The 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was the twelfth season of the Craftsman Truck Series, the third highest stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. It was contested over twenty-five races, beginning with the GM Flex Fuel 250 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Todd Bodine of Germain Racing won the drivers' championship, making him the first driver to win a top-three NASCAR championship in a foreign make vehicle (Toyota).
2006 teams and drivers Full-time teams Manufacturer Team Driver(s) Crew chief Chevrolet Billy Ballew Motorsports 15 Kyle Krisiloff (R) Richie Wauters Buddy Barnes Kevin Grubb Kyle Busch Jeremy Mayfield Mike Wallace Green Light Racing 07 Sean Murphy Bobby Dotter Greg Tester Todd Brewer Gene Christensen Gary Roulo Wayne Edwards Eric Norris Clint Bowyer Justin Martz Johnny Chapman Robert Turner Kevin Lepage Butch Miller Chad McCumbee (R) Wayne Edwards Travis Kittleson T. J. Bell John Mickel Allen Mickel Kevin Harvick, Inc. 33 Ron Hornaday Jr. Chris Rice Stacy Johnson Wally Rogers Key Motorsports 40 Chad Chaffin Lance Hooper Barry Dodson Ryan Moore Tim Fedewa Derrike Cope Shane Huffman Morgan-Dollar Motorsports Kraig Kinser (R) Randy Goss Eric Phillips Clint Bowyer Joe Nemechek Denny Hamlin 85 Dennis Setzer Eric Phillips Randy Goss Spears Motorsports 75 Aric Almirola (R) Dave McCarty ThorSport Racing 13 Kerry Earnhardt (R) Shane Tesch Steve May Lance Hooper 88 Matt Crafton Bud Haefele Xpress Motorsports 16 Mike Bliss Dave Fuge Dodge Bobby Hamilton Racing 4 Timothy Peters Jerry McCormick Kip McCord Bob Bissinger Randy Seals Marcus Richmond Bobby Labonte Chase Miller 18 Bobby Hamilton Danny Rollins Kip McCord Bobby Hamilton Jr. Evernham Motorsports 98 Erin Crocker (R) Dan Glauz Ronnie Hornaday Patrick Donahue Orleans Racing 77 Brendan Gaughan Tony Liberati Woodard & Sharp Racing Woodard Racing 25 Boston Reid (R) Patrick Donahue Mark Nelson Tim Weiss Wayne Setterington Jr. Damon Lusk Ford Circle Bar Racing 14 Rick Crawford Kevin Starland ppc Racing 10 Terry Cook Dennis Connor Roush Racing 6 Mark Martin Mike Beam David Ragan Auggie Vidovich Peter Shepherd III 99 Erik Darnell (R) John Quinn Wood Brothers/JTG Racing 20 Jon Wood John Monsam Bobby East (R) Marcos Ambrose (R) 21 Stacy Compton Gary Cogswell Jon Wood Bobby East (R) Toyota Bill Davis Racing 5 Mike Skinner Jeff Hensley 22 Bill Lester Doug Wolcott 23 Johnny Benson Rick Ren Darrell Waltrip Motorsports 17 David Reutimann Jason Overstreet Germain Racing 9 Ted Musgrave Tom Ackerman 30 Todd Bodine Mike Hillman Jr. Red Horse Racing 11 David Starr Jamie Jones Wyler Racing 60 Jack Sprague Tony Furr Chevrolet Dodge Green Light Racing 08 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Danny Gill Butch Miller Todd Brewer Boris Jurkovic Bobby Dotter Wayne Edwards Gene Christensen Kevin Cram Sean Murphy Mike Greenwell Johnny Chapman Chad McCumbee (R) Chris Wimmer Richardson Racing 1 Robert Richardson Jr. (R) Buddy Barnes Wayne Setterington Jr. Kevin Caldwell Dodge Ford Toyota HT Motorsports 59 Mike Wallace Kevin Cram Danny Rollins Steve Park Chad Chaffin
Part-time teams Note: If under "team", the owner's name is listed and in italics, that means the name of the race team that fielded the truck is unknown. Manufacturer Team Driver(s) Crew chief Rounds Chevrolet Billy Ballew Motorsports 51 Kyle Busch Richie Wauters Martin Truex Jr. Johnny Sauter FDNY Racing 28 Carl Long Dick Rahilly Green Light Racing 03 Wayne Edwards Gene Christensen Johnny Chapman Jeff Milburn Racing 76 Blake Mallory Jeff Milburn Chase Montgomery Chris Wimmer Lafferty Motorsports 89 Norm Benning Chris Lafferty Chuck Maitlen Garrett Liberty Mighty Motorsports 24 Wayne Edwards Cliff Button MRD Motorsports 06 Chad McCumbee (R) Bryan Berry Pennington Motorsports 7 Casey Kingsland Gary Showalter Prime Development Group Racing 64 Jimmy Simpson Robert McVay Stellar Quest Racing 91 J. C. Stout Steve Mollnow Sutton Motorsports 02 Kelly Sutton Gary Showalter Chad Chaffin Johnny Sauter Brad Keselowski ThorSport Racing 87 Willie Allen Bob Good Tracy Cline 70 Tam Topham Mark Prater Dodge Bobby Hamilton Racing 04 Kevin Hamlin