2006 Daytona 500

Background

The 48th Daytona 500 was the first of 36 scheduled stock car races of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, and was held on February 19, 2006, in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Daytona International Speedway, a superspeedway that holds NASCAR races. Its standard track is a four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.0 km) superspeedway. Daytona's turns are banked at 31 degrees, and the front stretch—the location of the finish line—is banked at 18 degrees.

NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., who built the Daytona International Speedway, conceived the Daytona 500. The race was first held in 1959, succeeding shorter races held on beaches around Daytona Beach. It has opened the NASCAR season since 1982, and from 1988, was one of four events that require cars to run restrictor plates. The race is often regarded as NASCAR's most prestigious race because it offers the most prize money in American auto racing. Victory is considered equal to winning either the World Series, the Super Bowl or The Masters. It is often called the "Great American Race" or the "Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing".

NASCAR held numerous test sessions in preparation for the race on January 9–11 (for teams finishing in an odd-number position in the 2005 car owner points standings) and January 16–18, 2006 (for teams finishing in an even-number position in the 2005 car owner points standings). Every test session began at 9 a.m. EST, stopped for one hour from 12:00 – 1:00 pm. EST, and concluded at 5:00 pm. EST. Jeff Gordon was fastest in the first session with a speed of 187.029 mph. Bill Elliott paced the second session with a speed of 187.219 mph. Jimmie Johnson led the third session at 186.966 mph and Gordon the fourth at 188.466 mph. Matt Kenseth and Gordon led sessions five and six with respective speeds of 188.403 mph and 189.298 mph. Kyle Busch and Sterling Marlin paced sessions seven and eight with speeds of 186.629 mph and 187.110 mph, while Scott Riggs and Kyle Busch led the ninth and tenth sessions from speeds of 185.345 mph and 188.119 mph. Dale Jarrett and Kyle Busch led the final two sessions with respective speeds of 189.215 mph and 190.251 mph.

The event featured 58 entrants from 34 different teams. Following a large amount of bump drafting in the Budweiser Shootout, NASCAR implemented two "no zones" at the exit of corners, which series officials and multiple digital cameras would check for drivers attempting to ram their cars into the rear of other vehicles in order to gain an aerodynamic or overtaking advantage. Drivers would face a drive-through penalty or disqualification from the race depending on the severity of the bump. NASCAR's vice-president of competition, Robin Pemberton, stated that bump drafting in turns would no longer be tolerated. He commented, "It crosses over the line when the drivers are in the corner. That is not a good place to bump-draft. A straight line, it's not the best either, but a straight line is far safer than in the corners. There's guys that haven't totally honed the craft of bump drafting."

Entry list

• (R) denotes rookie driver
• (W) denotes past 500 winner

Practice and qualifier

Before the race on Sunday, there were six practice sessions. The first two were held on February 11 and lasted 120 and 90 minutes, respectively. The following two were held on February 15 after qualifying, and were shortened to 60 minutes. Two days later, another 75-minute practice session was scheduled. The final practice session was held on February 18 and lasted 60 minutes. Kevin Harvick was fastest in the first practice session with a lap of 47.771 seconds, ahead of Gordon, Kyle Petty, Elliott Sadler, Johnson, Jarrett, Elliott, Jeremy Mayfield, Bobby Labonte, and Joe Nemechek. With a time of 47.757 seconds, Sadler led the rain-curtailed second practice session; Gordon was 0.219 seconds slower as he duplicated his first-practice result in second. Elliott improved to third. Jarrett, Johnson, Marlin, Mayfield, Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, and Kurt Busch followed in positions four to ten. Kurt Busch hit a large section of cardboard on the back stretch, stopping the session after an hour.

