The 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 57th season of professionalstock 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.
Tony Stewart was the dominant driver going into the ten race "playoff" with five wins. Going into the final race before the Chase for the Cup, Stewart had amassed a 209-point lead over his nearest competitor, Greg Biffle. Points are reset going into the Chase for the cup, and Stewart's lead was dropped to a 5-point margin. Leading into the final race before the Chase, ten racers were still mathematically contending for the final four spots in the Chase and only one point separated Jamie McMurray in 10th from Ryan Newman in 11th. In the end, the ten racers who qualified for the Chase for the Cup were:
Overall, Roush Racing was the dominant team going into the Chase for the Cup with five of the ten final racers from their organization (Biffle, Busch, Martin, Edwards, and Kenseth).
This was the first season since his rookie season that Jeff Gordon did not finish in the top 10 in points. The 2005 season was the only time Jeff Gordon failed to qualify for the Chase and one of only two seasons (alongside 1993) in which he did not finish in the top 10 in points.
The 2005 season was the first year of competition for the Dodge Charger since 1977, which replaced the Dodge Intrepid, a model that Dodge dropped from its consumer lineup for the 2005 model year. The change did little to improve Dodge's fortunes as a distant third manufacturer in NASCAR Nextel Cup behind Ford and Chevrolet. In 2004, Dodge won 4 of 36 cup races with the Intrepid. In 2005, the Charger won three races. The Charger was, however, much more of a success in the Busch Series, winning 10 of 32.
The 2005 season was the final year for the Ford Taurus, which was replaced by the Ford Fusion in the 2006 season. In addition, two prominent drivers announced that this would be their final season in NASCAR: Mark Martin, and 1989 Winston Cup Champion Rusty Wallace. Wallace would stay with his word and retire at season's end, but Martin, however, would return for 2006 due to circumstances with Roush Racing and Kurt Busch at the end of 2005. He would then run a limited schedule in 2007 and 2008, then drive full-time Hendrick Motorsports between 2009 and 2011, picking up an additional 5 wins with the team, and then finally run part-time again before officially retiring at the end of the 2013 season. Also, Ricky Rudd took a break after the 2005 season but returned at the beginning of 2007.
One of the biggest controversies prior to the start of the season involved the elimination of two races– Darlington and North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham. The eliminated Rockingham race ends NASCAR's 38-year association with Rockingham. The races were replaced by new races at Texas and Phoenix. NASCAR also began moving start times later in the day starting this season; by 2007 the Daytona 500 finished in primetime.
Also, NASCAR announced in January 2005 that the owners of the teams in the top 35 of the previous year's standings would be guaranteed a starting spot in each of the first five races of the season. This further complicated the unique qualifying procedure for the Daytona 500 and severely affected the chances of some teams to make races after having a poor 2004. After the fifth race, the guaranteed starters were based on the current season's points, with changes possible from race to race depending on results.
The number of cars entered for each race was up slightly from the previous year. The Daytona 500 saw a dramatic increase in its car count from 45 to 56. The increase was in part attributable to a new NASCAR rule that allowed hard liquor brands to become sponsors on its race cars. Roush Racing (Crown Royal), Richard Childress Racing (Jack Daniels), and Robby Gordon Motorsports (Jim Beam) were the first to sign such deals.
At the end of the 2005 season, Chevrolet won the NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship after winning 17 events and garnering 259 points over second-place Ford who captured 16 victories and 246 points.[1]
Carl Edwards edged out Jimmie Johnson by .028 (28 thousandths) of a second to score first career Cup Series victory. This also comes after scoring his first Busch Series victory the previous day.
This was Harvick's first Cup Series victory since Indianapolis in July 2003, ending a 55-race winless streak. This was also the first Cup victory for Richard Childress Racing since Watkins Glen in August 2003.
Kurt Busch was collected in a crash with Jeff Burton and failed to finish, ending his chances of winning a fourth consecutive Bristol spring race.
Gordon's victory is considered one of the greatest comebacks in NASCAR history, as he rallied from 3 laps down to win his sixth Martinsville race.
This was Kahne's sixth 2nd-place finish before winning his first Cup race.
Samsung/Radio Shack 500
The Samsung/Radio Shack 500 was held on April 17 at Texas Motor Speedway. Ryan Newman won the pole. Greg Biffle had a dominating performance, leading 219 of 334 laps en route to victory.
The Aaron's 499 was held on May 1 at Talladega Superspeedway. Jeff Gordon won his third race of the season leading a dominating 139 of 194 laps for his 72nd career Nextel Cup win.
The "Big One" struck at lap 132, when Jimmie Johnson and Mike Wallace got together. 25 cars were involved, making it one of the largest crashes in modern NASCAR history.
