2006 Auto Club 500
# 2006 Auto Club 500

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.

## Qualifying

| Pos | Car # | Driver | Make | Primary Sponsor | Speed | Time | Behind |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Miller Lite | 187.086 | 38.485 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Jackson Hewitt / National Guard | 186.186 | 38.671 | -0.186 |
| 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's | 185.735 | 38.765 | -0.280 |
| 4 | 18 | J. J. Yeley | Chevrolet | Interstate Batteries | 185.180 | 38.881 | -0.396 |
| 5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Chevrolet | FedEx Kinko's | 184.919 | 38.936 | -0.451 |
| 6 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Cingular Wireless | 184.871 | 38.946 | -0.461 |
| 7 | 5 | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet | Kellogg's | 184.800 | 38.961 | -0.476 |
| 8 | 1 | Joe Nemechek | Chevrolet | U.S. Army | 184.758 | 38.970 | -0.485 |
| 9 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont Hot Hues | 184.720 | 38.978 | -0.493 |
| 10 | 6 | Mark Martin | Ford | AAA | 184.450 | 39.035 | -0.550 |
| 11 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Dodge | Mobil 1 | 184.318 | 39.063 | -0.578 |
| 12 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | The Home Depot | 184.303 | 39.066 | -0.581 |
| 13 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Dodge | Dodge Dealers / UAW | 184.219 | 39.084 | -0.599 |
| 14 | 10 | Scott Riggs | Dodge | Valvoline / Stanley Tools | 184.209 | 39.086 | -0.601 |
| 15 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Icebreakers Ice Cubes | 184.195 | 39.089 | -0.604 |
| 16 | 38 | Elliott Sadler | Ford | Pedigree | 183.767 | 39.180 | -0.695 |
| 17 | 14 | Sterling Marlin | Chevrolet | CENTRIX Auto Finance | 183.613 | 39.213 | -0.728 |
| 18 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 183.570 | 39.222 | -0.737 |
| 19 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Ford | UPS | 183.566 | 39.223 | -0.738 |
| 20 | 42 | Casey Mears | Dodge | Texaco / Havoline | 183.524 | 39.232 | -0.747 |
| 21 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Dodge | Dodge Dealers / UAW | 183.397 | 39.259 | -0.774 |
| 22 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Office Depot | 183.360 | 39.267 | -0.782 |
| 23 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker | 183.173 | 39.307 | -0.822 |
| 24 | 22 | Dave Blaney | Dodge | Caterpillar | 183.155 | 39.311 | -0.826 |
| 25 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Ford | Crown Royal | 183.090 | 39.325 | -0.840 |
| 26 | 66 | Jeff Green | Chevrolet | Best Buy | 183.020 | 39.340 | -0.855 |
| 27 | 43 | Bobby Labonte | Dodge | Cheerios / Betty Crocker | 183.020 | 39.340 | -0.855 |
| 28 | 25 | Brian Vickers | Chevrolet | GMAC | 182.913 | 39.363 | -0.878 |
| 29 | 41 | Reed Sorenson | Dodge | Energizer e2 Lithium | 182.820 | 39.383 | -0.898 |
| 30 | 95 | Stanton Barrett | Chevrolet | hairofdog.com | 182.801 | 39.387 | -0.902 |
| 31 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | DEWALT Power Tools | 182.588 | 39.433 | -0.948 |
| 32 | 7 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Jack Daniel's | 182.486 | 39.455 | -0.970 |
| 33 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | Dodge | NAPA Auto Parts | 182.454 | 39.462 | -0.977 |
| 34 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Chevrolet | Jim Beam | 182.380 | 39.478 | -0.993 |
| 35 | 51 | Mike Garvey | Chevrolet | Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil | 182.320 | 39.491 | -1.006 |
| 36 | 78 | Kenny Wallace | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Racing | 182.306 | 39.494 | -1.009 |
| 37 | 61 | Kevin Lepage | Ford | RoadLoans.com | 182.242 | 39.508 | -1.023 |
| 38 | 4 | Scott Wimmer | Chevrolet | AERO Exhaust | 182.007 | 39.559 | -1.074 |
| 39 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Dodge | Wells Fargo | 181.461 | 39.678 | -1.193 |
| 41 | 40 | David Stremme | Dodge | Coors Light | 181.005 | 39.778 | -1.293 |
| 41 | 21 | Ken Schrader | Ford | Little Debbie | 179.341 | 40.147 | -1.662 |
| 42 | 49 | Brent Sherman | Dodge | Serta | 178.169 | 40.411 | -1.926 |
| 43 | 96 | Terry Labonte | Chevrolet | DLP HDTV / Tweeter | 181.059 | 39.766 | -1.281 |
| Failed to qualify or withdrew ||||||||
| 44 | 32 | Travis Kvapil | Chevrolet | Tide | | | |
| 45 | 00 | Hermie Sadler | Ford | Aaron's Dream Machine | | | |
| 46 | 74 | Derrike Cope | Dodge | MyGuardian911 | | | |
| 47 | 34 | Randy LaJoie | Dodge | Front Row Motorsports | | | |
| 48 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Dodge | Victory In Jesus / Dutch Quality Stone | | | |
| WD | 50 | Jimmy Spencer | Dodge | | | | |

