The 2006 Chase For The Cup is now in the books and Jimmie Johnson is the 2006 NEXTEL Cup Champion. Here is the full rundown of all of The Chase contenders and how they fared in the 2006 Chase For The Cup.
Jimmie Johnson claimed the 2006 Chase For The Cup with a very strong Chase performance. Jimmie used up his one bad finish right off the bat with a 39th place finish in Loudon. He got rolling At Charlotte and clicked off five consecutive top two finishes to climb into the lead. By Homestead Jimmie needed only to finish 12th or better to clinch the Championship. He cruised home a comfortable ninth and claimed the 2006 NEXTEL Cup crown.
56 points back - Matt Kenseth had the point lead and was looking like this might be his year until Texas. Kenseth then put together 12th and 13th place finishes which Jimmie Johnson finished second twice taking over the lead and padding his margin. Twelfth and thirteenth are not bad finishes, but it's not enough when your competition is ten places ahead of you on the track. This was a good year for Kenseth but his team was a little weak over the final few races when it mattered most.
68 points back - Rookie Denny Hamlin had an amazing rookie season. Two wins, three poles and twenty top ten finishes show just how good this young man is. I expect that although he came up just short this year that he will be in the thick of The Chase for many years to come.
78 points back - Kevin Harvick had five wins in 2006 including two during The Chase. He started off with a big win in Loudon and finished up with a string of top ten finishes. Two finishes in the thirties at Dover and Atlanta cost him just enough points that he was not a factor in the final Chase race.
147 points back - Dale Earnhardt Jr. had his DEI team clicking in 2006 and made a good showing in The Chase. Dale Earnhardt Jr. never had a really bad finish in The Chase, however he wasn't able to put together a string of great finishes either. Junior was in the hunt but was never a real threat to win it. Junior should be hopeful for 2007 as his DEI team showed real promise.
219 points back - Jeff Gordon posted back-to-back finishes of 39th and 36th in Kansas and Talladega. He then followed that up with a 24th place effort in Charlotte to effectively end his 2006 Chase hopes.
247 points back - Jeff Burton is a great example of how fickle the 2006 Chase was. Burton was leading the points and was on top of everyone's list to win it all until he blew his motor in Martinsville. Burton never posted another single-digit finish in 2006 and finished The Chase seventh in the points.
292 points back - Kasey Kahne lead all drivers with six wins in the 2006 season. This was good enough to make The Chase however he finished 38th in Dover and Atlanta and posted a pair of 33rd place finishes in Kansas and Texas. Kahne can be a Champion, but he will need to work on his consistency.
307 points back - Mark Martin was in position to win the NEXTEL Cup through the first four races of the 2006 Chase. Then the wheels came off. Beginning in Charlotte Martin's finishes were 30th, 24th, 36th and 22nd which erased any hope Mark had of winning a NEXTEL Cup Championship.
448 points back - Kyle Busch is a very talented driver but the 2006 Chase was not kind to him. Kyle posted four finishes of 38th or worse during the ten race Chase and he only managed three top tens.
