# 2006 Aaron's 499

The 2006 Aaron's 499 was the ninth race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season. It was scheduled to be held on April 30, 2006 at the 2.6-mile long Talladega Superspeedway, but due to rain starting one lap prior to the green flag, however, the race was postponed until the following day. Television coverage was moved from Fox to FX except for several Fox stations that elected to carry the race. Elliott Sadler won the pole position, while Jimmie Johnson won the race. The Aaron's 499 was one of five impound races of the season, meaning that the teams could not make any changes on the car after qualifying.

## Qualifying

| Pos | Car # | Driver | Make | Primary Sponsor | Speed | Time | Behind |
| 1 | 38 | Elliott Sadler | Ford | M&M's | 188.511 | 50.798 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | The Home Depot | 187.658 | 51.029 | -0.231 |
| 3 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Office Depot | 187.320 | 51.121 | -0.323 |
| 4 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Ford | UPS | 187.232 | 51.145 | -0.347 |
| 5 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Miller Lite | 187.137 | 51.171 | -0.373 |
| 6 | 1 | Joe Nemechek | Chevrolet | U.S. Army | 187.130 | 51.173 | -0.375 |
| 7 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Subway / National Guard | 186.991 | 51.211 | -0.413 |
| 8 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Ford | IRWIN Industrial Tools | 186.933 | 51.227 | -0.429 |
| 9 | 14 | Sterling Marlin | Chevrolet | Waste Management | 186.925 | 51.229 | -0.431 |
| 10 | 6 | Mark Martin | Ford | AAA | 186.856 | 51.248 | -0.450 |
| 11 | 18 | JJ Yeley | Chevrolet | GSK AsthmaControl.com | 186.827 | 51.256 | -0.458 |
| 12 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | DeWalt | 186.685 | 51.295 | -0.497 |
| 13 | 5 | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet | Kellogg's | 186.652 | 51.304 | -0.506 |
| 14 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont / Pepsi | 186.587 | 51.322 | -0.524 |
| 15 | 7 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Jack Daniel's | 186.521 | 51.340 | -0.542 |
| 16 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's | 186.478 | 51.352 | -0.554 |
| 17 | 40 | David Stremme | Dodge | Lone Star Steakhouse / Saloon | 186.463 | 51.356 | -0.558 |
| 18 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Dodge | ALLTEL My Circle | 186.427 | 51.366 | -0.568 |
| 19 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Chevrolet | Menards / Turtle Wax Ice | 186.217 | 51.424 | -0.626 |
| 20 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker | 186.018 | 51.479 | -0.681 |
| 21 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | Dodge | NAPA Auto Parts | 185.971 | 51.492 | -0.694 |
| 22 | 27 | Kirk Shelmerdine | Chevrolet | Kirk Shelmerdine Racing | 185.787 | 51.543 | -0.745 |
| 23 | 61 | Kevin Lepage | Ford | State Water Heaters | 185.761 | 51.550 | -0.752 |
| 24 | 00 | Hermie Sadler | Ford | Aaron's | 185.758 | 51.551 | -0.753 |
| 25 | 42 | Casey Mears | Dodge | Texaco / Havoline | 185.689 | 51.570 | -0.772 |
| 26 | 32 | Travis Kvapil | Chevrolet | Tide-Downy | 185.632 | 51.586 | -0.788 |
| 27 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 185.578 | 51.601 | -0.803 |
| 28 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Dodge | Schwan's Home Service | 185.571 | 51.603 | -0.805 |
| 29 | 96 | Tony Raines | Chevrolet | DLP HDTV | 185.527 | 51.615 | -0.817 |
| 30 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Chevrolet | FedEx Freight | 185.445 | 51.638 | -0.840 |
| 31 | 43 | Bobby Labonte | Dodge | Betty Crocker / STP Oil Stabilizer | 185.423 | 51.644 | -0.846 |
| 32 | 10 | Scott Riggs | Dodge | Stanley FatMax / Valvoline | 185.423 | 51.644 | -0.846 |
| 33 | 25 | Brian Vickers | Chevrolet | GMAC | 185.348 | 51.665 | -0.867 |
| 34 | 34 | Chad Chaffin | Chevrolet | Front Row Motorsports | 185.230 | 51.698 | -0.900 |
| 35 | 21 | Ken Schrader | Ford | Little Debbie | 185.140 | 51.723 | -0.925 |
| 36 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Dodge | Dodge Dealers / UAW | 185.126 | 51.727 | -0.929 |
| 37 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Dodge | Dodge Dealers / UAW | 185.104 | 51.733 | -0.935 |
| 38 | 22 | Dave Blaney | Dodge | Caterpillar | 184.815 | 51.814 | -1.016 |
| 39 | 66 | Jeff Green | Chevrolet | Best Buy | 184.249 | 51.973 | -1.175 |
| 40 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Cingular Wireless | 184.012 | 52.040 | -1.242 |
| 41 | 41 | Reed Sorenson | Dodge | Target | 183.892 | 52.074 | -1.276 |
| 42 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Reese's Caramel Cup | 183.864 | 52.082 | -1.284 |
| 43 | 4 | Scott Wimmer | Chevrolet | AERO Exhaust | 185.154 | 51.719 | -0.921 |
| Failed to qualify ||||||||
| 44 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Dodge | Victory In Jesus / Dutch Quality Stone | | 51.805 | |
| 45 | 95 | Stanton Barrett | Chevrolet | TheRaceSpace.com | | 51.815 | |
| 46 | 09 | Mike Wallace | Ford | Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts | | 51.877 | |
| 47 | 92 | Chad Blount | Dodge | Front Row Motorsports | | 52.225 | |
| 48 | 49 | Brent Sherman | Dodge | Serta | | 52.324 | |
| 49 | 78 | Kenny Wallace | Chevrolet | National Day of Prayer | | 52.443 | |

