- 2006 Daytona 500
The 2006
Daytona 500 was the first race in the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. It took place onFebruary 19 ,2006 atDaytona International Speedway .Qualifying and Gatorade Duels
Jeff Burton won the pole for the race with a speed of over 189 mph, and would start alongsideJeff Gordon in an all-Chevy front row. Gordon would win the second Gatorade Duel (his third career victory in a Daytona qualifying race) afterElliott Sadler won in race 1, which was delayed by showers.The Race
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., the latest scheduled start in the history of the race (so as to get lead into NBC's coverage of the Turin Olympics.) There were several lead changes in the early going en route to a race record of 32.Tony Stewart was a magnet for controversy, tangling withJeff Gordon on lap 48 andMatt 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 theNextel Cup title, got off to a bad start when he was collected in a five-car incident on lap 80 that includedDale 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, despite the suspension of crew chiefChad Knaus for rules violations. He took the lead with 10 laps to go just as the caution flag came out for an incident betweenKurt Busch andJamie McMurray . It set up a 10-lap battle for the win, which was extended into "overtime" when McMurray andJeff Burton collided on lap 197. Thegreen-white-checker finish was anti-climactic, asCasey Mears andRyan Newman battled for second, leaving Johnson to take the victory. The race ended under caution just before Johnson crossed the line afterGreg Biffle crashed in the final turn. The 48th Daytona 500 was the first win for the 48 car on arestrictor plate track and his 19th career victory.Results
* Rookie Failed to qualify:
Scott Riggs (#10),Kenny Wallace (#78),Scott Wimmer (#4), Mike Skinner (#23),Derrike Cope (#74),Larry Gunselman (#52),Chad Blount (#37),Larry Foyt (#50),Andy Belmont (#59),Randy LaJoie (#64),Morgan Shepherd (#89),Chad Chaffin (#92),Carl Long (#80),Paul Menard (#15),Stanton Barrett (#95)References
* [http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2006/1/data/results_official.html Official NASCAR results]
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