On February 12, 58 cars ran two qualifying laps for 43 slots in the race. Unlike most races throughout the season, qualifying set the first two positions. The remaining drivers had to qualify through the 2006 Gatorade Duels, in which 37 drivers were assigned mostly based on where they finished. Three remaining drivers were chosen through their qualifying speed, and one prior series champion qualified with a champions' provisional. The weather was cold with a tailwind. Jeff Burton was the 34th driver to set a lap time; he took his first pole position at Daytona International Speedway, his first since the 2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400, and the third of his career with a time of 47.581 seconds. He was joined on the grid's front row by Gordon who was 0.169 seconds slower. After qualifying, Burton said, "We just got lucky. That's the best wind we've had down here in all of testing and everything else. It just played into our hands, and we had a car that could take advantage of it.", and, "Today had nothing to do with me. The only impact that I had on today at all was to be a warm-blooded person that could mash the gas and turn the thing on. I think Michael Waltrip once said a drunk monkey could do it, and I was a drunk monkey, I guess."

Following post-qualifying inspection, Johnson's lap times were deleted due to an illegal rear window template lowered by a track bar adjuster to the right rear of his vehicle, giving Johnson an aerodynamic advantage. Terry Labonte's lap times were also invalidated after it was found that his car's carburetor had non-sanctioned modifications. NASCAR did not confiscate Johnson's primary car, and his crew corrected the infraction to let it to compete again. NASCAR ejected Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus from the Daytona 500, which was unappealable. Knaus was replaced by Hendrick Motorsports lead engineer Darian Grubb.

In the third practice session, Dale Earnhardt Jr. led with a 47.024 seconds lap, ahead of Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Kevin Lepage, Scott Wimmer, Jeff Green. Kurt Busch, David Stremme, Burton, and Jamie McMurray. Petty and Kenny Wallace had anxious moments drafting other cars; both drivers were able to control their vehicles. Both Hamlin and Derrike Cope hit a wall beside the track; they continued with no major car damage. Brian Vickers led the fourth practice session with a 46.946 seconds time, with Mike Wallace, Greg Biffle, Jarrett, Kenseth, Bowyer, Robby Gordon, Burton, Chad Chaffin and Dave Blaney in positions two to ten. Mike Wallace had a tire detach and his oil line failed 15 minutes into the session.

Sadler and Jeff Gordon won the Gatorade Duels. The qualifying grid was finalized with Sadler, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, McMurray, Earnhardt, Bobby Labonte, Johnson and Mark Martin completing the top ten starters. Travis Kvapil, Hermie Sadler, and Kirk Shelmerdine were the final three drivers to qualify based on their qualifying speed. Terry Labonte began the race on a champions' provisional. Riggs, Kenny Wallace, Wimmer, Mike Skinner, Cope, Larry Gunselman, Chad Blount, Larry Foyt, Andy Belmont, Randy LaJoie, Morgan Shepherd, Chaffin, Carl Long, Paul Menard, and Stanton Barrett were the 15 drivers who did not qualify. Marlin went to a backup car after being involved in a collision in the first qualifying race. Nemechek's team changed his engine after it failed in the second qualifier.

Stremme paced the fifth practice session with a 47.038 seconds, 0.001 seconds faster than Robby Gordon in second. Harvick, Green, Elliott, Ken Schrader, McMurray, Kasey Kahne, Earnhardt and Kurt Busch followed in the top ten. In the final practice session, which took place in warm weather and saw drivers limit their running to preserve their cars, Schrader lapped fastest overall at 46.708 seconds; Martin Truex Jr., Earnhardt, Green, Lepage, Jarrett, Marlin, Petty, Burton, and Brent Sherman completed the top ten. The session passed without major incident. Bobby Labonte's engine failed late in practice, and his team changed engines. Vickers glanced the turn three wall and resumed without major car damage.

