Kasey Kahne came from second on the grid to beat Jimmie Johnson in a Chase race with 10 cautions, 34 lead changes and a tight points battle at the top.
Kahne started second and beat Jimmie Johnson by 1.624 seconds at Lowe's Motor Speedway in October 2006. That was his sixth victory of the year and it came in the fifth round of the Chase. Burton, third across the line, retained the points lead afterwards.
Kasey Kahne won the 2006 Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway on October 14, 2006, starting from second on the grid. Jimmie Johnson finished second, and Jeff Burton was third in a race that featured ten cautions and 34 lead changes. It was Kahne's sixth victory of the year and seventh of his career, and it came in the fifth race of the ten-race Chase for the Nextel Cup.
What was the 2006 Bank of America 500?
Staged as race 31 of the 2006 Nextel Cup season, it was the fifth round of the season-ending Chase. It was held in Concord, North Carolina, before a crowd of 175,000 people at Lowe's Motor Speedway, an intermediate track. The event was run over 334 laps on a four-turn quad-oval.
The 334-lap race covered 806 km (501 mi) on a four-turn, 2.4 km (1.5 mile) asphalt quad-oval. The turns are banked at 24 degrees, while both the front stretch, where the finish line sits, and the back stretch carry five degrees of banking.
A Chase race that turned on a late pass, a stalled engine and one of the most watched shock absorber penalties of the year.
Where did the Chase stand before the race?
Going into the race, Burton topped the drivers' table with 5,598 points. Matt Kenseth was second, six points behind, and Mark Martin sat a further four points back in third, while Harvick and Hamlin were fourth and fifth. Chevrolet led the manufacturers' table with 231 points, ahead of Dodge and Ford.
Earnhardt, Gordon, Johnson, Kahne and Kyle Busch made up the rest of the Chase top ten. Johnson was the defending race winner. In the manufacturers' table Chevrolet led on 231 points, with Dodge on 170 and Ford on 169.
What changed in the rules and tyres for this race?
NASCAR mandated a 13.8-US-gallon (52 L; 11.5 imp gal) fuel cell, which was used for the second time that season. The aim was to create fewer laps between pit stops and more tyre changes over the race distance. Teams had to plan their pit strategy around that restriction.
Goodyear brought a supply of new right-hand tyres, which had been tested at the track on August 29 by Joe Nemechek and Kurt Busch. The drivers believed Goodyear had fixed problems with harder-compound tyres that had been raised at the previous race at Charlotte, the Coca-Cola 600.
How did the drivers approach the race?
Johnson, rammed by his teammate Brian Vickers in the UAW-Ford 500 the week before, said the pressure to succeed at Lowe's was high. He hoped the track would be easier to read than the previous Charlotte event. Johnson was the defending race winner, so he came in with a point to prove on this track.
Martin felt he was better placed than he had been for years to claim the title. Earnhardt said a top-five result was what his team needed, and he wanted them in the thick of the title battle. Gordon had run strongly at the track but had not finished well there, and Kahne, after a slow start to the Chase, said he would push hard for wins.
Red Bull Racing made its debut at the race with Bill Elliott driving the No. 83 car. The team was preparing for a full-time schedule in 2007, and Elliott was to try qualifying the car at three events later in the season.
How did practice and qualifying go?
Three practice sessions were held before the race, one each on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Kahne was quickest in the first session at 28.834 seconds. Riggs and Kurt Busch came next, then Elliott Sadler, Martin and Johnson, with Nemechek, Truex, Green and Hamlin close behind.
A total of 52 cars were entered for qualifying, but only 43 could race. Riggs clinched his third pole of the career, and his third in a row at Lowe's Motor Speedway, clocking 28.203 seconds. Kahne joined him on the front row, and he held the pole until Riggs' lap.
Kurt Busch originally qualified third, but his right-rear shock absorber was found to have broken NASCAR rules during post-qualifying inspection. He had to start from 42nd after using a provisional. Casey Mears inherited third, Elliott Sadler fourth and Kevin Harvick fifth.
