2006 Subway 500

2006 Subway 500

Race details[1][2][3]
Race 32 of 36 in the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
2006 Subway 500 program cover
Date	October 22, 2006 (2006-10-22)
Location	Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway, Virginia[4]
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.526 mi (0.85 km)
Distance	500 laps, 263 mi (423 km)
Weather	Temperatures up to 66.2 °F (19.0 °C); wind speeds up to 5.10 miles per hour (8.21 km/h)[5]
Average speed	70.446 mph (113.372 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Kurt Busch	Penske Racing South
Time	19.408
Most laps led
Driver	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
Laps	245
Winner
No. 48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	NBC
Announcers	Bill Weber, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach Jr.
Nielsen Ratings	4.1/9 (Final) 3.5/7 (Overnight)[6]
Radio in the United States
Radio	Motor Racing Network
Booth Announcers	Joe Moore, Barney Hall
Turn Announcers	Mike Bagley, Dan Hubbard, Dave Moody, Jeff Striegle

The 2006 Subway 500 was the 32nd stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the sixth in the ten-race Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 22, 2006, before a crowd of 65,000, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia, a short track that holds NASCAR races. Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson won the 500‑lap race starting from the ninth position; Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing finished second, and Petty Enterprises' Bobby Labonte was third.

Jeff Burton was the driver who led the Drivers' Championship going into the race with a 45-point margin over Matt Kenseth in second. Kurt Busch won the pole position with the fastest lap time in qualifying. He was immediately passed by Jeff Gordon at the start of the race. Gordon held the lead for 143 laps, until Johnson took the lead for one lap. Gordon regained the lead on the next lap, only to lose it to Johnson again on the 153rd lap. Labonte moved into the lead on lap 406 and held it with 55 laps remaining when he was passed by Johnson. At the race's final restart on lap 495, Hamlin challenged Johnson for the lead, but the latter held off Hamlin's passing maneuver and won the race. There were 18 cautions and 16 lead changes by five different drivers during the race.

It was Johnson's fifth win of the 2006 season and the 23rd of his career. The result advanced him from to third in the Drivers' Championship, 41 points behind Kenseth (who took over the championship lead when Burton retired during the race; this caused Burton to fall to fifth in the championship, one point behind Hamlin). Chevrolet maintained its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, 53 points ahead of Dodge, and 61 ahead of Ford with four races left in the season.