2005 Dodge Charger 500

2005 Dodge Charger 500
Race details[1]
Race 10 of 36 in the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season

Layout of Darlington Raceway
Date May 7, 2005 (2005-May-07)
Official name Dodge Charger 500
Location Darlington Raceway, Darlington County, South Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.366 mi (2.198 km)
Distance 370 laps, 505.42 mi (813.394 km)
Scheduled Distance 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.800 km)
Weather Temperatures averaging around 53.8 °F (12.1 °C); wind speeds up to 12.7 miles per hour (20.4 km/h)
Average speed 123.031 miles per hour (197.999 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Evernham Motorsports
Most laps led
Driver Greg Biffle Roush Racing
Laps 176
Winner
No. 16 Greg Biffle Roush Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

The 2005 Dodge Charger 500, the 49th running of the event that traces its lineage to the 1957 Rebel 300, was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held on May 7, 2005 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington County, South Carolina. Contested over 367 laps on the 1.366 mile (2.198 km) speedway, it was the tenth race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. The race was extended to 370 laps because of a green-white-checker finish. Greg Biffle of Roush Racing won the race.

In 2004, Francis Ferko, a shareholder of the company that owned Texas Motor Speedway, sued NASCAR, saying they had violated antitrust laws by refusing to have a second race at Texas Motor Speedway, as many other tracks had. The case was settled in his favor, and NASCAR was forced to give up the prestigious fall Darlington date (Southern 500) so that a second race could be held at Texas. The Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 spring race, which was known originally as the Rebel 300, was reverted to its 1957-70 date of the Saturday generally closest to Confederate Memorial Day, as was the case for the race, coincidentally the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend in mid-May, a date that was normally avoided by NASCAR over its history but had been used by the Rebel. The Carolina Dodge Dealers Association retained sponsorship of the Rebel, which reverted to a 500-mile race, as was the case from 1975 until 1993.

Background

Darlington Raceway, nicknamed by many NASCAR fans and drivers as "The Lady in Black" or "The Track Too Tough to Tame" and advertised as a "NASCAR Tradition", is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that will be effective at both ends.

The track, Darlington Raceway, is a four-turn 1.366 miles (2.198 km) oval.[2] The track's first two turns are banked at twenty-five degrees, while the final two turns are banked two degrees lower at twenty-three degrees.[2] The front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch is banked at six degrees.[2] Darlington Raceway can seat up to 60,000 people.[2]

Summary

Greg Biffle led a race-high 176 of 370 laps en route to his third Nextel Cup victory of 2005. With four laps to go, Biffle's Roush Racing teammate Mark Martin spun out (sliding into the apron) trying to pass third-place runner and pole-sitter Kasey Kahne. Biffle took two tires on his final pit stop, while race leader Ryan Newman and Ken Schrader stayed out. Newman was expecting more of the teams, like Schrader in the #49 Dodge, at the tail of the lead lap (18 in all) to stay out for track position. Newman accelerated on the restart, brake-checked Schrader to hold off the pack, and accelerated again, leaving Schrader spinning his tires. Biffle passed both of them on a green-white-checker finish restart. Jeff Gordon finished second, followed by Kahne, Martin, and Newman, who fell back three spots in two laps. Schrader finished in 18th position.

Failed to qualify: Johnny Sauter (No. 09), Robby Gordon (No. 7), Tony Raines (No. 61), Morgan Shepherd (No. 89)

Race results

Fin St Driver Car # Make Points Bonus Laps Winnings
1 3 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 190 10 370 $305,975
2 14 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 175 5 370 $221,986
3 1 Kasey Kahne 9 Dodge 170 5 370 $185,100
4 20 Mark Martin 6 Ford 160 0 370 $136,350
5 2 Ryan Newman 12 Dodge 160 5 370 $161,216
6 13 Jamie McMurray 42 Dodge 150 0 370 $108,775
7 9 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 151 5 370 $136,166
8 39 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 8 Chevrolet 142 0 370 $134,333
9 10 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 143 5 370 $100,525
10 15 Tony Stewart 20 Chevrolet 134 0 370 $131,586

Race statistics

References

  1. ↑ Weather information for the 2005 Dodge Charger 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Darlington Raceway". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
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