This was Kahne's first career Cup Series victory, coming after finishing in 2nd six previous times.
Points leader Jimmie Johnson crashed out on lap 81, finishing 40th and losing valuable ground in the points standings. Teammate Jeff Gordon had similar problems on lap 165 and finished 39th losing second place in the standings to Greg Biffle.
Nextel All-Star Challenge
The Nextel-All Star Challenge was a non-points night race held on May 21 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The 90-lap race was divided into three segments with the final paying the most money. Also, the top six finishing cars from the first segment were inverted for the second segment. Mike Bliss won the pole for the Open, and Ryan Newman won the pole for the All-Star Challenge.
The Open ended in controversy. Bliss led the most laps and led to the white flag. In the final turn of the final lap, Vickers went underneath Bliss and made contact, spinning Bliss out. Vickers beat a wrecking Bliss for the win, transferring into the All-Star Race. Despite calls to have Vickers disqualified, the results stood. Martin Truex Jr. won the fan poll to transfer into the All-Star race.
About half of the field was taken out of the race at lap 35 when Tony Stewart ran into the back of Joe Nemechek which caused a fight in the infield between Nemechek and Kevin Harvick.
Coca-Cola 600 was a night race held on May 29 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Ryan Newman won the pole. This race saw a record 22 caution flags, resulting in approximately 51⁄2 hours of racing, Jimmie Johnson passed Bobby Labonte at the start/finish line on the final lap to win his third straight Coca-Cola 600.
The Pepsi 400 was held on July 2 at Daytona International Speedway. Tony Stewart won the pole. After a two and a half-hour rain delay, the Pepsi 400 started under both the green and yellow flags to allow the cars to dry the track where the jet-dryers could not, mostly in the turns close to the wall.
The race had started at 10:45pm ET and ended at 1:48am.
Tony Stewart dominated the race, leading a record 151 of 160 laps. After the race, Stewart climbed the fence in front of the tri-oval, near the starter's stand.
The USG Sheetrock 400 was held on July 10 at Chicagoland Speedway. Jimmie Johnson won the pole. Matt Kenseth lead 176 of the 267 laps, 66% of the race, but on lap 243, a debris caution brought most of the field, including Kenseth, come to pit road, allowing Scott Wimmer, who did not pit, to take the lead, followed by Earnhardt, and three cars between him and Kenseth. With so few laps left, Kenseth was unable to pass four cars and Earnhardt.
As part of his victory celebration, Stewart again climbed the catch fence up to the flag stand, similar to how he celebrated after the Pepsi 400 two races earlier.
The GFS Marketplace 400 was held on August 21 at Michigan International Speedway. Joe Nemechek sat on the pole. As the race neared the end, many drivers were running out of fuel. Some drivers pitted while others risked staying out to try to win. Jeremy Mayfield gambled on fuel mileage, taking the lead in the waning laps to win the race.
Scott Riggs placed second for his career-best finish. Just days later, it was announced that Riggs and his sponsor Valvoline would be leaving for Evernham Motorsports in 2006.
Tony Stewart clinched a spot in the "Chase for the Cup" top ten as a result of this race.
Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, and Rusty Wallace clinched spots in the "Chase for the Cup" top ten as a result of this race, with two races until the "chase" is locked in.
The Sony HD 500 was held on September 4 at California Speedway. Carl Edwards sat on the pole. Kyle Busch would win, becoming the youngest driver ever to win a Cup Series race at the age of 20 years, 4 months, and 2 days.
This was Kyle Busch's first career Cup Series victory.
Mark Martin and Kurt Busch clinched spots in the "Chase for the Cup" top ten as a result of this race, with only one race left until the "chase" is locked in.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered a blown engine with 38 laps to go, ending his chances of entering the Chase.
This race was marred by numerous confrontations and penalties.
Kurt Busch was involved in an incident with Scott Riggs early on, leading to a confrontation between Busch and Riggs' crew chief, Rodney Childers on pit road. Busch finished 35th.
Kasey Kahne crashed out after contact from Kyle Busch. Kahne maneuvered his wrecked car in front of Busch under caution. Kahne was later fined $25,000, docked 25 points, and was placed on probation for the remainder of the season.
Robby Gordon crashed out after contact with Michael Waltrip. On the following caution lap, Gordon tried to ram Waltrip's car with his wrecked car and on the lap after that, Gordon threw his helmet at Waltrip's passing car. In the subsequent live interview on TNT, Gordon called Waltrip a "piece of s**t", and TNT quickly ended the interview. Gordon was later fined $35,000, docked 50 points, and was placed on probation for the remainder of the season for the two incidents. Meanwhile, Waltrip was fined $10,000 and docked 25 points for apparently using an obscene gesture, but Waltrip and DEI contested the fine with NASCAR and it was overturned.
