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The 2006 UAW-Ford 500 was an American stock car racing competition. Held on October 8 at Talladega Superspeedway, the 188-lap race was the 30th in the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the fourth in the ten-race, season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. Brian Vickers (pictured) of Hendrick Motorsports won the first race of his career; Kasey Kahne finished second, and Kurt Busch came in third. David Gilliland, who had the pole position, was passed immediately by teammate Dale Jarrett. The race lead changed 63 times, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. leading for the most laps (37). On the final lap, Jimmie Johnson and Vickers made a move to pass Earnhardt, but Vickers clipped Johnson. Then Johnson clipped Earnhardt, and both were knocked into the infield. The race was halted, giving Vickers the win, although the crowd booed, and he was later criticized for hurting his teammate Johnson in the points standings. After the race Jeff Burton maintained his Drivers' Championship points lead, while Chevrolet maintained its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, 51 points ahead of Dodge and 52 ahead of Ford with six races remaining in the season. (Full article...)