The 2006 spring NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville, known then as the DirecTV 500, was a typical fender bending event on the .526-mile speedway in southern Virginia. Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were strong but it was Tony Stewart who dominated the day and took home the unique Martinsville Speedway trophy.

Jimmie Johnson started from the pole with Jamie McMurray on the outside and Stewart third. Johnson led the first 27 laps with McMurray taking his turn at the front for the next six. Stewart took the lead on lap 34 and set sail. By the end of the day Stewart had led the race five times for 288 laps of the 500-lap bang fest.

The yellow came out with six laps to go after Matt Kenseth lost his brakes and slammed the wall hard in turn two. NASCAR called for the red flag while track safety crews cleared debris from the track. Stewart, Gordon and Johnson lined up one-two-three for the single-file restart with three to go.

Stewart pulled away when the race went green as Gordon lost traction in the oil dry. Gordon held on for second and Johnson finished third. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished fourth and Kyle Busch fifth.

“We're happy with that second-place finish," Gordon said. "We didn't need that last caution; that last caution hurt us a little bit."

The 2006 DirecTV 500 saw 12 lead changes among 6 drivers with 16 cautions slowing the field for a total of 87 laps.

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