In a side note to this incident, Gordon put the helmet up for auction on eBay for the benefit of his race team's sponsor Harrah's relief efforts of Hurricane Katrina, and Waltrip signed the helmet as well. The original auction had to close as bids were reaching as high as $10 million. When the auction reopened, internet gambling site Goldenpalace.com won the helmet, paying $51,100 (US).
During the subsequent red flag, NASCAR warned all teams and crew chiefs to restrain themselves from further retributive incidents.
This was Jarrett's final career Cup Series win, and the final Cup victory for Robert Yates Racing.
This was the first time since 2001 that a DEI car would not win a restrictor-plate race at any point in the year. It was also the first time since 1997 that an Earnhardt failed to win a restrictor-plate race at any point in the year.
This would be the 7th and final career Cup Series start for Kerry Earnhardt. This would also be the only Cup Series race that Kerry finished ahead of his younger brother Dale Jr., with Kerry finished 39th, and Dale Jr. finished 40th.
Points leader Jimmie Johnson was involved in numerous incidents and finished 31st, falling from 1st to 4th in the points standings.
The start of the race was delayed by 45 minutes due the finish of the Southern California-Notre Dame college football game which was being broadcast on NBC.
The race was marred by multiple tire problems, similar to the 2005 United States Grand Prix. This was caused by a recent repave of the track that involved diamond grinding, and Goodyear failing to bring an adequate tire to the track. Even with drivers driving at 75% speed, tires continued to explode due to excessive heat in the right-front tire. Multiple drivers crashed due to flat tires, including point leader Tony Stewart. At one point, NASCAR even considered ending the race early, as teams were running out of tires. This race, along with the May race with saw a record 22 cautions, resulted in Lowe's Motor Speedway being repaved a second time in 2006.
This was Johnson's fourth consecutive victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway, become only the 3rd driver in NASCAR history to win 4 straight races at one track.
Stewart's issues resulted in him finishing 25th, while Johnson's victory put both of them in a tie for the points lead.
This was Kurt Busch's last start for Roush Fenway Racing.
Checker Auto Parts 500
The Checker Auto Parts 500 was held November 13 at Phoenix International Raceway. Denny Hamlin won the pole. The race was surrounded by controversy when defending champion Kurt Busch was cited for reckless driving and was reported by a cop to have "had the whiff of alcohol", although he was below the legal limit of .08 in Arizona when it was discovered Kurt Busch actually had .18 in alcohol. Due to his actions, he was suspended by Roush Racing for the rest of the season, and Kenny Wallace took the wheel of the #97 car. In victory lane, his brother Kyle Busch criticized the media for their handling of the case.
The Ford 400 was held November 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Carl Edwards won the pole. Tony Stewart entered this race with the points lead, with Edwards, Greg Biffle, and Jimmie Johnson each having a mathematical chance to overtake him. Johnson's championship hopes ended after crashing out at Lap 127 with a blown tire. Despite Biffle and Edwards finishing 1st and 4th, it wasn't enough to beat Stewart who, despite finishing 15th, clinched the 2005 Nextel Cup Series championship by 35 points ahead of Biffle and Edwards, who tied for second.
Under a non-Chase system, Tony Stewart would have been champion regardless. He would have scored a total of 5,174 points in 36 races, winning the title by 220 points over Greg Biffle, who would have finished 2nd in points regardless as well.
This race would be the last time a single team swept the first four finishing positions in a Cup race until Dover in May 2021.
This was Rusty Wallace's final career NASCAR start, retiring with 55 wins, 36 poles, 202 top 5s, 349 top 10s, and the 1989 Winston Cup Series Championship.
This was Ricky Rudd's final start before stepping away from racing for 2006, ending a streak of 788 consecutive Cup Series starts dating back to 1980, a record that would stand until 2015. Rudd would return to driving at Dover in May 2006 to serve as a relief driver for Tony Stewart, and would return to full-time racing in 2007.
The 2005 Rookie of the Year battle in NEXTEL Cup was pretty much decided halfway into the season. Twenty-year-old Kyle Busch became a phenomenon by winning twice and breaking the record for the youngest driver to win at NASCAR's premier level. Runner-up Travis Kvapil had a modest season, qualifying for every race, but only finishing in the top-ten twice. After that, the field was quite slim, as only Mike Garvey and Stanton Barrett ran more than seven races during the year. The only other declaree, Eric McClure, had resigned from his No. 73 Raabe Racing Enterprises ride after the season's third race. And while he had run too many races in 2004 to declare for the ROTY award for 2005, Carl Edwards became the most popular first-year driver– winning four races.
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