From the May, 2006 issue of Stock Car Insider
Last Week's Headlines
On a night when the top drivers in the points standings were quiet, the fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr roared. Dale Jr overtook the dominant driver of the night, Kevin Harvick, on a late round of pit stops, and held on to lead despite a charging Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick.Both Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kevin Harvick are coming on strong in the 2006 season after mediocre runs in the 2005 season. With strong performances in Richmond, both drivers jumped two spots in the Nextel Cup Points standings. Kevin currently sites in 5th place, and Dale Earnhardt Jr sits in 6th.
The series leader, Jimmie Johnson, had a quiet night. After starting 5th, Johnson fell to the back of the pack quickly. However, through the course of the race, Jimmie rallied for a 12th place finish. Johnson is currently in 1st place with a 55 point lead over Tony Stewart.
Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon both had dismal evenings finishing 39th and 40th. Both drivers suffered mechanical setbacks that were too much to overcome. Matt Kenseth's car suffered damage to his oil pan after running over of a piece of debris early in the race. And Jeff Gordon had a sudden loss of power, most likely due to a broken distributer cap, that required an enormous amount of time to fix.
Other points of interest:
Rookie Denny Hamlin had a strong 2nd place finish in his home state. The Crown Royal 400 was the first race of the 2006 season that Tony Stewart has not led a lap.
| See complete 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Race Schedule |
