Ownership Submission
FORM 3
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
  Acuff Jeffery D
2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
02/23/2006
3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
COVENANT TRANSPORT INC [CVTI]
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
400 BIRMINGHAM HIGHWAY
4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
VP & General Manager
5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
(Street)

CHATTANOOGA, TN 37419
6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)
2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)
3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)
4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Class A common stock 5,882 (1)
I
401(k)

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)
2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)
3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)
4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)
6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Employee Stock Option (Right-to-Buy) Class A common stock 05/17/2004 05/17/2011 Class A common stock 3,500 $ 16.79 D  
Employee Stock Option (Right-to-Buy) Class A common stock 05/16/2005 05/16/2012 Class A common stock 3,000 $ 15.39 D  
Employee Stock Option (Right-to-Buy) Class A common stock 08/31/2005 05/22/2013 Class A common stock 3,000 $ 17.63 D  
Employee Stock Option (Right-to-Buy) Class A common stock 08/31/2005 05/27/2014 Class A common stock 3,000 $ 15.71 D  
Employee Stock Option (Right-to-Buy) Class A common stock 05/10/2005 05/10/2015 Class A common stock 3,000 $ 13.64 D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
Director 10% Owner Officer Other
Acuff Jeffery D
400 BIRMINGHAM HIGHWAY
CHATTANOOGA, TN 37419
      VP & General Manager  

Signatures

/s/ Jeffery D. Acuff, by Heidi Hornung-Scherr, attorney-in-fact, pursuant to a Power of Attorney filed herewith 03/06/2006
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) The number of shares beneficially owned following the reported transaction is equal to the reporting person's March 3, 2006 account balance, the latest available under the plan, in the employer stock fund under the issuer's 401(k) Plan divided by the closing price on March 3, 2006. The fund is unitized and as such does not itself allocate a specific number of shares to each participant.

Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, See Instruction 6 for procedure.

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