Qualifying results

Race

At 9:00 a.m., Nemechek's engine compartment caught fire after oil-covered tire rubber in his exhaust header ignited, requiring his team to replace the wiring harness and the aluminum heat shield beside the engine's header. Live television coverage began at 1:30 pm EDT in the United States on NBC. Around the start of the race, the weather was overcast and cool; forecasts predicted an air temperature of 65 F and cloudy conditions. During the pace laps, Bobby Labonte and Nemechek moved to the rear of the field because they changed their engines. Marlin did the same after going to a back-up car.

The race began at 2:45 pm. Burton maintained the lead over the field into the first turn. In turn three, Green's left-rear tire went flat; no caution was prompted because the carcass rolled into the infield grass. By lap three, two different packs of cars had formed; 27 cars were in the lead pack, and the rest were five seconds behind. Earnhardt made it three abreast through the tri-oval on the fifth lap; it returned to two abreast into the back straightaway. Harvick moved from 26th to ninth by lap nine, while Petty dropped 17 positions over the same distance. The top three cars established a single file on lap 15, with the next six rows two abreast. Two laps later, the first caution was given; Truex served to avoid Vickers when he lost control of his car exiting turn two. Vickers collided with the right-hand side wall, causing his car's right-side sheet metal to rub against the right rear tire. During the caution, the field (including Burton), made pit stops for fuel and tires. Sadler led Earnhardt at the lap 21 restart.

One lap later, Earnhardt went right to unsuccessfully attempt a pass on Sadler without drafting assistance but fell back. Jeff Gordon took the lead on lap 24th, as Sadler fell to fourth. On lap 25, Kenseth overtook Gordon for first, with Earnhardt second and Stewart third. Earnhardt passed Kenseth for the lead two laps later, as Stewart got loose in turn two and slid up towards Kenseth; he regained control of his car. McMurray gave Stewart drafting assistance in passing Earnhardt for first on the 28th lap. Six laps later, Mike Wallace collided with Mayfield, went into Biffle; no caution was issued. Mayfield entered pit road for repairs on the lap. He made a second pit stop on lap 38 because a fender cut his right-front tire. On lap 40, Stewart remained first, with McMurray second. Mayfield made a third pit stop for sheet metal repairs on the next lap.

On the 48th lap, just after Stewart lost the lead to McMurray, Gordon lost control of his vehicle and collided with Stewart's front. Both drivers were sent into the right-hand wall leaving the second turn and incurred right-side damage. The field (including McMurray) made pit stops under caution. McMurray was dropped off his team's jack, causing metal sheet damage, and Edwards had front-end repairs made. As fog fell between turns one and three, restricting visibility, Newman led at the lap 52 restart, followed by Kenseth. Six laps later, Kyle Busch helped Kenseth take the lead from Newman. Kyle Busch lost positions from lap 61, while Kurt Busch moved to third. By the 75th lap, Stewart returned to 13th place. Four laps later, a multi-car collision caused a third caution. Green's car slid upward into J. J. Yeley's path in turn three after colliding with Jarrett, collecting Nemechek. The front of Edwards' car briefly mounted Petty's left-side fender before both drivers slid into the infield grass at turn three.

The fifth caution was waved on lap 107. Stewart went left and hit the front of Kenseth's car into turn three. This sent Kenseth into the infield grass and backward onto the track in turn three, where he hit no other cars before glancing the wall. The field (including Martin) entered pit road during the caution. Earnhardt took the lead after all cars made their pit stops. Meanwhile, Stewart was sent to the end of the longest line for "aggressive driving". As Stewart and Kenseth exited pit road, Kenseth went to the outside into turn one and collided with Stewart's right-hand quarter. NASCAR ordered Kenseth to serve a drive-through penalty. The race resumed on lap 112, with Earnhardt leading a lap before Biffle overtook him. Kenseth disputed his penalty and remained on track until the 114th lap. Earnhardt retook the lead for two laps, before Kyle Busch led laps 116 and 120 until Johnson passed him on lap 121. On lap 124, Robby Gordon's right-front tire failed in turn three, and he hit the wall, triggering the sixth caution.

