page_title: 2006 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: 2006 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: A picture of Atlanta Motor Speedway that I took in mid 2006 from my own Epic Victory.
context_page_description: The 2006 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 was the thirty-third stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, and the seventh in the 10-round season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 29, 2006 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia before a crowd of 115,000 people. The 325-lap race was won by Joe Gibbs Racing driver Tony Stewart after starting from the eleventh position. Jimmie Johnson finished second and Dale Earnhardt Jr. came in third.
  Although Matt Kenseth was awarded the pole position after qualifying was rained out and the starting order was determined by owners' points, he was immediately passed by Kevin Harvick at the start of the race. Earnhardt became the leader on lap ten, and held it for the next 14 laps when Stewart passed him on lap 24. Earnhardt, Johnson, and Stewart assumed the lead through the various pit stop cycles and cautions waved for incidents over the course of the race. At the race's final restart on lap 315, Earnhardt led the field back up to speed, and remained the leader until Stewart moved past him on the run to turn four on the lap. Stewart maintained the first position for the last ten laps to win the event.
context_section_description: The Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 was the thirty-third of thirty-six scheduled stock car races of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the seventh in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 29, 2006 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, an intermediate track that holds NASCAR-sanctioned races. The standard track at Atlanta Motor Speedway is a 1.54 mi (2.48 km) four-turn quad-oval. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five.
  Going into the race, Matt Kenseth led the Drivers' Championship with 5,848 points; his nearest rival Kevin Harvick thirty-six points behind in second, and Jimmie Johnson was a further five points adrift in third. Denny Hamlin and Jeff Burton were separated by one point in fourth and fifth, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch rounded out the top ten drivers competing for the 2006 Chase for the Nextel Cup. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet (with 246 points) were confirmed as champions six races prior to the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500. Dodge was second with 185 points, and Ford were eight points behind in the battle for the position. Carl Edwards was the race's defending champion.
  One driver made his debut appearance in the Nextel Cup Series at the race. Champ Car World Series driver A. J. Allmendinger replaced 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Bill Elliott in the No. 83 Red Bull Racing Team car. This was to help him acquaint himself with stock car racing, and for preparation for the team's full-time debut at the 2007 Daytona 500. Elliott was asked by the team to vacate the seat for Allmendinger, and he decided to join R&J Racing and drive its No. 37 car. Allmendinger spoke of his excitement over the switch to NASCAR, "To race against some of the best drivers in the world in front of fans that are as enthusiastic about racing as I am is going to be a pretty big thrill.” Elsewhere, David Ragan was not cleared by the NASCAR committee to run at Atlanta Motor Speedway because of his lack of experience driving on one-and-a-half mile tracks, and Roush Racing subsequently withdrew the No. 6 car.
caption: Atlanta Motor Speedway, the race track where the race was held.
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