2006 Bank of America 500

rdf:langString 2006 Bank of America 500

rdf:langString Permanent racing facility

rdf:langString Track layout of Lowe's Motor Speedway. The track has four turns with one backstretch linking the turns together. The pit road splits off from the track on the inside of turn-four and rejoins the track at the entry of turn-one.

rdf:langString

rdf:langString Nextel Cup Series

rdf:langString NASNEX

rdf:langString Kasey Kahne

rdf:langString Evernham Motorsports

rdf:langString Mark Garrow, Doug Rice

rdf:langString Chuck Carland, Rob Albright

rdf:langString Temperatures up to ; wind speeds up to

rdf:langString Bank of America 500

rdf:langString Evernham Motorsports

rdf:langString The 2006 Bank of America 500 was the 31st stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the fifth in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 14, 2006, before a crowd of 175,000 in Concord, North Carolina, at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The circuit is an intermediate that holds NASCAR races. The 334-lap race was won by Kasey Kahne of the Evernham Motorsports team, who started from second position. Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson finished second and Richard Childress Racing driver Jeff Burton was third. Burton led the Drivers' Championship by six points over Matt Kenseth going into the race. Although Scott Riggs won the pole position by setting the fastest lap time in the qualifying session, he was immediately passed by teammate Kahne at the start of the race. Riggs regained first place twelve laps later, only to lose it to Tony Raines on the 19th lap. Riggs retook the lead on lap 31 and maintained it for the following 16 laps until he was passed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. who led for the next 31 laps. Kahne moved back into the first position on lap 96, with Raines reclaiming the lead on the 123rd lap. Kahne passed Raines to move back into the lead 15 laps later. Johnson moved into the lead on lap 168 and held the position for a total of 72 laps. At the race's final restart on lap 307, Johnson led until he was passed two laps later by Kahne who maintained it to win the race. There were ten cautions and 34 lead changes by thirteen different drivers. The victory was Kahne's sixth of the season, and the seventh of his career since he debuted in 2004. After the race, Burton maintained his lead in the Drivers' Championship, which increased to 45 points over Kenseth in second position. Kahne's victory moved him from ninth to eighth, while Jeff Gordon dropped from seventh to tenth because he failed to score enough points due to an engine failure in the race's closing laps. Chevrolet maintained its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, 48 points in front of Dodge and 54 ahead of Ford with five races left in the season.