2005 NASCAR RCA Cup Series (Johnsonverse)

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The 2005 NASCAR RCA 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 Sunday, January 30, and ended on Sunday, November 20, with the Los Angeles Times 500.

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. Its introduction, combined with the newly-refreshed Ford Mustang, started a "Pony Car Revolution" in NASCAR that saw a move from creating low-drag cars to powerful big-block engines.

The 2005 season was the final year for the Ford Taurus, which was replaced by the Ford Fusion in the 2006 season. In addition, six prominent drivers announced that this would be their final season in NASCAR: Kyle Petty, Ricky Rudd, seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, 1990 Winston Cup champion Mark Martin, 1989 Winston Cup champion Rusty Wallace, and Ernie Irvan. Martin, however, would return for 2006 due to circumstances with Roush Racing and Kurt Busch at the end of 2005. He would then run full-time for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. in 2007 and 2008 and Earnhardt-Childress Racing in 2009, officially retiring at the end of the 2009 season.

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 146 points.

Teams, drivers, and manufacturers

Manufacturers

Company	Marquee	Model	Status	Teams
General Motors	Chevrolet	Monte Carlo LS	Full factory support
		Impala	Full factory support
Ford Motor Company	Ford	Taurus	FINAL YEAR, full factory support
		Mustang	NEW GENERATION, full factory support
		Roush Mustang	NEW GENERATION, in-house variant	Roush Racing
Chrysler Corporation	Dodge	Charger	RETURNING, full factory support
		Stratus	Full factory support
		Intrepid	Factory support ended after 2004

Complete schedule

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Race driver	Crew chief	Model	Primary Sponsor
Chevrolet	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Tony Eury	2005 Monte Carlo	ACDelco
		17	Michael Waltrip			NAPA Auto Parts
		38	Kelley Earnhardt			Pennzoil
	Front Row Motorsports	92	Stanton Barrett (R)	Fred Wanke	2005 Impala	unsponsored
			Tony Raines
			Hermie Sadler
			Eric McClure (R)
			Kenny Wallace
			Johnny Miller
			Joey McCarthy
			Mike Skinner
			P. J. Jones
			Chad Chaffin 3
	Haas CNC Racing	0	Jason Leffler	Bootie Barker	2005 Monte Carlo	NetZero
	Hendrick Motorsports	5	Ricky Hendrick (R)	Alan Gustafson	2005 Monte Carlo	Kellogg's
		24	Jeff Gordon	Tommy Baldwin Jr.		DuPont
		25	Kyle Busch (R)	Lance McGrew		Lowe's
		52	Casey Atwood	Chad Knaus		M&M's
	Joe Gibbs Racing	18	Dale Jarrett	Steve Addington	2005 Monte Carlo	Interstate Batteries
		19	Kelly Watson			Circuit City
		20	Denny Hamlin (R)			FedEx
	MB2 Motorsports	01	Joe Nemechek	Ryan Pemberton	2005 Monte Carlo	US Army
	MBV Motorsports	10	Scott Riggs	Doug Randolph	2005 Monte Carlo	Valvoline
	PPI Motorsports	32	Jamie McMurray	Harold Holly	2005 Monte Carlo	Nickelodeon
	Richard Childress Racing	3	Dale Earnhardt	Kevin Hamlin	2005 Monte Carlo	GM Goodwrench
		29	Steve Park	Royce McGee		AOL
		31	Jeff Burton			Sylvania
	Robby Gordon Motorsports	70	Robby Gordon	Bob Temple	2005 Impala	Jim Beam
	SFS Racing	4	Kevin Harvick		2005 Impala	Budweiser
		14	Tony Stewart	Greg Zipadelli		Home Depot
Dodge	AK Racing	7	Alan Kulwicki	Paul Andrews	2005 Charger	Walmart
		11	Ernie Irvan			Microsoft
	BAM Racing	49	Ken Schrader	David Hyder	2005 Stratus	Schwan's Home Services
	Bill Davis Racing	22	Bobby Labonte		2005 Charger	Caterpillar
		23	Ward Burton	Derrick Finley		Argent Mortgage
	Chip Ganassi Racing	1	Jimmie Johnson	Lee McCall	2005 Intrepid	UAW-Delphi
		41	Emily Senn	Jimmy Elledge		Target
	Elliott-Evernham Motorsports	9	Kasey Kahne		2005 Intrepid	Coors Light
		13	Jerry Nadeau			BellSouth
		94	Casey Elliott			Dodge Dealers
	Moroso-Rudd Racing	82	Rob Moroso		2005 Stratus	Mountain Dew
		83	Ricky Rudd			Tide
		84	Kenny Irwin Jr.			RCA
	Penske-Jasper Racing	02	Ryan Newman	Matt Borland	2005 Charger	Alltel
		2	Rusty Wallace	Bill Wilburn		Miller Lite
		12	Tim Richmond	Peter Sospenzo		Mobil 1
		77	Brendan Gaughan (R)	Shane Wilson		5-Hour Energy
	Petty Enterprises	43	Adam Petty	Gary Putnam	2005 Charger	STP
		44	Kyle Petty			Georgia-Pacific
	Team SABCO	40	Shawna Robinson		2005 Charger	Kmart
		42	Blaise Alexander			Mello Yello
		45	Patty Moise			Barbie
	R&J Racing	39	Kevin Lepage	Billy Poindexter	2005 Charger 2004 Stratus	Patron Tequila
			Anthony Lazzaro
			Tony Raines
			Mike Garvey
			Jimmy Spencer
			Mike Skinner
Ford	Orr Motorsports	37	Rodney Orr		2005 Mustang	Craftsman
	Peak Fitness Racing	66	Hermie Sadler	James Ince	2004 Taurus	Peak Fitnes
			Mike Garvey
			Johnny Borneman III
			Jimmy Spencer
			Kevin Lepage
	Robert Yates Racing	28	Davey Allison		2005 Taurus	Texaco/Havoline
		88	Sterling Marlin	Shawn Parker		UPS
	Roush Racing	6	Mark Martin	Pat Tryson	2005 Roush Taurus	Pfizer/Viagra
		16	Greg Biffle	Doug Richert		National Guard
		60	Matt Kenseth	Robbie Reiser		DeWalt Tools
		97	Kurt Busch	Jimmy Fennig		Rubbermaid/Sharpie
		99	Carl Edwards (R)	Paul Andrews		Office Depot
	Steele-Favre Racing	15	Tim Steele		2005 Taurus	Nike/Sony
		90	Katrina Goode (R)			Folgers
	Wood Brothers Racing	21	Elliott Sadler	Michael McSwain	2005 Taurus	Motorcraft