The field (including Johnson) entered pit road under caution. Elliott led the field on lap 126 before his pit stop. Stewart drove over his pit stall jack, and was ordered to drop to the end of the nearest longest line. Martin led at the lap 129 restart, followed by Johnson. That lap, Johnson unsuccessfully tried to pass Martin on the outside. Martin pulled away with drafting aid from Earnhardt, and the top six had formed a single line by lap 132. Earnhardt reclaimed the lead ten laps later, and Vickers passed teammate Johnson on the outside on lap 143. Vickers took the lead on the next lap. Lap 155 saw the seventh caution; debris was located in the frontstretch groove. All of the leaders including Vickers made pit stops under caution. Johnson went onto the grass to avoid hitting Newman. Earnhardt led Vickers and Newman at the lap 160 restart. Newman passed Earnhardt on the outside for the lead four laps later, which Earnhardt retook momentarily. Kurt Busch moved to second on lap 167.

Kahne helped Earnhardt move to second on lap 171. Kvapil's right front tire burst five laps later, sending him into the turn three right-hand wall and prompting the eighth caution. During the caution, all cars including Newman entered pit road. Vickers led at the lap 181 restart with no new tires on his car. Every driver, except for Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch, turned onto the inside. Just as Johnson overtook his teammate Vickers on the outside in turn two for the lead with Newman's help, the ninth caution was waved on the 187th lap. McMurray collided with Kurt Busch's left-rear on the backstretch, sending Busch into a barrier. Marlin and Jeff Gordon were collected, and debris struck Stewart's car. Johnson maintained the lead at the lap 190 restart. Newman bump drafted Vickers for two laps, before passing him for second, and attempted to challenge Johnson. Casey Mears then overtook Vickers for third.

Johnson led the next seven laps before an accident brought out the tenth caution flag. Burton slid up the backstretch and hit McMurray, leading Burton to collide with the wall. Burton collided with Bobby Labonte's right side, causing both cars to strike the wall, and Labonte collected Hamlin. During the caution, one of Newman's mechanics pleaded with representatives from Mears' and Sadler's teams to help Newman on the outside for the restart. Both declined because of the chance to win the race. The race restarted on the 202nd lap for a green–white–checker finish extending it to 203 laps, with Johnson leading Newman and Mears. The trio drew clear from the field. Strong runs from Sadler and Earnhardt closed them up to the top three.

Earnhardt attempted to gain positions by turning right on the final lap, but fell back. Then, Newman attempted to pass Johnson on the outside; Mears remained with Johnson instead of drafting Newman. Biffle spun and hit the turn four wall, causing the eleventh (and final) caution. The field was frozen in place, with the finish order determined by where the drivers were when the caution began. This gave Johnson his maiden Daytona 500 victory, his first at either Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway, and the 19th of his career. Mears, Newman, Sadler, Stewart, Bowyer, Vickers, Earnhardt, Schrader, and Jarrett completed the top ten finishers. There were 11 cautions and 32 lead changes among a record-setting 18 different drivers during the race. Earnhardt led the most laps of any racer (32). Johnson led four times totaling 24 laps.

Post-race

Johnson appeared in Victory Lane to celebrate his first Daytona 500 victory in front of a crowd of 200,000 spectators; the win earned him $1,505,124. He believed his team would win without Knaus and dedicated it to his detractors, saying, "I just have so much pride in my team with the circumstances that we've faced this week. Chad made a mistake and we're dealing with the consequences that come with that. But I think this shows how hard we work to be successful, and nobody can deny the fact that we worked out butts off and won the sport's biggest race." Mears said he was happy to be second, the fifth top-five finish of his career, "These races are so hard to get good finishes in [because] so many people can affect the outcome. Obviously we would have liked to have won [because] it would have forced Chip and Felix [Sabates, team co-owner] to put me in the Indy 500, which would have been a lot of fun. At the end of the day, it was a good finish for us, we had an excellent day and I couldn't be happier – unless we won." Third-placed Newman told Mears after the race, "You cost me a million dollars". He said he was proud to attempt a pass for the win, "I told the guys over the radio afterward, if I had that run and didn't take it, I would have had a hard time sleeping tonight – probably for the next 10 or 15 years, maybe – you never know."

