2006 Auto Club 500

Last updated
2006 Auto Club 500
Race details [1]
Race 2 of 36 in the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season
2006 Auto Club 500 program cover.jpeg
2006 Auto Club 500 program cover
Date February 26, 2006 (2006-February-26)
Official name Auto Club 500
Location Auto Club Speedway
Fontana, California, U.S.
Course Permanent racing facility
2.0 mi (3.23 km)
Distance 251 laps, 502 mi (807.89 km)
Scheduled Distance 250 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching up to 75.2 °F (24.0 °C); wind speeds up to 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h)
Average speed 147.852 miles per hour (237.945 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Penske Racing
Time 38.485
Most laps led
Driver Greg Biffle Roush Racing
Laps 168
Winner
No. 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, and Larry McReynolds

The 2006 Auto Club 500 was the second race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. It was held on February 26, 2006 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

Contents

Qualifying

Pos [2] Car #DriverMakePrimary SponsorSpeedTimeBehind
12Kurt BuschDodgeMiller Lite187.08638.4850.000
216Greg BiffleFordJackson Hewitt / National Guard186.18638.671-0.186
348Jimmie JohnsonChevroletLowe's185.73538.765-0.280
418JJ YeleyChevroletInterstate Batteries185.18038.881-0.396
511Denny HamlinChevroletFedEx Kinko's184.91938.936-0.451
631Jeff BurtonChevroletCingular Wireless184.87138.946-0.461
75Kyle BuschChevroletKellogg's184.80038.961-0.476
81Joe NemechekChevroletU.S. Army184.75838.970-0.485
924Jeff GordonChevroletDuPont Hot Hues184.72038.978-0.493
106Mark MartinFordAAA184.45039.035-0.550
1112Ryan NewmanDodgeMobil 1184.31839.063-0.578
1220Tony StewartChevroletThe Home Depot184.30339.066-0.581
139Kasey KahneDodgeDodge Dealers / UAW184.21939.084-0.599
1410Scott RiggsDodgeValvoline / Stanley Tools184.20939.086-0.601
1529Kevin HarvickChevroletIcebreakers Ice Cubes184.19539.089-0.604
1638Elliott SadlerFordPedigree183.76739.180-0.695
1714Sterling MarlinChevroletCENTRIX Auto Finance183.61339.213-0.728
188Dale Earnhardt JrChevroletBudweiser183.57039.222-0.737
1988Dale JarrettFordUPS183.56639.223-0.738
2042Casey MearsDodgeTexaco / Havoline183.52439.232-0.747
2119Jeremy MayfieldDodgeDodge Dealers / UAW183.39739.259-0.774
2299Carl EdwardsFordOffice Depot183.36039.267-0.782
231Martin Truex JrChevroletBass Pro Shops / Tracker183.17339.307-0.822
2422Dave BlaneyDodgeCaterpillar183.15539.311-0.826
2526Jamie McMurrayFordCrown Royal183.09039.325-0.840
2666Jeff GreenChevroletBest Buy183.02039.340-0.855
2743Bobby LabonteDodgeCheerios / Betty Crocker183.02039.340-0.855
2825Brian VickersChevroletGMAC182.91339.363-0.878
2941Reed SorensonDodgeEnergizer e2 Lithium182.82039.383-0.898
3095Stanton BarrettChevrolethairofdog.com182.80139.387-0.902
3117Matt KensethFordDEWALT Power Tools182.58839.433-0.948
327Clint BowyerChevroletJack Daniel's182.48639.455-0.970
3355Michael WaltripDodgeNAPA Auto Parts182.45439.462-0.977
347Robby GordonChevroletJim Beam182.38039.478-0.993
3551Mike GarveyChevroletMarathon American Spirit Motor Oil182.32039.491-1.006
3678Kenny WallaceChevroletFurniture Row Racing182.30639.494-1.009
3761Kevin LepageFordRoadLoans.com182.24239.508-1.023
384Scott WimmerChevroletAERO Exhaust182.00739.559-1.074
3945Kyle PettyDodgeWells Fargo181.46139.678-1.193
4140David StremmeDodgeCoors Light181.00539.778-1.293
4121Ken SchraderFordLittle Debbie179.34140.147-1.662
4249Brent ShermanDodgeSerta178.16940.411-1.926
4396Terry LabonteChevroletDLP HDTV / Tweeter181.05939.766-1.281
Failed to qualify or withdrew
4432Travis KvapilChevroletTide
4500Hermie SadlerFordAaron's Dream Machine
4674Derrike CopeDodgeMyGuardian911
4734Randy LaJoieDodgeFront Row Motorsports
4889Morgan ShepherdDodgeVictory In Jesus / Dutch Quality Stone
WD50Jimmy SpencerDodge

Summary

Body styles and engines were the story of the second race of the Nextel Cup season. Kurt Busch won the pole (187.086 mph) using a 2004 Dodge Intrepid-styled body, as opposed to the new Dodge Charger, which his Penske Racing team believed was aerodynamically superior. Bobby Labonte and the #43 team ran the Intrepid as well. Others, including Evernham Motorsports drivers Jeremy Mayfield and Kasey Kahne, drove the Charger.

