2005 NASCAR Cup Series (Simpsonverse)
The 2005 NASCAR 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 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500. Tony Stewart was the champion.
Four prominent drivers announced that this would be their final season in NASCAR: Ernie Irvan, Mark Martin, Ricky Rudd, and 1989 Winston Cup Champion Rusty Wallace. Irvan, Wallace and Rudd would stay with their 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 drive full-time Hendrick Motorsports from 2007-2010, picking up an additional 5 wins with the team, and with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. from 2011-2014, before retiring at the end of that season. This was also the final full season for Ron Fellows. He continued doing road-course races occasionally until 2013.
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.
Teams and drivers
Complete schedule
List of full-time teams at the start of 2005.
Limited schedule
Manufacturer Changes
- Dodge replaced the discontinued Intrepid with the newly-relaunched Charger. The Stratus remained in competition
- Ford introduced the newly-redesigned Mustang into competition.
Schedule
| No. | Race Title | Track | Date | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budweiser Shootout | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach | February 12 | MGM | |
| Gatorade Duel | February 17 | MGM | ||
| 1 | Daytona 500 | February 20 | MGM | |
| 2 | Subway 400 | North Carolina Speedway, Rockingham | February 27 | FOX |
| 3 | UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada | March 13 | FOX |
| 4 | Budweiser 400 | Riverside International Raceway, Moreno Valley | March 20 | MGM |
| 5 | Old Spice 400 | Gateway International Raceway, Madison | April 3 | CBS |
| 6 | Advance Auto Parts 500 | Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway | April 10 | FOX |
| 7 | Samsung/Radio Shack 500 | Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth | April 17 | FOX |
| 8 | Subway Fresh 500 | Phoenix International Raceway, Phoenix | April 23 | FOX |
| 9 | Aaron's 499 | Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega | May 1 | FOX |
| 10 | Howard Johnson's 400 | Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain | May 7 | CBS |
| 11 | Chevy American Revolution 400 | Richmond International Raceway, Richmond | May 14 | FX |
| NASCAR Open | Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord | May 21 | FX | |
| NASCAR All-Star Challenge | FX | |||
| 12 | Coca-Cola 600 | May 29 | FOX | |
| 13 | Music City 420 Presented by TNN | Music City Motorplex, Nashville | June 5 | TNN |
| 14 | Camp Lazlo 400 | Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth | June 12 | FOX
Nickelodeon |
| 15 | McDonald's 400 | Chicago Motor Speedway, Cicero | June 19 | FOX |
| 16 | USG Sheetrock 400 | Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet | June 26 | FOX |
| 17 | Pepsi 400 | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach | July 2 | MGM |
| 18 | Batman Begins 400 | Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn | July 10 | NBC |
| 19 | New England 300 | New Hampshire International Speedway, Loudon | July 17 | TBS |
| 20 | Pennsylvania 500 | Pocono Raceway, Long Pond | July 24 | TBS |
| 21 | Allstate 400 at the Brickyard | Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway | August 7 | MGM |
| 22 | Sirius Satellite Radio at The Glen | Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen | August 14 | MGM |
| 23 | Jacob's Grand Prix | Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown, Kent, England | August 21 | NBC |
| 24 | Sharpie 500 | Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol | August 27 | NBC |
| 25 | Mountain Dew Southern 500 | Darlington Raceway, Darlington | September 4 | MGM |
| 26 | Keystone Light 400 | Milwaukee Mile, West Allis | September 10 | TBS |
| 27 | Tyson Holly Farms 400 | North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro | September 18 | TBS |
| 28 | MBNA NASCAR RacePoints 400 | Dover International Speedway, Dover | September 25 | TBS |
| 29 | UAW-Ford 500 | Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega | October 2 | MGM |
| 30 | Banquet 400 Presented by ConAgra Foods | Kansas Speedway, Kansas City | October 9 | MGM |
| 31 | UAW-GM Quality Roval 500 | Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord (Roval) | October 15 | MGM |
| 32 | Auto Club 500 | California Speedway, Fontana | October 23 | MGM |
| 33 | Ford 400 | Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead | October 30 | MGM
TBS |
| 34 | Dodge/Save Mart 350 | Infineon Raceway, Sonoma | November 6 | MGM |
| 35 | Checker Auto Parts 500 | Phoenix International Raceway, Phoenix | November 13 | NBC |