Regarding whether Johnson would be allowed to keep the victory, Johnson was declared the winner several hours later after his car passed post-race inspection. Newman noted three of Johnson's previous wins came under scrutiny from NASCAR, adding, "This could still be the first opportunity for NASCAR to pull away a victory if the thing is illegal, I think a lot of Jimmie Johnson and his talent ... but I'm pretty sure that three of his past four wins have had conflict with the cars being illegal. It's not necessarily good for the sport." Johnson responded by criticizing Newman's crew chief Matt Borland and said that he would defend himself and Hendrick Motorsports against personal criticism. Mears believed Johnson earned the victory, "In my mind, the fact that they got caught earlier in the week took away every doubt in my mind that they'd actually do anything to cheat in this race." Hendrick Motorsports founder and owner Rick Hendrick declared Knaus' ejection from the race as unimportant, commenting, "We've been through inspection I don't know how many times. NASCAR did what they did, and we came back and ran two races. That was history."

Two days after the race, NASCAR announced penalties for Hendrick Motorsports and Hall of Fame Racing. Hendrick Motorsport's penalties for "actions detrimental to stock car racing", and for making an unapproved template modification to Johnson's rear window, included a $25,000 fine for Knaus, who was suspended from NASCAR until March 22, 2006. Knaus was also placed on probation until December 31, 2006; Johnson did not incur a points penalty. The team did not appeal the penalties and Grubb continued in Knaus' role until the Golden Corral 500. Hall of Fame Racing's penalties were for "actions detrimental to stock car racing", and for having a non-compliant carburetor in accordance to the 2006 NASCAR Rule Book. Crew chief Philippe Lopez was fined $25,000, and Terry Labonte and team owner Bill Saunders were penalized 25 points in the Drivers' and Owners' Championships. Hall of Fame Racing decided not to appeal further to Charles D. Strang, the NASCAR National Commissioner.

Kenseth said Stewart purposefully eliminated him from contention on lap 107. He was disenchanted with him, and urged NASCAR to address bump drafting, "There's no two ways about it. He was mad because earlier in the race when I passed him he got loose, which I didn't think I did anything wrong." Stewart argued Kenseth caused the crash, "I guess Matt didn't think anything when he got me sideways over in (Turn) 2, either. He should have thought about that first. He got back what he started in the first place. I got penalized for that." McMurray commented on his accident with Kurt Busch on lap 187, "I need to apologize to Kurt. I got into him, that was 100 percent my fault and I feel really bad because he had a car capable of winning and I kind of screwed that up for him." Earnhardt, who led the most laps of any driver with 32, said he was pleased to finish ninth, "We had a great race car, built by all the technology and resources at DEI. ... We came down here and ran great. That's what we wanted to do. I'm real proud of everybody back at the shop and all my guys down here that have been working on this car all week. It's been a long week."

Johnson led the Drivers' Championship with 185 points after the season's first race, with Mears and Newman tied for second with 170 points. The top ten were completed by Sadler, Stewart, Earnhardt, Vickers, Bowyer, Schrader, and Jarrett. Johnson won his first of five races of the 2006 season and took his first of seven NASCAR Cup Series championships at the season's end. Chevrolet led the Manufacturers' Championship with nine points, Dodge was in second with six points, and Ford followed in third with four points. The race attracted 19.355 million viewers; it took 3 hours, 33 minutes, and 26 seconds to complete; because it ended under caution, no margin of victory was recorded.

Race results

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings

;Manufacturers' Championship standings

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for the driver standings.

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