Randy Seals Bob Bissinger Scott Lagasse Jr. (R) David Stremme Sammy Sanders Timothy Peters Sammy Sanders 8 Chase Montgomery Jack Johnson Scott Fetcho Brevak Racing 31 Nick Tucker Joe Slonkasky Mike Wallace Trotter Racing 49 Bradley Riethmeyer Gary Huffman Ford Roush Racing 50 David Ragan Matt Puccia Michel Jourdain Jr. Carl Edwards Peter Shepherd III K Automotive Racing 29 Brad Keselowski Bob Keselowski MB Motorsports 63 J. R. Patton Mike Mittler Justin Martz Justin Allgaier Brad Keselowski Cameron Dodson Scott Lynch Tri-City Motorsports Todd Shafer Carl Riggenbach Wood Brothers/JTG Racing 19 Kelly Bires Michael McSwain Toyota Darrell Waltrip Motorsports 12 Joey Miller (R) Johnny Allen Michael Waltrip Bill Davis Racing 24 A. J. Allmendinger Ricky Viers Justin Labonte Derrick Finley
Notes
Schedule
Speed Channel, an entity of Fox, was the exclusive broadcaster of the series for the 2006 season. (Starting in 2007, two of the 25 races, the spring race at Martinsville and Mansfield, would be aired on Fox with the remainder on Speed). All races were held in the United States and carried live on Speed, except for the race at Dover, which started at 4 pm EST but was aired on tape delay at 8 pm EST.
Note: All times are Eastern Time. Event Venue Date 1 GM FlexFuel 250 Daytona International Speedway February 17 2 racetickets.com 200 California Speedway February 24 3 John Deere 200 Atlanta Motor Speedway March 17 4 Kroger 250 Martinsville Speedway April 1 5 Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 Gateway International Raceway April 29 6 Quaker Steak & Lube 200 Lowe's Motor Speedway May 19 7 City of Mansfield 250 Mansfield Motorsports Speedway May 27 8 AAA Insurance 200 Dover International Speedway June 2 9 Sam's Town 400 Texas Motor Speedway June 9 10 Con-way Freight 200 Michigan International Speedway June 17 11 Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200 Milwaukee Mile June 23 12 O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 Kansas Speedway July 1 13 Built Ford Tough 225 presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers Kentucky Speedway July 8 14 O'Reilly 200 Memphis Motorsports Park July 15 15 Power Stroke Diesel 200 presented by Ford and International O'Reilly Raceway Park August 4 16 Toyota Tundra 200 Nashville Superspeedway August 12 17 O'Reilly Auto Parts 200 presented by Valvoline Bristol Motor Speedway August 23 18 New Hampshire 200 New Hampshire International Speedway September 16 19 Smith's Las Vegas 350 Las Vegas Motor Speedway September 23 20 John Deere 250 Talladega Superspeedway October 7 21 Kroger 200 Martinsville Speedway October 21 22 EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 Atlanta Motor Speedway October 28 23 Silverado 350K Texas Motor Speedway November 3 24 Casino Arizona 150 Phoenix International Raceway November 10 25 Ford 200 Homestead-Miami Speedway November 17
Races GM Flex Fuel 250 The GM Flex Fuel 250 was held on February 17 at Daytona International Speedway. Mark Martin won the pole.
6 - Mark Martin 30 - Todd Bodine 9 - Ted Musgrave 5 - Mike Skinner 60 - Jack Sprague 99 - Erik Darnell 08 - Bobby Hamilton Jr. 14 - Rick Crawford 17 - David Reutimann 10 - Terry Cook
Failed to qualify: Chad McCumbee (#06), Chad Chaffin (#40), J. R. Patton (#63), Carl Long (#28), Wayne Edwards (#24), Norm Benning (#89)
racetickets.com 200 This race was held February 24 at California Speedway. The polesitter was David Reutimann. Chad McCumbee, who finished 25th, suffered a 25-point penalty for an illegal modification of the carburetor's main body.
6 - Mark Martin 30 - Todd Bodine 9 - Ted Musgrave 17 - David Reutimann 60 - Jack Sprague 23 - Johnny Benson 16 - Mike Bliss 14 - Rick Crawford 21 - Jon Wood 85 - Dennis Setzer
Failed to qualify: Kraig Kinser (#47), Wayne Edwards (#24)
John Deere 200 The John Deere 200 was held March 17 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Todd Bodine sat on pole and the race win was determined by a green-white-checker finish for the third consecutive race. This race was the final career start for Bobby Hamilton, who retired after being diagnosed with neck cancer and died in January 2007.