| 36 | Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 | Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton | November 20 | MGM |
Races
| No. | Race | Pole position | Most laps led | Winning driver | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budweiser Shootout | Dale Jarrett | Greg Biffle | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet Impala | |
| Gatorade Duel 1 | Dale Jarrett | Jeff Gordon | Michael Waltrip | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | |
| Gatorade Duel 2 | Jimmie Johnson | Jimmie Johnson | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet Impala | |
| 1 | Daytona 500 | Dale Jarrett | Tony Stewart | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet Impala |
| 2 | Subway 400 | Jeff Gordon | Greg Biffle | John Andretti | Dodge Stratus |
| 3 | UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 | Ryan Newman | Jimmie Johnson | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet Impala |
| 4 | Budweiser 400 | Ryan Newman | Jimmie Johnson | Carl Edwards | Ford Roush Mustang |
| 5 | Old Spice 500 | Elliott Sadler | Rusty Wallace | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 6 | Advance Auto Parts 500 | Scott Riggs | Tony Stewart | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet Impala |
| 7 | Samsung/Radio Shack 500 | Ryan Newman | Greg Biffle | Greg Biffle | Ford Roush Mustang |
| 8 | Subway Fresh 500 | Jeff Gordon | Kurt Busch | Kurt Busch | Ford Roush Mustang |
| 9 | Aaron's 499 | Kevin Harvick | Jeff Gordon | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet Impala |
| 10 | Howard Johnson's 400 | Kasey Kahne | Greg Biffle | Greg Biffle | Ford Roush Mustang |
| 11 | Chevy American Revolution 400 | Kasey Kahne | Kasey Kahne | Kasey Kahne | Dodge Charger |
| Nextel Open | Mike Bliss | Mike Bliss | Brian Vickers | Chevrolet Impala | |
| Nextel All-Star Challenge | Ryan Newman | Ryan Newman | Mark Martin | Ford Roush Mustang | |
| 12 | Coca-Cola 600 | Ryan Newman | Brian Vickers | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet Impala |
| 13 | Music City 420 Presented by TNN | Jimmie Johnson | Greg Biffle | Adam Petty | Dodge Stratus |
| 14 | Avatar: The Last Airbender 400 | Michael Waltrip | Brian Vickers | Steve Park | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 15 | McDonald's 400 | Ryan Newman | Tony Stewart | Greg Biffle | Ford Roush Mustang |
| 16 | USG Sheetrock 400 | Jimmie Johnson | Matt Kenseth | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 17 | Pepsi 400 | Tony Stewart | Tony Stewart | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet Impala |
| 18 | Batman Begins 400 | Jeff Gordon | Tony Stewart | Greg Biffle | Chevrolet Impala |
| 19 | New England 300 | Brian Vickers | Tony Stewart | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet Impala |
| 20 | Pennsylvania 500 | Jamie McMurray | Kurt Busch | Kurt Busch | Ford Roush Mustang |
| 21 | Allstate 400 at the Brickyard | Elliott Sadler | Tony Stewart | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet Impala |
| 22 | Sirius Satellite Radio at the Glen | Tony Stewart | Tony Stewart | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet Impala |
| 23 | Jacob's Grand Prix | Joe Nemechek | Kurt Busch | Ron Fellows | Chevrolet Impala |
| 24 | Sharpie 500 | Matt Kenseth | Matt Kenseth | Matt Kenseth | Ford Roush Mustang |
| 25 | Mountain Dew Southern 500 | Carl Edwards | Kyle Busch | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet Impala |
| 26 | Keystone Light 400 | Rusty Wallace | Jeff Gordon | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 27 | Tyson Holly Farms 400 | Tony Stewart | Tony Stewart | Ernie Irvan | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 28 | MBNA NASCAR RacePoints 400 | Ryan Newman | Kurt Busch | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet Impala |
| 29 | UAW-Ford 500 | Elliott Sadler | Tony Stewart | Dale Jarrett | Ford Taurus |
| 30 | Banquet 400 Presented by ConAgra Foods | Matt Kenseth | Mark Martin | Mark Martin | Ford Roush Mustang |
| 31 | UAW-GM Quality Roval 500 | Elliott Sadler | Elliott Sadler | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 32 | Auto Club 500 | Kyle Busch | Joe Nemechek | Tim Steele | Ford Taurus |
| 33 | Ford 400 | Carl Edwards | Carl Edwards | Austin Petty | Dodge Stratus |
| 34 | Dodge Save/Mart 350 | Jeff Gordon | Jeff Gordon | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet Impala |
| 35 | Checker Auto Parts 500 | Denny Hamlin | Greg Biffle | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet Impala |
| 36 | Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 | Ryan Newman | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Carl Edwards | Ford Roush Mustang |