# 2006 USG Sheetrock 400

The 2006 USG Sheetrock 400 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held on July 9, 2006, at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. The race was the 18th of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season. Jeff Burton of Richard Childress Racing won the pole position with a lap speed of 181.647 mph (292.333 km/h), his second pole of 2006 along with the Daytona 500, marking the first time in his career that he won two poles in the same year. Roush Racing's Matt Kenseth led the most laps, while Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won the race on a green-white-checker finish, which extended the race from 267 laps to 270.

## Qualifying

| ST | Car # | Driver | Make | Primary Sponsor | SPD Q | Time | BHND |
| 1 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Cingular Wireless | 181.647 | 29.728 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 25 | Brian Vickers | Chevrolet | GMAC | 181.318 | 29.782 | 00.054 |
| 3 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Dodge | Dodge Dealers/UAW | 180.687 | 29.886 | 00.158 |
| 4 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | GM Goodwrench | 180.421 | 29.930 | 00.202 |
| 5 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's | 180.391 | 29.935 | 00.207 |
| 6 | 43 | Bobby Labonte | Dodge | Chex | 180.367 | 29.939 | 00.211 |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Chevrolet | FedEx | 179.874 | 30.021 | 00.293 |
| 8 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | USG Sheetrock | 179.718 | 30.047 | 00.319 |
| 9 | 6 | Mark Martin | Ford | AAA | 179.324 | 30.113 | 00.385 |
| 10 | 18 | JJ Yeley | Chevrolet | GSK/Astellas | 179.319 | 30.114 | 00.386 |
| 11 | 42 | Casey Mears | Dodge | Texaco/Havoline | 179.223 | 30.130 | 00.402 |
| 12 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Dodge | Mobil 1 | 179.206 | 30.133 | 00.405 |
| 13 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont | 179.200 | 30.134 | 00.406 |
| 14 | 10 | Scott Riggs | Dodge | Vavoline | 178.660 | 30.225 | 00.497 |
| 15 | 22 | Dave Blaney | Dodge | Caterpillar | 178.636 | 30.229 | 00.501 |
| 16 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Dodge | Dodge Dealers/UAW | 178.613 | 30.233 | 00.505 |
| 17 | 01 | Joe Nemechek | Chevrolet | U.S. Army | 178.583 | 30.238 | 00.510 |
| 18 | 41 | Reed Sorenson | Dodge | Target | 178.442 | 30.262 | 00.534 |
| 19 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Miller Lite | 178.318 | 30.283 | 00.555 |
| 20 | 40 | David Stremme | Dodge | Lone Star Steakhouse | 178.283 | 30.289 | 00.561 |
| 21 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Office Depot | 178.271 | 30.291 | 00.563 |
| 22 | 66 | Jeff Green | Chevrolet | Best Buy | 178.159 | 30.310 | 00.582 |
| 23 | 5 | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet | Carquest | 178.036 | 30.331 | 00.603 |
| 24 | 00 | Bill Elliott | Chevrolet | Burger King | 178.001 | 30.337 | 00.609 |
| 25 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 177.924 | 30.350 | 00.622 |
| 26 | 44 | Terry Labonte | Chevrolet | Kellogg's | 177.690 | 30.390 | 00.662 |
| 27 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Subway/National Guard | 177.643 | 30.398 | 00.670 |
| 28 | 4 | Scott Wimmer | Chevrolet | AERO Exhaust | 177.620 | 30.402 | 00.674 |
| 29 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops | 177.515 | 30.420 | 00.692 |
| 30 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Chevrolet | Jim Beam | 177.480 | 30.426 | 00.698 |
| 31 | 14 | Sterling Marlin | Chevrolet | Waste Management | 177.299 | 30.457 | 00.729 |
| 32 | 38 | Elliott Sadler | Ford | M&M's | 177.067 | 30.497 | 00.769 |
| 33 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Dodge | Wells Fargo | 176.997 | 30.509 | 00.781 |
| 34 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Home Depot | 176.933 | 30.520 | 00.792 |
| 35 | 06 | Todd Kluever | Ford | 3M Post-Its | 176.580 | 30.581 | 00.853 |
| 36 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | Dodge | NAPA Auto Parts | 176.551 | 30.586 | 00.858 |
| 37 | 78 | Kenny Wallace | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Racing | 176.505 | 30.594 | 00.866 |
| 38 | 07 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Jack Daniels | 176.471 | 30.600 | 00.872 |
| 39 | 96 | Tony Raines | Chevrolet | DLP HDTV | 175.936 | 30.693 | 00.965 |
| 40 | 21 | Ken Schrader | Ford | Little Debbie | 175.673 | 30.739 | 01.011 |
| 41 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Ford | UPS | 174.650 | 30.919 | 01.191 |
| 42 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Ford | Lenox Industrial Tools | 174.227 | 30.994 | 01.266 |
| 43 | 32 | Travis Kvapil | Chevrolet | Tide | 176.177 | 30.651 | 00.923 |
| Failed to qualify ||||||||
| 44 | 15 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Menards / Sylvania | | 30.667 | |
| 45 | 49 | Kevin Lepage | Dodge | RoadLoans | | 30.774 | |
| 46 | 61 | Chad Blount | Dodge | Embassy Suites | | 30.780 | |
| 47 | 04 | Brent Sherman | Ford | Serta | | 30.958 | |
| 48 | 51 | Mike Garvey | Chevrolet | Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil | | 30.998 | |
| 49 | 74 | Derrike Cope | Dodge | Sundance Vacations / Royal Admin. | | 31.066 | |
| 50 | 34 | Carl Long | Chevrolet | Oak Glove Co. | | 31.341 | |

