2006 Nextel Cup yearbook now available

Since 1988, UMI Publishing has chronicled each year of NASCAR racing with a year-end retrospective in the form of a hard-bound coffee table book.

This year is no different. From Daytona to Homestead and everything in between, NASCAR Nextel Cup Series 2006 captures all of the action of the past season from flag to flag. More than 260 pages chronicle the complete story and results of each and every race from the 2006 season.

The yearbook is licensed by NASCAR and part of the NASCAR Library Collection. NASCAR Nextel Cup Series 2006 is the official yearbook covering NASCAR's top series.

"This is the same book we've presented to the drivers at the NASCAR Nextel Cup awards banquet for nearly 20 years," says UMI Managing Editor Ward Woodbury. "We bring every race story to the fans in pictures and in text as best we know how."

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series 2006 includes season-ending statistics, a special preface outlining this year's Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup, and an in-depth look at the final 10 races of the season. A story written by the newly-crowned NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson will recount his drive to the most coveted crown in motorsports.

Nearly 300 full color photos bring the past season to life before your very eyes.

SUPERSTORE •   Buy the Nextel Cup Series 2006 yearbook!

"This year, we've challenged our veteran photographers to use technology and their artistic eyes to push the creative envelope to bring our readers closer to the overall flavor of the 'event' that NASCAR Nextel Cup racing has become," Woodbury notes. "The focus is still on competition, but there is so much more that encompasses the race-weekend experience for fans and competitors. We feel this is the most striking Yearbook UMI has created to date."

UMI Publications is NASCAR's oldest publishing partner. A long-time source for specialty collegiate sports journals like the ACC Basketball Handbook, UMI first appeared on the racing scene when it took over production of NASCAR's yearly press guide/record book in 1986.

Two years later, R.J. Reynolds commissioned the company to publish the first NASCAR Winston Cup Yearbook for presentation at the annual NASCAR Winston Cup Awards Banquet. However, a special arrangement allowed UMI to also make the yearbook available to the public in limited numbers.

When Nextel became the title sponsor of NASCAR's top division, the company reached an agreement with UMI that allowed the tradition to continue.

"The folks at Nextel have been great to work with on this project," says Woodbury. "They stepped right in and commissioned the yearbook when Winston left the sport."