2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Season: Johnson's First Title and the Last Gen 4 Year

Jimmie Johnson won his first NASCAR Nextel Cup championship in 2006, finishing 56 points clear of Matt Kenseth. It was the last full-time season for the Gen 4 car, and it also brought a Chase format that was still settling down, a rookie who won at Pocono twice and a champion of the previous year who fell outside the top 10 in points.

Who won the 2006 Nextel Cup championship?

Jimmie Johnson took the 2006 title for Hendrick Motorsports, his first championship, finishing 56 points ahead of Matt Kenseth. Denny Hamlin won the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award, and Chevrolet took the manufacturers' championship with 23 wins and 270 points.

The title was settled at Homestead, where Greg Biffle won the Ford 400 and Johnson clinched the championship.

Johnson's first title came by 56 points, and the season ended with a Gen 4 car's final full campaign.

How did Tony Stewart's title defence go?

Tony Stewart, the defending champion, lost his title defence after finishing outside the top 10 in points following the Chevy Rock and Roll 400. He still earned a $1 million bonus for finishing best of the drivers outside the Chase, and he won three of the ten Chase races.

Stewart's year was one of the strongest stories of the autumn. He won at Kansas, running the final half lap with no fuel, then won at Atlanta and Texas during the Chase.

What changed in the cars and driver line-ups for 2006?

Ford introduced its new Fusion in 2006, and the car took over from the Taurus on the track and at dealerships alike. A new Chevrolet Monte Carlo Super Sport also debuted on the circuit, while Toyota's arrival for 2007 would make it the first foreign carmaker in the premier series since Jaguar in the mid-1950s.

Several drivers moved teams. Kurt Busch replaced Rusty Wallace at Penske Racing, Jamie McMurray took Busch's place at Roush Racing, and Brian Vickers and Denny Hamlin were among the younger drivers who gained ground that year. Front Row Motorsports hired Chad Chaffin for the Rookie of the Year race, and Furniture Row Racing ran full-time with Kenny Wallace.

The rookie class also included Clint Bowyer, David Stremme, Martin Truex Jr., Reed Sorenson and J. J. Yeley. Sorenson had an up-and-down year, scoring his first top five at Michigan. Brent Sherman was released from his ride early in the year, and Clint Bowyer's season was largely similar to Truex's.

How did the 48th Daytona 500 play out?

Jimmie Johnson won the 48th Daytona 500 on February 19, with Casey Mears second. The race was extended to 203 laps, or 507.5 miles, by the green-white-checkered rule, and the start was pushed back for NBC's Winter Olympics lead-in.

The race also brought a clash between Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth. On lap 106 Stewart made contact with Kenseth, sending his car spinning onto the track, and both drivers were penalised afterwards, with Kenseth hitting Stewart's car on pit road in retaliation.

Which early races were the most notable?

Denny Hamlin won the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona in an upset on February 12, a race that had been postponed by a day because of rain. Burton had taken the Gatorade Duels pole at over 189 mph, and Jeff Gordon won the second Duel.

Matt Kenseth won the Auto Club 500, and Jimmie Johnson won at Las Vegas on March 12. Kasey Kahne won the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta, which was postponed from Sunday to Monday, and Bill Lester became the first African-American to start a Nextel Cup race since 1986.

Kurt Busch won the Food City 500 at Bristol, Dodge's first win there since Richard Petty in 1975. Matt Kenseth spun Jeff Gordon on the final lap, and Gordon was later involved in a shoving match with Kenseth on pit road.

Who dominated the spring and early summer?

Tony Stewart won the DirecTV 500 at Martinsville, Kasey Kahne won at Texas, and Kevin Harvick took the Subway Fresh 500 at Phoenix. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond, his final victory driving for Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

Greg Biffle won the Dodge Charger 500 at Darlington, and Kasey Kahne won the Coca-Cola 600. Johnson's second place there ended his bid for five straight wins at Charlotte. Kyle Busch was fined $50,000 and docked 25 points after throwing his HANS device at Casey Mears.

Matt Kenseth won at Dover on June 4, in the final NASCAR Cup race aired on FX, and Denny Hamlin won the Pocono 500 on June 11, his first points-race win. Hamlin had dropped to 40th after a blown tire but recovered to take the win.

The Aaron's 499 at Talladega was postponed a day by rain, and its television coverage moved from Fox to FX, apart from a few Fox stations that carried it. Johnson won the race, which was one of five impound races in the Nextel Cup Series that season.

What were the summer road-course and Pocono moments?

Kasey Kahne won the 3M Performance 400 at Michigan, which was called after 129 laps because of rain. At Infineon on June 25, the 100th road-course race in Cup history, Terry Labonte finished third in his final career top 5.

Tony Stewart won the Pepsi 400 at Daytona by passing Boris Said just before the white flag, and Jeff Gordon won the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland. Kyle Busch won the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire.

Denny Hamlin won the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono on July 23 to complete a sweep of both Pocono races. It was the first sweep at a track by a rookie since Jimmie Johnson's feat at Dover. Johnson then won the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on August 6.

The Bass Pro Shops 500 at Atlanta on October 29 was won by Tony Stewart. NBC replay footage later showed that Robby Gordon had deliberately caused a late caution by throwing out his roll bar padding, and Gordon was docked 50 owner and driver points and fined $15,000.

How did the Chase unfold?

The Chase began on September 17 at New Hampshire, when Kevin Harvick won the Sylvania 300 from pole and took the championship points lead for the first time in his career. Jeff Burton won the Dover 400 on September 24, ending a 175-race winless streak that stretched back to November 2001.

Brian Vickers won the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega, his first Nextel Cup win, in a race marked by contact between Vickers, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the final lap. Kasey Kahne won the Bank of America 500 at Lowe's, and Jimmie Johnson won the Subway 500 at Martinsville.

At the Dickies 500 at Texas, which was the inaugural race there, Craig Curione, the front tire carrier for Scott Riggs's team, shoved Kevin Harvick and NASCAR official John Sacco to the pavement after a late-race incident, and was fired. Tony Stewart won three of the Chase races, including the Bass Pro Shops 500 at Atlanta and the Dickies 500 at Texas. Kevin Harvick won the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix. Johnson finished the season as champion with a points margin of 56 over Kenseth.

At Lowe's on October 14, Mark Martin's championship hopes ended after J. J. Yeley wrecked him on lap 243. Kurt Busch had his third-place qualifying run disqualified for an unapproved right-rear shock absorber, and his team was docked 50 driver and owner points and fined $25,000.

Why did the Ford 400 at Homestead matter?

Greg Biffle won the Ford 400 at Homestead on November 19, and Johnson clinched his first title on the same day. Juan Pablo Montoya made his Nextel Cup debut in that race, qualifying 29th and finishing 34th after contact with Ryan Newman.

The race was also the last race commentated by Benny Parsons, who died less than two months later in early 2007. NBC's coverage of the race closed a chapter for the network, which would not broadcast a Cup race again until 2015.

Hall of Fame and television in 2006

Until March 6, 2006, NASCAR had no recognised Hall of Fame. Charlotte was chosen over six other candidates, where most NASCAR teams are based, and the Hall opened in 2010. The 2006 season also marked the final year of the television contracts with Fox, FX, Speed, NBC and TNT.

From 2007 Fox and TNT began new eight-year contracts, with ESPN and ABC joining the coverage. NBC had aired the Daytona 500 to start the season, and Fox and FX picked up the following races in California.

Selected 2006 race winners