Burton, Martin, Bowyer, Sorenson and Johnson filled out the top ten behind them. Kenseth qualified 11th, Earnhardt 16th and Kyle Busch 18th. Nine drivers failed to qualify, including Bill Elliott, Kenny Wallace and Morgan Shepherd, who withdrew because of a lack of preparation.
Kyle Busch was fastest in the second practice session at 29.378 seconds, ahead of Kahne and Robby Gordon. In the final session Earnhardt led with 29.357 seconds, and Riggs said afterwards that his team knew the car was decent.
How did the race open?
Live television coverage on NBC began at 7:04 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Dr. William K. Thierfelder, president of Belmont Abbey College, gave the invocation, and American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler sang the national anthem. The race started at 7:21 p.m. in sunny weather at 18 C (64 F), with the temperature forecast to fall.
Kahne got away quicker than Riggs and had the lead by turn two. The first caution came one lap later after Todd Bodine collided with Robby Gordon in the tri-oval. That contact triggered a multi-car accident involving Mike Bliss, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and several others, which blocked the track temporarily.
Kahne led the field at the restart on lap nine, and three safety vehicles were still on track when the next caution came. Riggs regained the lead from Kahne on the 13th lap, and Tony Raines led the field through a stretch of racing before Riggs took over again on the 30th lap.
Sorenson ran into the back of Dale Jarrett's car on lap 33, sending Jarrett spinning into the turn 4 wall. Jarrett retired after driving into his garage. A fourth caution came on lap 46 when Todd Kluever was hit and spun, and Earnhardt then led the restart on lap 53.
What happened in the middle of the race?
Earnhardt led the field back to racing speed, with Carl Edwards, Newman, Biffle and Sorenson behind him. Riggs moved back into third on lap 59 and took second from Edwards two laps later. By lap 66 Earnhardt held a 1.78-second advantage over Edwards.
Riggs closed to within 1.5 seconds of Earnhardt by lap 75, and the green-flag pit stops began three laps later. Earnhardt stopped on lap 79, and Riggs took the lead back. Kahne and Riggs both pitted on the 85th lap for scuffed right-hand tyres.
Riggs reclaimed the lead once the stops concluded on the 91st lap. Kahne closed on his teammate, who complained that his car had too much understeer, and Kahne passed him on the 96th lap. Earnhardt moved into second on the 100th lap.
A fifth caution came on lap 105 when Michael Waltrip lost control trying to pit and hit the turn 4 wall. The following lap Kurt Busch spun and hit the inside wall, and Sorenson lost control trying to avoid him. Most of the leaders pitted for fuel, and Harvick and Kahne narrowly avoided a collision on pit road.
How did the race turn in the final third?
Sadler led the restart after the sixth caution, but Raines passed him two laps later to reclaim the front. Sadler then pitted with engine problems. Kahne moved into second by lap 132 after passing Gordon, Earnhardt and Robby Gordon, and he was back at the front after passing Raines on the backstretch on lap 138.
Johnson got ahead of Robby Gordon for fourth one lap later, and he moved into second behind Kahne on the next lap. Sterling Marlin stayed out during a caution and led at the lap 168 restart, but Johnson passed him on the backstretch the same lap, and Kahne moved past Marlin for second the next lap.
Johnson held a 1.4-second lead over Kahne by the 180th lap, while Gordon passed Martin for third on lap 182. Edwards passed Kyle Busch for seventh two laps after that. Up front, Kahne cut the gap to six-tenths of a second behind Johnson by the 188th lap.
What decided the finish?
Johnson led the lap 211 pass on Kahne in turn three and pulled away from the rest of the field. Jeff Gordon closed on Kahne by lap 229, and green-flag pit stops restarted six laps later when Kahne came in from second place.
