2005 NASCAR Cup Series (Simpsonverse)

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, and ended on Sunday, November 20, with the Ford 400. Tony Stewart was the champion.

The 2005 season was the first year of competition for the Dodge Charger, 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 in 2009, picking up an additional 5 wins with the team, before retiring at the end of that season. Also, Ricky Rudd took a break after the 2005 season, but returned at the beginning of 2007.

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 146 points.

Complete schedule
List of full-time teams at the start of 2005.

Driver changes

 * Mike Bliss drove full-time with Haas CNC Racing after competing in the final two races for Haas in 2004.
 * Robby Gordon left Richard Childress Racing to drive for his own team Robby Gordon Motorsports.
 * Travis Kvapil drove full-time with Penske-Jasper Racing after driving their R&D car in four of the last five races in 2004.
 * Kyle Busch and Terry Labonte swapped seats with Hendrick Motorsports. Busch drove the No. 5 and Labonte drove the No. 94 R&D car on a part-time schedule.
 * Jason Leffler joined Joe Gibbs Racing in 2005.
 * Mike Wallace drove full-time with Morgan-McClure Motorsports after competing in the final two races for them in 2004.
 * Dave Blaney moved over to the No. 31 for Richard Childress Racing.
 * Bobby Hamilton, Jr. drove full-time with PPI Motorsports after competing in eleven races in 2004.

Team changes

 * Front Row Motorsports will run a full-time schedule as the No. 92.
 * Kirk Shelmerdine Racing will run a part-time schedule.
 * Michael Waltrip Racing, Bill Davis Racing, Mach 1 Motorsports and McGlynn Racing formed an alliance to run the No. 00
 * MB Sutton Motorsports ran the No. 36 rather than MB2 Motorsports.
 * R&J Racing will run a full-time schedule as the No. 37.