| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 35 of 36 in the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season | |||
Race logo of the 2006 Checker Auto Parts 500 |
|||
| Date | November 12, 2006 | ||
| Location | Phoenix International Raceway (Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A.) | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.000 mi (1.609 km) |
||
| Distance | 312 laps, 312 mi (502 km) | ||
| Avg Speed | 96.131 miles per hour (154.708 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Jeff Gordon | Rick Hendrick | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress | |
| Laps | 252 | ||
| Winner | |||
| 29 |
Kevin Harvick |
Richard Childress | |
| Television | |||
| Network | NBC | ||
| Announcers | Bill Weber Benny Parsons Wally Dallenbach |
||
The 2006 Checker Auto Parts 500 was a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series that took place on November 12, 2006 at Phoenix International Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A.[1][2][3] Taylor Swift sung the national anthem prior to this racing event.
This would be the final race in the entire history of the NASCAR Cup Series where the entire (43-car) grid was born in the United States of America.[1] Colombian native Juan Pablo Montoya and Australian driver Marcos Ambrose would become the foreigners that would consistently make the racing grid for all the future NASCAR Cup Series races along with limited degrees of success by Scottish IndyCar driver Dario Franchitti.
Brandon Whitt would "earn" the last-place finish in this race due to a rear end issue on lap 123 of 312.[1][4][3][2] Kevin Harvick defeated Jimmie Johnson by a ΒΌ of a second in front of 106,000 people after three hours and fourteen minutes of racing action.[1] There were 12 lead changes in addition to ten caution flag waved by NASCAR for 58 laps.[1][4][3] There was at least one red flag in the race; it was waved due to a multi-car accident on lap 305.[5] Jeff Gordon qualified for the pole position with a speed of 134.646 miles per hour (216.692 km/h) while the average speed of the race was 96.131 miles per hour (154.708 km/h).[1][4][3]
The other finishers in the top ten were: Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon (future father of Ella & Leo Gordon), Carl Edwards, Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Jeff Burton.[1][4][3][2] Now-retired drivers Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett would also participate in this race.[1][3][2] Seven drivers failed to make the race while Robby Gordon was sent to the back of the grid due to an engine replacement.[1] Kyle Busch (the future husband of Samantha Sarcinella and the current star of Joe Gibbs Racing's #18 Toyota Camry team) failed to finish in the "top ten" in his Hendrick Motorsports #5 Chevrolet Monte Carlo machine.[1][4][3][2] He was in a relationship with Erica Dawn Dewey during the year in which this race took place.
| Preceded by 2006 Dickies 500 |
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Season 2006 |
Succeeded by 2006 Ford 400 |