## Race recap

Pole-sitter Jeff Burton led much of the early portion of the race, but Jeff Gordon then took the lead after a strong green-flag pit stop. On lap 68, the first caution flag was flown for debris on the track, shuffling the driver order and giving the lead to Kevin Harvick. With four laps to go, Gordon drove into a slowing Matt Kenseth's rear bumper, spinning him. On the green-white-checker finish, Gordon led the final laps to win his 75th career Cup Series victory and second of 2006 with a 0.461 second lead over Burton, followed by Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and defending race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. Points leader Jimmie Johnson, Reed Sorenson, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer and J. J. Yeley closed out the top ten. Meanwhile, Kenseth was involved in a second wreck and ran out of fuel, but managed to finish the race on the lead lap and finished 22nd.
After the race, the points standings saw Johnson pull away from Kenseth, with the eight-point margin between them increasing to 51, with Johnson leading Kenseth 2,651 points to 2,600. Earnhardt Jr. was third with 2,394 points, Burton had 2,327 points, and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top five with 2,303. Mark Martin (2,291), Tony Stewart (2,274), Kyle Busch (2,265), Harvick (2,253) and Gordon (2,219) completed the top ten points standings.

## Results

| POS | ST | # | DRIVER | SPONSOR / OWNER | CAR | LAPS | MONEY | STATUS | LED | PTS |
| 1 | 13 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | DuPont (Rick Hendrick) | Chevrolet | 270 | 327761 | running | 20 | 185 |
| 2 | 1 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Cingular Wireless (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 270 | 250220 | running | 60 | 175 |
| 3 | 23 | 5 | Kyle Busch | Carquest (Rick Hendrick) | Chevrolet | 270 | 178075 | running | 2 | 170 |
| 4 | 4 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | GM Goodwrench (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 270 | 184586 | running | 40 | 165 |
| 5 | 25 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Budweiser (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) | Chevrolet | 270 | 164591 | running | 27 | 160 |
| 6 | 5 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe's (Rick Hendrick) | Chevrolet | 270 | 154286 | running | 0 | 150 |
| 7 | 18 | 41 | Reed Sorenson | Target (Chip Ganassi) | Dodge | 270 | 116525 | running | 6 | 151 |
| 8 | 19 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Miller Lite (Roger Penske) | Dodge | 270 | 138958 | running | 0 | 142 |
| 9 | 38 | 07 | Clint Bowyer | Jack Daniel's (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 270 | 114425 | running | 0 | 138 |
| 10 | 10 | 18 | J.J. Yeley | GSK / Astellas VESIcare (Joe Gibbs) | Chevrolet | 270 | 138475 | running | 0 | 134 |
| 11 | 27 | 16 | Greg Biffle | National Guard (Jack Roush) | Ford | 270 | 113000 | running | 0 | 130 |
| 12 | 6 | 43 | Bobby Labonte | ChexMostPopularDriver.com (Petty Enterprises) | Dodge | 270 | 132136 | running | 1 | 132 |
| 13 | 2 | 25 | Brian Vickers | GMAC (Rick Hendrick) | Chevrolet | 270 | 101350 | running | 0 | 124 |
| 14 | 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Kinko's (Joe Gibbs) | Chevrolet | 270 | 91525 | running | 0 | 121 |
| 15 | 14 | 10 | Scott Riggs | Valvoline / Stanley Tools (James Rocco) | Dodge | 270 | 91325 | running | 0 | 118 |
| 16 | 29 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) | Chevrolet | 270 | 116283 | running | 0 | 115 |
| 17 | 15 | 22 | Dave Blaney | Caterpillar (Bill Davis) | Dodge | 270 | 106233 | running | 0 | 112 |
| 18 | 9 | 6 | Mark Martin | AAA (Jack Roush) | Ford | 270 | 103325 | running | 1 | 114 |
| 19 | 30 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Jim Beam (Robby Gordon) | Chevrolet | 270 | 88125 | running | 0 | 106 |
| 20 | 21 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Office Depot (Jack Roush) | Ford | 270 | 106725 | running | 0 | 103 |
