50-Larry Foyt
• 59-Andy Belmont
• 64-Randy LaJoie
• 89-Morgan Shepherd
• 92-Chad Chaffin
• 80-Carl Long
• 15-Paul Menard
• 95-Stanton Barrett

References

• Official NASCAR results