## 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

| Fin | St | Driver | Car # | Make | Points | Bonus | Laps | Winnings |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 31 | Matt Kenseth | 17 | Ford | 185 | 5 | 251 | $324,991 |
| 2 | 3 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | Chevrolet | 170 | | 251 | $235,936 |
| 3 | 22 | Carl Edwards | 99 | Ford | 165 | | 251 | $165,550 |
| 4 | 13 | Kasey Kahne | 9 | Dodge | 165 | 5 | 251 | $166,239 |
| 5 | 6 | Jeff Burton | 31 | Chevrolet | 155 | | 251 | $158,970 |
| 6 | 25 | Jamie McMurray | 26 | Ford | 150 | | 251 | $142,375 |
| 7 | 20 | Casey Mears | 42 | Dodge | 146 | | 251 | $140,858 |
| 8 | 4 | J. J. Yeley * | 18 | Chevrolet | 147 | 5 | 251 | $140,075 |
| 9 | 10 | Mark Martin | 6 | Ford | 143 | 5 | 251 | $104,800 |
| 10 | 7 | Kyle Busch | 5 | Chevrolet | 134 | | 251 | $105,225 |
| 11 | 18 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 8 | Chevrolet | 135 | 5 | 251 | $132,366 |
| 12 | 5 | Denny Hamlin * | 11 | Chevrolet | 127 | | 251 | $104,575 |
| 13 | 9 | Jeff Gordon | 24 | Chevrolet | 129 | 5 | 251 | $127,261 |
| 14 | 32 | Clint Bowyer * | 7 | Chevrolet | 121 | | 251 | $100,425 |
| 15 | 23 | Martin Truex Jr. * | 1 | Chevrolet | 118 | | 251 | $114,383 |
| 16 | 1 | Kurt Busch | 2 | Dodge | 120 | 5 | 251 | $144,558 |
| 17 | 19 | Dale Jarrett | 88 | Ford | 112 | | 251 | $133,050 |
| 18 | 28 | Brian Vickers | 25 | Chevrolet | 109 | | 250 | $97,625 |
| 19 | 14 | Scott Riggs | 10 | Dodge | 106 | | 250 | $88,925 |
| 20 | 11 | Ryan Newman | 12 | Dodge | 103 | | 250 | $132,683 |
| 21 | 29 | Reed Sorenson * | 41 | Dodge | 100 | | 250 | $97,875 |
| 22 | 21 | Jeremy Mayfield | 19 | Dodge | 97 | | 250 | $116,916 |
| 23 | 16 | Elliott Sadler | 38 | Ford | 94 | | 250 | $115,083 |
| 24 | 26 | Jeff Green | 66 | Chevrolet | 91 | | 250 | $121,058 |
| 25 | 39 | Kyle Petty | 45 | Dodge | 88 | | 250 | $107,333 |
| 26 | 34 | Robby Gordon | 7 | Chevrolet | 85 | | 249 | $95,075 |
| 27 | 8 | Joe Nemechek | 1 | Chevrolet | 82 | | 249 | $109,820 |
| 28 | 41 | Ken Schrader | 21 | Ford | 79 | | 249 | $109,589 |
| 29 | 15 | Kevin Harvick | 29 | Chevrolet | 76 | | 249 | $116,611 |
| 30 | 24 | Dave Blaney | 22 | Dodge | 73 | | 249 | $91,583 |
| 31 | 27 | Bobby Labonte | 43 | Dodge | 70 | | 249 | $116,186 |
| 32 | 17 | Sterling Marlin | 14 | Chevrolet | 67 | | 249 | $88,592 |
| 33 | 40 | David Stremme * | 40 | Dodge | 64 | | 248 | $87,775 |
| 34 | 43 | Terry Labonte | 96 | Chevrolet | 61 | | 248 | $78,625 |
| 35 | 37 | Kevin Lepage | 61 | Ford | 58 | | 248 | $78,425 |
| 36 | 33 | Michael Waltrip | 55 | Dodge | 55 | | 247 | $78,275 |
| 37 | 42 | Brent Sherman * | 49 | Dodge | 52 | | 247 | $78,050 |
| 38 | 35 | Mike Garvey | 151 | Chevrolet | 49 | | 247 | $77,800 |
| 39 | 38 | Scott Wimmer | 4 | Chevrolet | 46 | | 246 | $77,680 |
| 40 | 30 | Stanton Barrett | 195 | Chevrolet | 43 | | 242 | $77,525 |
| 41 | 36 | Kenny Wallace | 178 | Chevrolet | 40 | | 237 | $77,400 |
| 42 | 2 | Greg Biffle | 16 | Ford | 47 | 10 | 229 | $106,005 |
| 43 | 12 | Tony Stewart | 20 | Chevrolet | 39 | 5 | 214 | $119,453 |

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