## Race results

| Pos | Grid | Driver | No. | Make | Points | Bonus | Laps | Winnings |
| 1 | 16 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | Chevrolet | 185 | 5 | 188 | $326,061 |
| 2 | 2 | Tony Stewart | 20 | Chevrolet | 175 | 5 | 188 | $260,136 |
| 3 | 33 | Brian Vickers | 25 | Chevrolet | 170 | 5 | 188 | $172,300 |
| 4 | 40 | Jeff Burton | 31 | Chevrolet | 160 | | 188 | $176,745 |
| 5 | 8 | Jamie McMurray | 26 | Ford | 160 | 5 | 188 | $168,600 |
| 6 | 12 | Matt Kenseth | 17 | Ford | 155 | 5 | 188 | $159,841 |
| 7 | 5 | Kurt Busch | 2 | Dodge | 151 | 5 | 188 | $143,233 |
| 8 | 3 | Carl Edwards | 99 | Ford | 147 | 5 | 188 | $118,975 |
| 9 | 32 | Scott Riggs | 10 | Dodge | 138 | | 188 | $97,975 |
| 10 | 19 | Robby Gordon | 7 | Chevrolet | 139 | 5 | 188 | $103,350 |
| 11 | 11 | J. J. Yeley * | 18 | Chevrolet | 135 | 5 | 188 | $131,075 |
| 12 | 4 | Dale Jarrett | 88 | Ford | 132 | 5 | 188 | $125,875 |
| 13 | 36 | Jeremy Mayfield | 19 | Dodge | 129 | 5 | 188 | $124,816 |
| 14 | 39 | Jeff Green | 66 | Chevrolet | 126 | 5 | 188 | $117,808 |
| 15 | 14 | Jeff Gordon | 24 | Chevrolet | 128 | 10 | 188 | $151,311 |
| 16 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | 38 | Ford | 120 | 5 | 188 | $138,983 |
| 17 | 29 | Tony Raines | 96 | Chevrolet | 112 | | 188 | $84,675 |
| 18 | 28 | Kyle Petty | 45 | Dodge | 109 | | 188 | $111,883 |
| 19 | 26 | Travis Kvapil | 32 | Chevrolet | 106 | | 188 | $101,083 |
| 20 | 25 | Casey Mears | 42 | Dodge | 108 | 5 | 188 | $123,083 |
| 21 | 43 | Scott Wimmer | 4 | Chevrolet | 105 | 5 | 188 | $85,350 |
| 22 | 30 | Denny Hamlin * | 11 | Chevrolet | 102 | 5 | 187 | $84,625 |
| 23 | 42 | Kevin Harvick | 29 | Chevrolet | 94 | | 187 | $121,811 |
| 24 | 38 | Dave Blaney | 22 | Dodge | 96 | 5 | 183 | $94,858 |
| 25 | 21 | Michael Waltrip | 55 | Dodge | 93 | 5 | 179 | $92,447 |
| 26 | 41 | Reed Sorenson * | 41 | Dodge | 85 | | 177 | $89,825 |
| 27 | 6 | Joe Nemechek | 01 | Chevrolet | 87 | 5 | 173 | $107,620 |
| 28 | 23 | Kevin Lepage | 61 | Ford | 84 | 5 | 173 | $80,225 |
| 29 | 31 | Bobby Labonte | 43 | Dodge | 76 | | 163 | $114,461 |
| 30 | 34 | Chad Chaffin | 34 | Chevrolet | 73 | | 152 | $77,825 |
| 31 | 27 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 8 | Chevrolet | 75 | 5 | 151 | $112,166 |
| 32 | 13 | Kyle Busch | 5 | Chevrolet | 67 | | 150 | $95,025 |
| 33 | 18 | Ryan Newman | 12 | Dodge | 64 | | 106 | $122,308 |
| 34 | 17 | David Stremme * | 40 | Dodge | 61 | | 106 | $85,725 |
| 35 | 10 | Mark Martin | 6 | Ford | 58 | | 101 | $94,650 |
| 36 | 20 | Martin Truex Jr. * | 1 | Chevrolet | 55 | | 97 | $84,500 |
| 37 | 9 | Sterling Marlin | 14 | Chevrolet | 52 | | 91 | $76,325 |
| 38 | 7 | Greg Biffle | 16 | Ford | 49 | | 45 | $96,175 |
| 39 | 37 | Kasey Kahne | 9 | Dodge | 46 | | 17 | $112,989 |
| 40 | 15 | Clint Bowyer * | 07 | Chevrolet | 43 | | 16 | $83,525 |
| 41 | 22 | Kirk Shelmerdine | 27 | Chevrolet | 40 | | 9 | $75,325 |
| 42 | 35 | Ken Schrader | 21 | Ford | 37 | | 8 | $102,364 |
| 43 | 24 | Hermie Sadler | 0 | Ford | PE | | 8 | $75,308 |
Failed to qualify: Morgan Shepherd (No. 89), Stanton Barrett (No. 95), Mike Wallace (No. 09), Chad Blount (No. 92), Brent Sherman (No. 49), Kenny Wallace (No. 78)