| 21 | 20 | 40 | David Stremme | Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon (Chip Ganassi) | Dodge | 270 | 108983 | running | 0 | 100 |
| 22 | 8 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | USG Sheetrock (Jack Roush) | Ford | 270 | 139666 | running | 112 | 107 |
| 23 | 3 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Dodge Dealers / UAW / McDonald's (Ray Evernham) | Dodge | 270 | 120489 | running | 0 | 94 |
| 24 | 16 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Dodge Dealers / UAW / AskDrZ.com (Ray Evernham) | Dodge | 270 | 114916 | running | 0 | 91 |
| 25 | 11 | 42 | Casey Mears | Texaco / Havoline (Chip Ganassi) | Dodge | 270 | 118783 | running | 0 | 88 |
| 26 | 31 | 14 | Sterling Marlin | Waste Management (Nelson Bowers) | Chevrolet | 269 | 95158 | running | 0 | 85 |
| 27 | 22 | 66 | Jeff Green | Best Buy (Gene Haas) | Chevrolet | 269 | 100447 | running | 0 | 82 |
| 28 | 33 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Wells Fargo (Petty Enterprises) | Dodge | 269 | 89800 | running | 0 | 79 |
| 29 | 32 | 38 | Elliott Sadler | M&M's (Yates Racing) | Ford | 269 | 107008 | running | 0 | 76 |
| 30 | 36 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | NAPA Auto Parts (Doug Bawel) | Dodge | 269 | 79350 | running | 0 | 73 |
| 31 | 41 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | UPS (Yates Racing) | Ford | 269 | 110725 | running | 0 | 70 |
| 32 | 34 | 20 | Tony Stewart | The Home Depot (Joe Gibbs) | Chevrolet | 269 | 132386 | running | 1 | 72 |
| 33 | 17 | 01 | Joe Nemechek | U.S. Army (Nelson Bowers) | Chevrolet | 268 | 105545 | running | 0 | 64 |
| 34 | 28 | 4 | Scott Wimmer | AERO Exhaust (Larry McClure) | Chevrolet | 268 | 78050 | running | 0 | 61 |
| 35 | 24 | 00 | Bill Elliott | Burger King (Michael Waltrip) | Chevrolet | 268 | 77850 | running | 0 | 58 |
| 36 | 12 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Mobil 1 (Roger Penske) | Dodge | 268 | 123058 | running | 0 | 55 |
| 37 | 43 | 32 | Travis Kvapil | Tide / Downy (Cal Wells) | Chevrolet | 268 | 77425 | running | 0 | 52 |
| 38 | 37 | 78 | Kenny Wallace | Furniture Row Racing (Barney Visser) | Chevrolet | 268 | 77225 | running | 0 | 49 |
| 39 | 42 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Lenox Industrial Tools (Jack Roush) | Ford | 268 | 123850 | running | 0 | 46 |
| 40 | 39 | 96 | Tony Raines | DLP HDTV (Bill Saunders) | Chevrolet | 267 | 76805 | running | 0 | 43 |
| 41 | 35 | 06 | Todd Kluever | 3M Post-it (Jack Roush) | Ford | 267 | 76605 | running | 0 | 40 |
| 42 | 40 | 21 | Ken Schrader | Little Debbie (Wood Brothers) | Ford | 266 | 103644 | running | 0 | 37 |
| 43 | 26 | 44 | Terry Labonte | Kellogg's (Rick Hendrick) | Chevrolet | 167 | 76551 | engine | 0 | 34 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||||||
| POS | NAME | NBR | SPONSOR | OWNER | CAR | | | | | |
| 44 | Paul Menard | 15 | Menards / Sylvania | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 45 | Kevin Lepage | 49 | RoadLoans | Beth Ann Morgenthau | Dodge | | | | | |
| 46 | Chad Blount | 61 | Embassy Suites | Bob Jenkins | Dodge | | | | | |
| 47 | Brent Sherman | 04 | Serta | Brent Sherman | Ford | | | | | |
| 48 | Mike Garvey | 51 | Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil | Joe Auer | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 49 | Derrike Cope | 74 | Sundance Vacations / Royal Admin. | Raynard McGlynn | Dodge | | | | | |
| 50 | Carl Long | 34 | Oak Glove Co. | Bob Jenkins | Chevrolet | | | | | |

## Standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 2651 |
| 2 | Matt Kenseth | 2600 |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 2394 |
| 4 | Jeff Burton | 2327 |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | 2303 |
| 6 | Mark Martin | 2291 |
| 7 | Tony Stewart | 2274 |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | 2265 |
| 9 | Kevin Harvick | 2253 |
| 10 | Jeff Gordon | 2219 |