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2006 Year in Review
Jimmie Johnson – Johnson won the coveted NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship for the first time in his career after finishing in the top five in the standings all five of his years in the Cup Series. Johnson had a series best Driver Rating of 101.9 enroute to posting five victories and 24 top 10 finishes during the season. Johnson erased a 165-point deficit with seven races remaining in the Chase to claim the championship.
Jeff Burton – After missing the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup the past two seasons, Burton rebounded to crack the top 10 and even lead the point standings for four straight weeks following his victory at Dover (9/24). That was his first win in nearly five years. Burton finished seventh in the standings, with one win, 20 top -10 and seven top- five finishes.
Rookie David Gilliland turned in a breakthrough performance by winning his first NASCAR Busch Series race at Kentucky Speedway (June 17). Gilliland parlayed the victory into landing a seat later in the summer in the No. 38 M&M’s Dodge at the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series level for Robert Yates Racing and will be racing fulltime for that team in 2007.
Richard Childress – After winning six NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championships with the late Dale Earnhardt, Childress’ teams had slumped over the past five years. In 2006, Childress placed two drivers in the Chase – Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick – and Harvick dominated the NASCAR Busch Series enroute to winning his second series title.
- Jimmie Johnson wins the Brickyard 400 and becomes only the second NASCAR driver to win both the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year
- Jeff Burton breaks a five-year winless drought with a victory at Dover
- Jimmie Johnson passes Matt Kenseth on the last lap to win the UAW-Daimler-Chrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
- Kevin Harvick passes Kurt Busch in the grass to win at Watkins Glen
Denny Hamlin – Hamlin swept both races at Pocono and became the first rookie to make the Chase. Hamlin finished third in the point standings – the second highest finish ever by a rookie in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship standings.
Kevin Harvick – Harvick dominated the NASCAR Busch Series by winning nine races and clinched the series title with four races remaining. His 824-point margin of victory over runner-up Carl Edwards was the largest in the 25-year history of the NASCAR Busch Series. Harvick also chased history towards the season’s stretch run, as he attempted to become the first NASCAR driver to ever win both the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and NASCAR Busch Series in the same season. Harvick finished fourth in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.