Top ten results 30 - Todd Bodine 6 - Mark Martin 23 - Johnny Benson 9 - Ted Musgrave 17 - David Reutimann 21 - Jon Wood 16 - Mike Bliss 99 - Erik Darnell 88 - Matt Crafton 14 - Rick Crawford
Failed to qualify: Chad Chaffin (#40), Chase Montgomery (#8), Carl Long (#28)
Chad Chaffin replaced Kelly Sutton in the #02 car in the race, after failing to qualify his #40.
Kroger 250 This race was held April 1 at Martinsville Speedway. Bobby Hamilton Jr. won the pole.
Top ten results 11 - David Starr 9 - Ted Musgrave 88 - Matt Crafton 6 - Mark Martin 16 - Mike Bliss 77 - Brendan Gaughan 07 - Clint Bowyer 5 - Mike Skinner 85 - Dennis Setzer 18 - Bobby Hamilton Jr.
Failed to qualify: Tam Topham (#70), Chad Chaffin (#40), Justin Martz (#63).
Dodge Ram Tough 200 April 29 at Gateway International Raceway. Qualifying was rained out and the field was set by owner's points. As a result, David Ragan sat on the pole.
Top ten results 30 - Todd Bodine 9 - Ted Musgrave 17 - David Reutimann 60 - Jack Sprague 23 - Johnny Benson 10 - Terry Cook 18 - Bobby Hamilton Jr. 11 - David Starr 16 - Mike Bliss 75 - Aric Almirola
Failed to qualify: J. R. Patton (#63), J. C. Stout (#91), Nick Tucker (#31)
Quaker Steak & Lube 200
The Quaker Steak & Lube 200 was held May 19 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Mike Skinner won the pole.
Top ten results
51 - Kyle Busch 10 - Terry Cook 30 - Todd Bodine 9 - Ted Musgrave 33 - Ron Hornaday Jr. 17 - David Reutimann 85 - Dennis Setzer 88 - Matt Crafton 75 - Aric Almirola 99 - Erik Darnell
Failed to qualify: Robert Richardson Jr. (#1), Chad Chaffin (#40), J. R. Patton (#63), Nick Tucker (#31), Bill Lester (#22)
City of Mansfield 250 The City of Mansfield 250 was held May 27 at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway. Todd Bodine won the pole. Qualifying for this event was rained out. A series record of 18 caution flags was set during this running of the City of Mansfield 250.
Top ten results
33 - Ron Hornaday Jr. 60 - Jack Sprague 11 - David Starr 23 - Johnny Benson 12 - Joey Miller 88 - Matt Crafton 85 - Dennis Setzer 16 - Mike Bliss 17 - David Reutimann 59 - Steve Park
Failed to qualify: Michel Jourdain Jr. (#50), Todd Shafer (#91)
AAA Insurance 200 The AAA Insurance 200 was held June 2 at Dover International Speedway. David Reutimann won the pole.
Top ten results 6 - Mark Martin 50 - Carl Edwards 30 - Todd Bodine 16 - Mike Bliss 17 - David Reutimann 23 - Johnny Benson 33 - Ron Hornaday Jr. 14 - Rick Crawford 60 - Jack Sprague 51 - Kyle Busch
Failed to qualify: Robert Richardson Jr. (#1), Ryan Moore (#40)
Sam's Town 400
The Sam's Town 400 was held June 9 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mike Skinner won the pole.
Top ten results
30 - Todd Bodine 5 - Mike Skinner 14 - Rick Crawford 17 - David Reutimann 23 - Johnny Benson 85 - Dennis Setzer 9 - Ted Musgrave 6 - David Ragan 08 - Chad McCumbee 16 - Mike Bliss
Failed to qualify: J. R. Patton (#63), Blake Mallory (#76)
Con-way Freight 200 This race was held June 17 at Michigan International Speedway. Mike Skinner won the pole. Johnny Benson captured his first Truck Series win and first NASCAR win in his home state.
Top ten results 23 - Johnny Benson 6 - Mark Martin 4 - Bobby Labonte 30 - Todd Bodine 88 - Matt Crafton 14 - Rick Crawford 33 - Ron Hornaday Jr. 85 - Dennis Setzer 10 - Terry Cook 60 - Jack Sprague
Failed to qualify: Robert Richardson Jr. (#1)
Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200 The Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200 was held June 23 at The Milwaukee Mile. Ron Hornaday Jr. won the pole.
Top ten results
23 - Johnny Benson 16 - Mike Bliss 33 - Ron Hornaday Jr. 60 - Jack Sprague 17 - David Reutimann 4 - Timothy Peters 85 - Dennis Setzer 11 - David Starr 14 - Rick Crawford 10 - Terry Cook