Jimmie Johnson: I'm the champion and no one is going to be the champion until next year this time. I get an entire year of riding this high. I'm the guy for a year. I'm going to enjoy every damn day of it." Credit: Autostock

2006 Nextel Cup Honors

Driver of the Year: Jimmie Johnson

Jimmie Johnson's season began with accusations of cheating. It ended with accolades for a champion.

With crew chief Chad Knaus suspended for the first four races for making an illegal specification to the 48 car at Daytona, the unflappable Johnson answered his critics rather emphatically and set the tone for his 2006 season.

Jimmie Johnson made a statement when raising the Daytona 500 trophy. Credit: Autostock

Jimmie Johnson First five years (full-time) Year W T-5 T-10 Rank 2002 3 6 21 5 2003 3 14 20 2 2004 8 20 23 2 2005 4 13 22 5 2006 5 13 24 1 • Driver Page: Stats, store & more Victories in 2006 Race Site St. Fin. Wins 1. Daytona 9 1 1 3. Las Vegas 3 1 2 9. Talladega 16 1 1 21. Indianapolis 5 1 1 32. Martinsville 9 1 2 • Johnson '06: Stats | Standings ChampionJimmie Johnson holds on to win the 2006 Nextel Cup title A dream seasonTNT's Benny Parsons, CNN's Michael Jones on Johnson's year Keep pushingJimmie Johnson to set new goals and raise the bar in 2007 Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

This is for all the "48 haters," proclaimed Johnson shortly after winning his first Daytona 500.

It was a year of firsts for Johnson, who up until 2006 had a career of seconds.

Second in the final points in 2003. Second in points in 2004. Second heading into the season finale in 2005. Second on the Hendrick Motorsports ladder to four-time champion Jeff Gordon.

Johnson won two of the first three races and three of nine to open the season, chasing away previous demons with a victory at Talladega. He later added Indianapolis to his list of first-time wins.

Johnson maintained the top spot in points for all but four weeks leading into the Chase, never falling as far as third in the driver standings. But after leading the points for 16 consecutive weeks, Johnson found himself second when the Chase began.

He quickly dropped to ninth after finishing 39th at New Hampshire, and three races into the Chase trailed the leader by 165 points.

Johnson never wavered.

"If we show up, give a hundred percent, do our job, I truly, in my heart, feel like we'll be back in the middle of this thing," Johnson said prior to Dover.

Johnson finished second at Lowe's, won the following week at Martinsville and had three consecutive second-place runs to charge into the lead heading into the season finale.

Johnson had overcome the misfortune that plagued him earlier in the Chase, but before he could raise the Cup he had to prove his mettle once more at Homestead.

Needing only to finish 12th to claim the title, Johnson was again met with challenges. But the 48 team averted trouble spots at every turn, and Johnson did the rest.

"It was such a long day to get here. There were times when we were down and out and in the back and had to come back through," Johnson said.

"We knew this team was capable of winning a championship. This just means the world to me."

Comeback Driver of the Year: Jeff Burton

Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. returned to the Chase after missing the cut the previous year, and Kasey Kahne delivered on his promise, but it was Jeff Burton who rebounded from rather obscurity to become a contender again.

	Jeff Burton ended a 175-race winless streak dating back to Oct. 2001. Credit: Autostock
	Jeff Burton Cup stats (1997-2006)   '97-01 '02-05 2006 Wins 23 0 1 Top-5s 78 13 7 Top-10s 102 37 20 Poles 1 0 4 Avg. Start 19.5 24.3 13.9 Avg. Finish 12.3 17.9 14.2 Best Rank 3 12 7 • Note: Burton finished in the top five in points from 1997-2000 • Burton: Driver Page | 2006 stats PHOTO GALLERY • 2006 Nextel Cup honors

Burton enjoyed his best season since he finished third in points in 2000. Burton won at Dover, his first victory since 2001, which also marks the last of five consecutive years finishing in the top 10 in the standings.

Burton's victory at Dover catapulted him from fifth to the lead in the Chase, and he held the top spots four weeks running until his car didn't. Engine failure at Martinsville resulted in a 42nd-place finish, and he dropped back to fifth in points.

Two races later, Burton blew a tire and smacked the wall at Texas. He finished 38th and fell to seventh in points, where he stayed.

Still, it marked a drastic improvement from the past two years in particular when he finished 18th in points both in a transition year from Roush Racing to RCR in 2004 and again in '05, his first full season in the 31 Chevrolet.

Burton made it a priority at Preseason Thunder to prepare differently for 2006 than he had the previous year.

"I honestly believe that you will see an increase in performance on the track," Burton predicted.

He was right.

Burton finished the season with his most top-fives (seven) since 2001 and top-10s (20) since 2000. He also won a career-high four poles, including the season-opening Daytona 500.

"I look at this year as kind of a character-building year," Burton said. "It has been a year that we have put ourselves in a position; it has been a year that we have proven to ourselves we can do it, which is really what counts.

