# 2006 Dodge Charger 500

The 2006 Dodge Charger 500, the 57th running of the event, was held on May 13, 2006 at Darlington Raceway as the eleventh race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. Kasey Kahne won the pole.

## Background

Darlington Raceway, nicknamed by many NASCAR fans and drivers as "The Lady in Black" or "The Track Too Tough to Tame" and advertised as a "NASCAR Tradition", is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that will be effective at both ends.
The track, Darlington Raceway, is a four-turn 1.366 miles (2.198 km) oval. The track's first two turns are banked at twenty-five degrees, while the final two turns are banked two degrees lower at twenty-three degrees. The front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch is banked at six degrees. Darlington Raceway can seat up to 60,000 people.

## Qualifying

| Pos | Car # | Driver | Make | Primary Sponsor | Speed | Time | Behind |
| 1 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Dodge | Dodge Dealers / UAW | 169.013 | 29.096 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Dodge | ALLTEL My Circle | 168.192 | 29.238 | -0.142 |
| 3 | 7 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Jack Daniel's | 168.071 | 29.259 | -0.163 |
| 4 | 40 | David Stremme | Dodge | Lone Star Steakhouse / Saloon | 167.727 | 29.319 | -0.223 |
| 5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Chevrolet | FedEx Express | 167.453 | 29.367 | -0.271 |
| 6 | 38 | Elliott Sadler | Ford | M&M's | 167.413 | 29.374 | -0.278 |
| 7 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Office Depot | 167.379 | 29.380 | -0.284 |
| 8 | 25 | Brian Vickers | Chevrolet | GMAC | 167.362 | 29.383 | -0.287 |
| 9 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | National Guard | 167.231 | 29.406 | -0.310 |
| 10 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Miller Lite | 167.146 | 29.421 | -0.325 |
| 11 | 43 | Bobby Labonte | Dodge | Cheerios / Betty Crocker | 167.146 | 29.421 | -0.325 |
| 12 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont | 167.078 | 29.433 | -0.337 |
| 13 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | The Home Depot | 166.908 | 29.463 | -0.367 |
| 14 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | GM Goodwrench | 166.902 | 29.464 | -0.368 |
| 15 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Ford | Crown Royal | 166.874 | 29.469 | -0.373 |
| 16 | 41 | Reed Sorenson | Dodge | Target | 166.851 | 29.473 | -0.377 |
| 17 | 6 | Mark Martin | Ford | AAA | 166.619 | 29.514 | -0.418 |
| 18 | 32 | Travis Kvapil | Chevrolet | Tide-Downy | 166.619 | 29.514 | -0.418 |
| 19 | 10 | Scott Riggs | Dodge | Stanley Tools / Valvoline | 166.495 | 29.536 | -0.440 |
| 20 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Cingular Wireless | 166.467 | 29.541 | -0.445 |
| 21 | 42 | Casey Mears | Dodge | Texaco / Havoline | 166.231 | 29.583 | -0.487 |
| 22 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 166.174 | 29.593 | -0.497 |
| 23 | 21 | Ken Schrader | Ford | U.S. Air Force | 166.090 | 29.608 | -0.512 |
| 24 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Chevrolet | Menards / Moen | 165.978 | 29.628 | -0.532 |
| 25 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's | 165.945 | 29.634 | -0.538 |
| 26 | 18 | J. J. Yeley | Chevrolet | GSK Boniva | 165.917 | 29.639 | -0.543 |
| 27 | 14 | Sterling Marlin | Chevrolet | Ginn Clubs & Resorts | 165.900 | 29.642 | -0.546 |
| 28 | 66 | Jeff Green | Chevrolet | Best Buy | 165.855 | 29.650 | -0.554 |
| 29 | 5 | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet | CARQUEST | 165.838 | 29.653 | -0.557 |
| 30 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Dodge | Dodge Dealers / UAW | 165.827 | 29.655 | -0.559 |
| 31 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | DEWALT | 165.749 | 29.669 | -0.573 |
| 32 | 22 | Dave Blaney | Dodge | Caterpillar | 165.242 | 29.760 | -0.664 |
| 33 | 74 | Derrike Cope | Dodge | Sundance Vacations / Royal Admin. Svcs | 165.153 | 29.776 | -0.680 |
| 34 | 95 | Stanton Barrett | Chevrolet | TheRaceSpace.com | 164.992 | 29.805 | -0.709 |
| 35 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Ford | UPS | 164.386 | 29.915 | -0.819 |
| 36 | 1 | Joe Nemechek | Chevrolet | U.S. Army | 164.386 | 29.915 | -0.819 |
| 37 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | Dodge | NAPA Auto Parts | 164.270 | 29.936 | -0.840 |
| 38 | 4 | Scott Wimmer | Chevrolet | AERO Exhaust | 164.117 | 29.964 | -0.868 |
| 39 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker | 164.029 | 29.980 | -0.884 |
| 40 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Dodge | Tire Kingdom | 163.942 | 29.996 | -0.900 |
| 41 | 49 | Kevin Lepage | Dodge | Freightliner Trucks | 163.615 | 30.056 | -0.960 |
| 42 | 96 | Tony Raines | Chevrolet | DLP HDTV | 154.598 | 31.809 | -2.713 |
| 43 | 44 | Terry Labonte | Chevrolet | | | 30.381 | |
| Failed to qualify ||||||||
| 44 | 61 | Chad Chaffin | Ford | Roadloans.com | | 30.108 | |
| 45 | 78 | Kenny Wallace | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Racing | | 30.111 | |
| 46 | 37 | Carl Long | Dodge | R&J Racing | | 30.127 | |
| 47 | 34 | Chad Blount | Chevrolet | Front Row Motorsports | | 30.442 | |