On race day, Greg Biffle dominated, leading 168 of the first 218 laps. Biffle won last year's spring race at California, finished second in the fall, and had won the Busch race the day before. Tony Stewart was the fastest Chevy in the early going. He overcame the car falling off the jack on a pit stop and an unscheduled stop for a flat tire to claw his way back among the leaders only to have an engine failure at lap 215, ending a string of 30 straight races without a DNF. Biffle continued up front until lap 226. He reported to the crew that his engine had lost a cylinder and a few laps later, he retired to the garage. This left Matt Kenseth to take the lead and only a late-race caution kept him from pulling away. Smoke and oil from the #4 car of Scott Wimmer brought out a yellow with three laps to go. Kenseth easily held off Jimmie Johnson in the green-white-checker finish to earn his 11th career win.

Race results

FinStDriverCar #MakePointsBonusLapsWinnings
131 Matt Kenseth 17 Ford 1855251$324,991
23 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 170251$235,936
322 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 165251$165,550
413 Kasey Kahne 9 Dodge 1655251$166,239
56 Jeff Burton 31 Chevrolet 155251$158,970
625 Jamie McMurray 26 Ford 150251$142,375
720 Casey Mears 42 Dodge 146251$140,858
84 J.J. Yeley *18 Chevrolet 1475251$140,075
910 Mark Martin 6 Ford 1435251$104,800
107 Kyle Busch 5 Chevrolet 134251$105,225
1118 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 8 Chevrolet 1355251$132,366
125 Denny Hamlin *11 Chevrolet 127251$104,575
139 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 1295251$127,261
1432 Clint Bowyer *7 Chevrolet 121251$100,425
1523 Martin Truex Jr. *1 Chevrolet 118251$114,383
161 Kurt Busch 2 Dodge 1205251$144,558
1719 Dale Jarrett 88 Ford 112251$133,050
1828 Brian Vickers 25 Chevrolet 109250$97,625
1914 Scott Riggs 10 Dodge 106250$88,925
2011 Ryan Newman 12 Dodge 103250$132,683
2129 Reed Sorenson *41 Dodge 100250$97,875
2221 Jeremy Mayfield 19 Dodge 97250$116,916
2316 Elliott Sadler 38 Ford 94250$115,083
2426 Jeff Green 66 Chevrolet 91250$121,058
2539 Kyle Petty 45 Dodge 88250$107,333
2634 Robby Gordon 7 Chevrolet 85249$95,075
278 Joe Nemechek 1 Chevrolet 82249$109,820
2841 Ken Schrader 21 Ford 79249$109,589
2915 Kevin Harvick 29 Chevrolet 76249$116,611
3024 Dave Blaney 22 Dodge 73249$91,583
3127 Bobby Labonte 43 Dodge 70249$116,186
3217 Sterling Marlin 14 Chevrolet 67249$88,592
3340 David Stremme *40 Dodge 64248$87,775
3443 Terry Labonte 96 Chevrolet 61248$78,625
3537 Kevin Lepage 61 Ford 58248$78,425
3633 Michael Waltrip 55 Dodge 55247$78,275
3742 Brent Sherman *49 Dodge 52247$78,050
3835 Mike Garvey 151 Chevrolet 49247$77,800
3938 Scott Wimmer 4 Chevrolet 46246$77,680
4030 Stanton Barrett 195 Chevrolet 43242$77,525
4136 Kenny Wallace 178 Chevrolet 40237$77,400
422 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 4710229$106,005
4312 Tony Stewart 20 Chevrolet 395214$119,453

Failed to qualify: Travis Kvapil (#32), Hermie Sadler (#00), Derrike Cope (#74), Randy LaJoie (#34), Morgan Shepherd (#89)

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References

  1. "2006 Auto Club 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2015-01-31.
  2. "Auto Club 500 Qualifying Results and Starting Lineup Auto Club Speedway NASCAR 2006". NASCAR Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
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