"We can do this, and we do deserve to be here, and we have to go take advantage of it."

Rookie of the Year: Denny Hamlin

Jason Leffler is nothing but an afterthought now at Joe Gibbs Racing, thanks in large part to the success of Denny Hamlin.

Denny Hamlin edged Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart to win the Bud Shootout. Credit: Autostock

Inside the Numbers 2006 Rookie stats No. Driver W T-5 T-10 Pts. 1. D. Hamlin 2 8 20 -- 2. C. Bowyer 0 4 11 -59 3. M. Truex 0 2 5 -87 4. R. Sorenson 0 1 5 -108 5. J.J. Yeley 0 0 3 -117 6. D. Stremme 0 0 0 -138 • Complete Rookie Standings • Hamlin '06: Driver Page | Stats No longer a rookieDenny Hamlin hopes to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump Bright futureDenny Hamlin looks forward to a future championship Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Hamlin got a trial run in JGR's No. 11 Chevrolet soon after Leffler was fired, making the final seven starts of 2005. After two eighth-place finishes in four starts, Hamlin was given the ride for '06. He celebrated with a seventh-place run at Texas.

The next week at Phoenix, Hamlin earned his first Bud Pole, which qualified him for the following season's Bud Shootout, which he won.

After a somewhat slow start this year, Hamlin used Texas again as a springboard to history. He finished fourth, then two races later scored a runner-up at his designated home track at Richmond.

That began a string of four top-10s in five starts, culminating at Pocono with his first Nextel Cup victory. That win also pushed him into the top 10 in points for the first time.

After two consecutive weeks in ninth place, Hamlin fell out of the top 10 until he returned to Pocono. For the second time in the Pennsylvania mountains, Hamlin finished where he started -- out front. His second victory gained him four spots in the standings to eighth, and from there he was on his way to becoming the first rookie to earn a berth in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Hamlin began the Chase in fifth place, moved to second after the opening race and ended up third in the final standings, 68 points behind Jimmie Johnson.

"It's been a great year for us," Hamlin said shortly after finishing third in the season finale at Homestead. "I'm ecstatic the way we ran. This is the way I wanted to end the year."

Hamlin ended the year the highest-finishing rookie in the Modern Era of Cup racing. Teammate Tony Stewart finished fourth in his first year in 1999.

Hamlin easily outdistanced Clint Bowyer in rookie points (330-271) to win the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award. Besides being the only rookie to win a race in 2006, Hamlin had more top-fives (eight) than the other rookies combined (seven) and only the top two drivers (Johnson and Matt Kenseth) in points had more top-10s than Hamlin's 20.

Team of the Year: Richard Childress Racing

Hendrick Motorsports placed a team-high three cars in the Chase and claimed its sixth Cup championship, but its recent success only heightened expectations.

At Richard Childress Racing there haven't been any expectations since ... some would say 2001.

	Richard Childress and Kevin Harvick celebrated five wins and a contract extension in 2006. Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers RCR in 2006 (full-time drivers)   Harvick Burton Bowyer Wins 5 1 0 Top-5s 15 7 4 Top-10s 20 20 11 Poles 1 4 0 Avg. St. 13.5 13.9 20.3 Avg. Fin. 12.2 14.2 19.7 Rank 4 7 17 • Richard Childress: Team Page

Kevin Harvick finished ninth in points in 2001 after replacing Dale Earnhardt and was fifth in 2003, but RCR has been headed in the wrong direction since. No RCR driver had come close to making the Chase the first two years, with Harvick's 14th-place finishes in 2004 and again in '05 the organization's high-water marks.

Jeff Burton joined RCR late in 2004 but was a non-factor in '05. He knew changes had to be made.

"When I stepped into Childress, I knew I was stepping into something that needed a lot of work," Burton said during Preseason Thunder. "You don't fire drivers, and you don't hire crew chiefs and you're not making changes in your company if everything is going well.

"I knew we had major changes that had to happen. Last year we were rebuilding. This year we have to perform."

And perform they did, placing two drivers (Burton and Harvick) in the Chase. Harvick doubled his career win total with five and added career-highs in top-fives (15) and top-10s (20). He finished fourth in points.

Burton ended a four-year winless drought, recorded seven top-fives and matched Harvick with 20 top-10s. He was leading the Chase until engine failure at Martinsville.

Team owner Richard Childress replaced Dave Blaney in the signature 07 with rookie Clint Bowyer, and it paid off with four top-fives and 11 top-10s.

An RCR car finished in the top 10 in all but three races in 2006 and its multiple wins this season were the first since Robby Gordon and Harvick combined for three victories in 2003.

How big has the turnaround been? Harvick was in essentially his free-agent year and little expected him to return to RCR. But in May, Harvick agreed to a three-year contract extension.

"It has been a great year and a lot of fun to be a part of," Harvick said. "Everyone has done a great job and it was a good way to end it. We have to take that step next year and get just a little bit better."