## Race results

Rookie of the year contenders denoted by *
| Fin | St | Driver | Car # | Make | Points | Bonus | Laps | Winnings |
| 1 | 9 | Greg Biffle | 16 | Ford | 190 | 10 | 367 | $290,175 |
| 2 | 12 | Jeff Gordon | 24 | Chevrolet | 175 | 5 | 367 | $223,161 |
| 3 | 31 | Matt Kenseth | 17 | Ford | 170 | 5 | 367 | $205,291 |
| 4 | 25 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | Chevrolet | 165 | 5 | 367 | $165,311 |
| 5 | 22 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 8 | Chevrolet | 155 | | 367 | $152,916 |
| 6 | 2 | Ryan Newman | 12 | Dodge | 155 | 5 | 367 | $139,333 |
| 7 | 29 | Kyle Busch | 5 | Chevrolet | 151 | 5 | 367 | $120,625 |
| 8 | 17 | Mark Martin | 6 | Ford | 142 | | 367 | $105,625 |
| 9 | 20 | Jeff Burton | 31 | Chevrolet | 138 | | 367 | $115,320 |
| 10 | 5 | Denny Hamlin * | 11 | Chevrolet | 134 | | 367 | $97,900 |
| 11 | 16 | Reed Sorenson * | 41 | Dodge | 130 | | 367 | $94,375 |
| 12 | 13 | Tony Stewart | 20 | Chevrolet | 127 | | 367 | $133,386 |
| 13 | 24 | Robby Gordon | 7 | Chevrolet | 129 | 5 | 367 | $85,225 |
| 14 | 39 | Martin Truex Jr. * | 1 | Chevrolet | 121 | | 367 | $108,408 |
| 15 | 23 | Ken Schrader | 21 | Ford | 118 | | 366 | $109,814 |
| 16 | 36 | Joe Nemechek | 1 | Chevrolet | 115 | | 366 | $106,995 |
| 17 | 21 | Casey Mears | 42 | Dodge | 112 | | 366 | $113,908 |
| 18 | 40 | Kyle Petty | 45 | Dodge | 109 | | 366 | $103,133 |
| 19 | 10 | Kurt Busch | 2 | Dodge | 106 | | 366 | $115,633 |
| 20 | 42 | Tony Raines | 96 | Chevrolet | 103 | | 366 | $76,725 |
| 21 | 1 | Kasey Kahne | 9 | Dodge | 105 | 5 | 366 | $126,439 |
| 22 | 11 | Bobby Labonte | 43 | Dodge | 97 | | 366 | $113,136 |
| 23 | 3 | Clint Bowyer * | 7 | Chevrolet | 94 | | 365 | $84,400 |
| 24 | 35 | Dale Jarrett | 88 | Ford | 96 | 5 | 365 | $106,750 |
| 25 | 4 | David Stremme * | 40 | Dodge | 88 | | 365 | $96,533 |
| 26 | 26 | J. J. Yeley * | 18 | Chevrolet | 85 | | 365 | $107,775 |
| 27 | 32 | Dave Blaney | 22 | Dodge | 87 | 5 | 364 | $84,158 |
| 28 | 27 | Sterling Marlin | 14 | Chevrolet | 79 | | 364 | $81,322 |
| 29 | 6 | Elliott Sadler | 38 | Ford | 76 | | 364 | $99,483 |
| 30 | 18 | Travis Kvapil | 32 | Chevrolet | 73 | | 364 | $71,400 |
| 31 | 19 | Scott Riggs | 10 | Dodge | 70 | | 363 | $68,150 |
| 32 | 28 | Jeff Green | 66 | Chevrolet | 67 | | 363 | $75,975 |
| 33 | 38 | Scott Wimmer | 4 | Chevrolet | 64 | | 363 | $68,750 |
| 34 | 43 | Terry Labonte | 44 | Chevrolet | 61 | | 361 | $67,675 |
| 35 | 37 | Michael Waltrip | 55 | Dodge | 58 | | 359 | $67,450 |
| 36 | 41 | Kevin Lepage | 49 | Dodge | 55 | | 353 | $67,300 |
| 37 | 14 | Kevin Harvick | 29 | Chevrolet | 52 | | 350 | $104,036 |
| 38 | 30 | Jeremy Mayfield | 19 | Dodge | 49 | | 346 | $96,866 |
| 39 | 7 | Carl Edwards | 99 | Ford | 46 | | 281 | $86,550 |
| 40 | 34 | Stanton Barrett | 95 | Chevrolet | 43 | | 255 | $66,600 |
| 41 | 8 | Brian Vickers | 25 | Chevrolet | 40 | | 246 | $74,475 |
| 42 | 15 | Jamie McMurray | 26 | Ford | 37 | | 223 | $113,200 |
| 43 | 33 | Derrike Cope | 74 | Dodge | 34 | | 11 | $66,577 |
| Source: |||||||||
Failed to qualify: Chad Chaffin (#61), Kenny Wallace (#78), Carl Long (#37), Chad Blount (#34)