Grading every driver in the Nextel Cup this season

	While Greg Biffle did get to celebrate a win at Homestead to end the season, it wasn't for the Cup title many expected. Doug Benc/Getty Images

The season is over and the final grades are in. Who received an A? Who got a passing grade? Who flunked? We've got the grades for every Nextel Cup driver this season.

DRIVER GRADES:
Last names A-L (this file)
Last names M-Z (click here)

Greg Biffle

Finishing just 35 points from a title last year, Biffle thought everything would go his way in '06. Instead, he found out all good-luck charms had expired. The Biff led the most laps in four of the season's first 11 races but only made it to the winner's circle once. That lack of finishing power derailed his bid to make the Chase a second straight year. Add in a crash with Kurt Busch at Texas in April that led to the infamous "catfight" on pit road between the two drivers' girlfriends, and Biffle found himself losing momentum. By the time he got it back with a third straight win at Homestead in the season finale, it was too late. Crew chief Doug Richert will be replaced next year.
Grade: B-.

Dave Blaney

While his season wasn't Chase-worthy, Blaney still had his moments in his first year back with Bill Davis Racing. Boosted by the return of Tommy Baldwin to the organization in midseason, Blaney showed some strength with four top-15 finishes in a five-race stretch from August to September, before fading to 26th in points. That slump was likely due to the team beginning to focus on the Toyota Camrys they'll debut next year. With Blaney the only Toyota team guaranteed a spot in next year's Daytona 500, he'll start the season as Davis' brightest hope. It'll clearly be a make-or-break season in what's been a ho-hum career.
Grade: C.

Clint Bowyer

By most standards, Bowyer had what would have been a Rookie of the Year season if not for the performance by Denny Hamlin. Coming out of the gate strong with two top-10 finishes in his first eight races, Bowyer had the early edge on Hamlin. But the "Big One" caught up to Bowyer at Talladega, and so did his rookie status. After that 40th-place finish, Bowyer couldn't put together the consistency needed to make a serious run at the Chase, as he mixed four DNFs among his 11 top-10 finishes.
Grade: B-.

Jeff Burton

If there was an award for Comeback Driver of the Year, Burton would have won in a landslide. Given most of the credit by his RCR team for turning the program around, NASCAR's would-be politician spent most of the season building a coalition of success around an effort that found itself headed nowhere as recently as two years ago. Knocking on the door of Victory Lane virtually all season, he finally made his move at Dover, taking both the checkered flag and the points lead in a Chase race he qualified for on the strength of remarkable consistency. Leading the points for four of the playoff's 10 events, Burton's unlikely bid for a title finally went sour along with his engine at Martinsville. But considering how far this team has come, a seventh-place finish in the final standings is something to be proud of.
Grade : A-.

Kurt Busch

He got off to a rocky start as Rusty Wallace's replacement, and by the time the team got it together at midseason, he was too far back to make a run at the title. Say what you will about a pit-road penalty at Watkins Glen that took away a win and any hope for the Chase, it was actually the short-track program that doomed the elder Busch. He ended up with just one win and an average finish of 22nd in six starts on tracks shorter than a mile. After failing to make the playoffs, Kurt said the team would experiment with new setups in hopes for a better performance in '07. Well, they better throw out whatever they learned; four finishes of 25th or worse in his final 10 starts dropped him to 16th in the final standings, tying the lowest finish in points for Penske's No. 2 car since it returned to Cup racing in 1991.
Grade: C-.

Kyle Busch

Rick Hendrick's young protégé had his share of success, failure and immaturity in his second full season behind the wheel. Success? Seven top 10s in nine races, including a win at New Hampshire in July, made the 21-year-old the youngest driver ever to qualify for the Chase. Failure? Busch wrecked at Loudon in the first race of the playoffs before a lap was even complete. That was only the beginning of his problems; he finished no better than fourth in any race thereafter, suffering four finishes of 38th or worse in the process. Immaturity? That was an ugly cloud that appeared to follow Busch the whole season, highlighted by throwing his HANS device at future teammate Casey Mears after a wreck and publicly calling out veteran Tony Stewart on aggressive driving. You'd think his older brother Kurt could give him some lessons on how to mature; on second thought ... that explains a lot.
Grade : B-.