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2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Standings
Jimmie Johnson overcame bad luck in the first four races of the 2006 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup to claim his first championship. It marked the sixth title for co-owner Rick Hendrick and the first for Jeff Gordon as a co-owner. Gordon also qualified for The Chase and finished sixth in the overall standings.
 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson |
Five drivers had a shot to win the title entering the season finale. In the end, however, Johnson claimed the top honors by 56 points over runner-up Matt Kenseth. Rookie Denny Hamlin was third, Kevin Harvick fourth, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., fifth.
Johnson got off to a quick start with a win in the season-opening Daytona 500. In addition to Daytona, Johnson won the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, making him the only driver to ever win the big races at Daytona and Indianapolis as well as the championship in the same season. Johnson posted five wins in points races, plus a victory at the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge.
All told, the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup points lead changed hands nine times among Johnson, Kenseth, and Jeff Burton. See how the final standings stacked up with the chart below.
2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Standings
| Rank | Driver
|
Points
|
Wins
|
Earnings
|
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson
|
6,475 | 5
|
$15,875,125
|
| 2 | Matt Kenseth
|
6,419 | 4
|
9,544,966
|
| 3 | Denny Hamline
|
6,407 | 2
|
6,607,932
|
| 4 | Kevin Harvick
|
6,397 | 5
|
8,231,406
|
| 5 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
|
6,328 | 1
|
7,111,739
|
| 6 | Jeff Gordon
|
6,256 | 2
|
7,471,447
|
| 7 | Jeff Burton
|
6,228 | 4
|
6,439,995
|
| 8 | Kasey Kahne
|
6,183 | 6
|
7,721,378
|
| 9 | Mark Martin
|
6,168 | 0
|
5,568,748
|
| 10 | Kyle Busch
|
6,027 | 1
|
6,077,337
|
| 11 | Tony Stewart
|
4,727 | 5
|
8,801,569
|
| 12 | Carl Edwards
|
4,428 | 0
|
5,353,629
|
| 13 | Greg Biffle
|
4,075 | 2
|
5,347,623
|
| 14 | Casey Mears
|
3,914 | 0
|
6,128,449
|
| 15 | Brian Vickers
|
3,906 | 1
|
4,602,990
|
| 16 | Kurt Busch
|
3,900 | 1
|
5,681,655
|
| 17 | Clint Bowyer
|
3,833 | 0
|
4,550,134
|
| 18 | Ryan Newman
|
3,748 | 0
|
5,960,473
|
| 19 | Martin Truex, Jr.
|
3,673 | 0
|
4,759,248
|
| 20 | Scott Riggs
|
3,619 | 0
|
3,773,674
|
| 21 | Bobby Labonte
|
3,567 | 0
|
4,949,058
|
| 22 | Elliott Sadler
|
3,469 | 0
|
4,852,654
|
| 23 | Dale Jarrett
|
3,438 | 0
|
4,739,491
|
| 24 | Reed Sorenson
|
3,434 | 0
|
3,702,767
|
| 25 | Jamie McMurray
|
3,405 | 0
|
5,241,224
|
| 26 | Dave Blaney
|
3,259 | 0
|
3,479,643
|
| 27 | Joe Nemechek
|
3,255 | 0
|
4,099,914
|
| 28 | Jeff Green
|
3,253 | 0
|
3,767,754
|
| 29 | J.J. Yeley
|
3,220 | 0
|
4,336,547
|
| 30 | Robby Gordon
|
3,113 | 0
|
3,143,787
|
| 31 | Ken Schrader
|
3,049 | 0
|
4,130,883
|
| 32 | Kyle Petty
|
2,928 | 0
|
3,655,539
|
| 33 | David Stremme
|
2,865 | 0
|
3,456,113
|
| 34 | Sterling Marlin
|
2,854 | 0
|
3,248,034
|
| 35 | Tony Raines
|
2,609 | 0
|
2,358,230
|
| 36 | Travis Kvapil
|
2,451 | 0
|
2,867,087
|
| 37 | Michael Waltrip
|
2,350 | 0
|
2,971,978
|
| 38 | Scott Wimmer
|
1,812 | 0
|
1,904,783
|
| 39 | Jeremy Mayfield
|
1,684 | 0
|
2,641,732
|
| 40 | Kevin Lepage
|
1,346 | 0
|
1,823,351
|
| 41 | Terry Labonte
|
1,278 | 0
|
1,547,359
|
| 42 | David Gilliland
|
1,178 | 0
|
1,564,901
|
| 43 | Kenny Wallace
|
984 | 0
|
1,386,818
|
| 44 | Bill Elliott
|
765 | 0
|
1,056,131
|
| 45 | Paul Menard
|
669 | 0
|
546,993
|
| 46 | Chad Chaffin
|
553 | 0
|
819,218
|
| 47 | Boris Said
|
415 | 0
|
429,000
|
| 48 | Mike Bliss
|
387 | 0
|
471,458
|
| 49 | Brent Sherman
|
372 | 0
|
637,056
|
| 50 | Mike Wallace
|
355 | 0
|
519,218
|
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