Johnson took four tyres on the lap 239 stop, giving the lead to Jeff Gordon, who passed it to Earnhardt two laps later. A dropped lug nut kept Martin's car stationary for 21.7 seconds, and Burton stalled on pit road.
An eighth caution came on lap 242 when Yeley tried to drive down pit road as Martin approached. Martin steered left onto the turn 4 apron to avoid him, made contact and spun into the tri-oval wall, where his car took off into the air. Robby Gordon could not dodge the chaos that followed and hit Yeley as well.
Edwards gained the lead at the restart on lap 252, but Kahne passed him five laps later and began to pull away. A ninth caution came for debris on lap 276. Kahne kept the lead at the restart on lap 281 and stretched his advantage over Earnhardt.
Jeff Gordon's engine failed after the start-finish line on lap 302, bringing out the final caution. Johnson led the restart on lap 307 ahead of Kahne, Earnhardt and Burton. Kahne swung to the outside, then dived under Johnson on the inside in turn one to lead on the 309th lap, and extended his advantage over the last seventeen laps.
Kahne won by 1.624 seconds. He was the eighth driver to sweep both of the track's points races within a single calendar year. Kahne led eight times, totalling 134 laps, which was more than anybody else, and the race had ten cautions and 34 lead changes among thirteen different drivers.
What were the final results?
Kahne won, Johnson was second and Burton third. Earnhardt came home fourth and Labonte fifth, and Busch, Raines, Edwards, Nemechek and Vickers filled out the top ten. The race took three hours, forty-seven minutes and twenty-nine seconds. Kahne's winning margin over Johnson was 1.624 seconds.
| Finish | Driver | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Kasey Kahne | Sixth win of 2006; led 134 laps; won $305,889 |
| Second | Jimmie Johnson | Closed on the leader late; made up ten points |
| Third | Jeff Burton | Upset about a stall that cost him the win |
| Fourth | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Led at one stage and finished fourth |
| Fifth | Bobby Labonte | Completed the top five |
| Ninth | Joe Nemechek | Part of the top-ten group behind Raines |
What did the drivers say after the race?
Kahne said the car had been great all night, and that he had slammed it into second gear at the end of pit road. He said the team was an awesome group and that the car had performed well on two other occasions earlier that year.
Johnson said he had finished where he had run for most of the race, and that he had only made up ten points. Burton was happy to recover from a tyre problem at Talladega, but said his engine stalling had cost him a real chance at the win.
Martin said shortly after leaving his car that a championship was not possible for him, and he said he had been unaware that Yeley intended to pit. Yeley insisted the stop was planned and had been signalled for over a mile. Hamlin said the first-lap crash was part of racing, and Raines was happy to lead for 28 laps.
Johnson and Burton both said the small fuel cell and the hard tyres had made it hard to find a rhythm. Kenny Francis, Kahne's crew chief, said he preferred longer runs but understood why safety had to be the priority.
What penalties followed the race?
Four days later Penske Racing South received penalties tied to Kurt Busch's car. Three grounds were cited: conduct harmful to the sport, equipment that broke NASCAR's rules, and a shock absorber that failed to compress. Penske Racing South chose not to appeal.
Crew chief Roy McCauley was fined $25,000 and suspended for two races, and he was placed on probation until December 31, 2006. Matt Gimbel replaced McCauley for the following race weekend. Roger Penske and Kurt Busch each lost 50 points in the owners' and drivers' standings.
What did the result mean for the championship?
Burton stayed on top of the drivers' table with 5,763 points, while Kenseth had 5,718. Harvick moved into third with 5,674, and Martin fell to fourth, thirteen points behind Harvick. Earnhardt moved ahead of Hamlin into fifth. Chevrolet still led the manufacturers with 237 points.
Chevrolet kept the manufacturers' lead with 237 points, while Dodge had 179 and was six points ahead of Ford. Gordon dropped to tenth after the race and said he would try to win races to get back into the title contention.