Mark Anthony Martin is an American retired stock car racing driver. He has the second most wins all time in what is now the Xfinity Series with 49. He scored 40 Cup Series wins. He finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series standings five times, third in the NASCAR Cup Series standings four times, and has been described by ESPN as "The best driver to never win a championship." Martin also failed to win the Daytona 500 during his career. Martin has five IROC Championships, more than any other driver. Also, during the 2005 season, he took over the all-time record for IROC wins, with 13. Martin is the final driver born in the 1950s to win a NASCAR Cup Series race.
The 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 57th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 34th modern-era Cup series. The season began on Saturday, February 12. The ten-race Chase for the Nextel Cup started with the Sylvania 300 on Sunday, September 18, and ended on Sunday, November 20, with the Ford 400.
Martin Lee Truex Jr. is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion and a two-time Xfinity Series champion, having won two consecutive championships in 2004 and 2005.
Jeffrey Tyler Burton, nicknamed The Mayor, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He is a member of the Burton racing family. He scored 21 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600s in 1999 and 2001 and the 1999 Southern 500. He currently serves as a color commentator for NBC Sports, having joined them upon their return to their coverage of NASCAR. His son Harrison competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and nephew Jeb Burton currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, while his brother Ward Burton has also raced in the Cup Series.
Clinton Edward Bowyer is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and commentator for NASCAR on Fox.
Chad Anthony Knaus is an American former NASCAR crew chief. He is currently employed at Hendrick Motorsports as the Vice President of Competition. Knaus has 81 victories as Jimmie Johnson's crew chief and is the only NASCAR crew chief to win five consecutive championships. He has worked in NASCAR since 1991. Over this time, he has worked for four teams: Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, Melling Racing, Tyler Jet Motorsports and Hendrick Motorsports. He has been a crew chief in NASCAR for 19 years and is considered to be one of the greatest NASCAR crew chiefs of all-time.
The 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 58th season of professional Stock car racing in the United States and the 35th modern-era NASCAR Cup series season. It was started at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 12 with the Budweiser Shootout and ended on Monday, November 20, with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Chase for the Nextel Cup began with the Sylvania 300 on Sunday, September 17, at New Hampshire International Speedway. This was the last full-time season with the Gen 4 car.
The 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 56th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 33rd modern-era Cup series season. The season began on Saturday, February 7, and ended on Sunday, November 21. Kurt Busch, who drove a Ford for Roush Racing, was the Nextel Cup champion. It would be the last time until 2012 that the championship would be won by someone other than Tony Stewart or Jimmie Johnson.
The 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 59th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 36th modern-era Cup series. Beginning on February 10 at Daytona International Speedway with the Budweiser Shootout, the season ended on November 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford 400. The Chase for the Nextel Cup started with the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway and was contested over the final ten races.
The 2007 Citizens Bank 400 was the 15th race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season. It was held on June 17, 2007, at Michigan International Speedway, located in the town of Brooklyn, Michigan.
The 2007 Sharpie 500, the 24th race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season was run on the newly repaved and reconfigured .533 mile Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee on Saturday night, August 25, 2007.
The 2007 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 was the twenty-sixth and final "regular season" race in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. The race was run on Saturday night, September 8, 2007 at Richmond International Raceway in Henrico County, Virginia, just outside Virginia's state capital. The race was the eleventh to use NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow template, and also the first race to be telecast on ABC since the 2000 Brickyard 400.
The 2007 UAW-Ford 500 was the 30th stock car race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the fourth in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 7, 2007, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, before a crowd of 155,000. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won the 188-lap race starting from 34th position. His teammate Jimmie Johnson finished second and Dave Blaney was third.
The 2007 Dickies 500 was the 34th race in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season and the third to last race in the 2007 Chase for the Nextel Cup. This race took place on Sunday, November 4, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.
The 2006 Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented by Pennzoil was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series racing event that took place on November 12, 2006, at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona.
The 2005 Advance Auto Parts 500 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series stock car race held on April 10, 2005 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. The race was the sixth of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season. The pole position was won by Scott Riggs of MB2 Motorsports, his first career pole, while Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing led the most laps with 247. Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon won the race. Sergeant Sean McGuire gave the starting command from Iraq.
The 2006 Subway 500 was the 32nd stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the sixth in the ten-race Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 22, 2006, before a crowd of 65,000, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia, a short track that holds NASCAR races. Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson won the 500‑lap race starting from the ninth position; Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing finished second, and Petty Enterprises' Bobby Labonte was third.
American stock car racing driver Jeff Gordon enjoyed a successful career in the Cup Series, the top category of NASCAR. Gordon spent his entire driving career with Hendrick Motorsports, making 797 starts between 1992 and 2015 in the No. 24 Chevrolet for 24 seasons. He briefly came out of retirement during the 2016 season by competing in HMS' No. 88 Chevrolet for eight races, giving him a career total 805 starts. Gordon's career achievements include four championships, 93 points-paying victories, and 81 poles.
The 2006 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 was the thirty-third stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, and the seventh in the 10-round season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 29, 2006 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia before a crowd of 115,000 people. The 325-lap race was won by Joe Gibbs Racing driver Tony Stewart after starting from the eleventh position. Jimmie Johnson finished second and Dale Earnhardt Jr. came in third.
The 2005 Subway 500 was the 32nd stock car racing race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season, the sixth race of the 2005 Chase for the Nextel Cup, and the 57th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 23, before a crowd of 72,000 in Martinsville, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a 0.526 miles (0.847 km) permanent oval-shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. At race's end, Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports would hold off the field on the final restart with three to go to take his 73rd career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series win and his fourth and final win of the season, completing a Martinsville sweep. To fill out the podium, Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing and Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports would finish second and third, respectively.