Limited schedule

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Race driver	Crew chief	Model
Chevrolet	Braun Racing	08	Shane Hmiel	Keith Montgomery	2004 Monte Carlo
	McGlynn Racing		Ryan McGlynn		2003 Impala
			Derrike Cope
	Conley Racing	79	Stan Boyd		2004 Monte Carlo
			Derrike Cope
			Bryan Reffner
	Competitive Edge Racing	51	Stuart Kirby	Bob Schacht	2005 Monte Carlo
			Bryan Reffner
			Mike Garvey
	Furniture Row Racing	78	Kenny Wallace	Tim Weiss Joe Garone	2004 Monte Carlo
			Jerry Robertson
	Hendrick Motorsports	05	Terry Labonte	Peter Sospenzo	2005 Monte Carlo
	MB Sutton Motorsports	36	Boris Said	Frank Stoddard	2005 Monte Carlo
	Mach 1 Motorsports	34	Randy LaJoie	Mike Steurer	2005 Impala
			Steve Portenga
			Jeff Fuller
			P.J. Jones
			Joey McCarthy
			Ted Christopher
			Eric McClure (R)
			Chad Chaffin
	NEMCO Motorsports	87	Chris Cook	Gary Putman	2004 Monte Carlo
	Raabe Racing Enterprises	73	Eric McClure (R)	Tim Brewer	2003 Impala
	Stanton Barrett Motorsports	95	Stanton Barrett	David Ifft Mike Dayton	2005 Monte Carlo
	S.W.A.T. Racing	55	Derrike Cope		2004 Impala
Dodge	Arnold Motorsports	50	Jimmy Spencer	Buddy Sisco	2005 Charger
			Jorge Goeters
	Bobby Hamilton Racing	04	Bobby Hamilton	Danny Rollins	2004 Intrepid
	Buddy Sisco Racing	61	Jeff Fuller		2004 Stratus
			Tony Raines
			Wayne Anderson
	Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates	139	Scott Pruett	Lee McCall	2005 Charger
			David Stremme
			Reed Sorenson
	GIC-Mixon Motorsports	93	Geoff Bodine	Lee McCall	2003 Intrepid
	Phoenix Racing	09	Johnny Sauter	Tony Liberati Ralph Wingfield Marc Reno Joe Shear Jr.	2005 Charger
			Bobby Hamilton
			Reed Sorenson
	Rick Ware Racing	52	Larry Gunselman	Rick Ware	2005 Stratus
			Derrike Cope
			José Luis Ramírez
	Rinaldi Racing	75	Wayne Anderson	Barry Haefele	2004 Stratus
			Mike Garvey
	Sacks Motorsports	13	Greg Sacks	Paul Sacks	2005 Charger
	Shepherd Racing Ventures	89	Morgan Shepherd	Troy Kelly	2004 Intrepid
			Jason Jarrett
Ford	Kirk Shelmerdine Racing	27	Kirk Shelmerdine	Phil Harris	2004 Mustang
			Brad Teague
			Tom Hubert
			Ted Christopher
	ppc Racing	14	John Andretti	Dave Charpentier	2005 Taurus
Chevrolet Dodge Ford	Michael Waltrip Racing	00	David Reutimann		2005 Monte Carlo 2005 Charger 2005 Taurus
			Johnny Benson
			Kenny Wallace
	Mach 1 Motorsports		Mike Skinner
	McGlynn Racing		Carl Long
			Derrike Cope
		180	Carl Long
	Hover Motorsports
			Andy Belmont
	Joe Gibbs Racing		J.J. Yeley
Dodge Ford	Ash Motorsports	102	Brandon Ash	Ed Ash	2004 Intrepid 2004 Taurus

Schedule

No.	Race title	Track	Date	TV
1	Dodge/Save Mart 350	Infineon Raceway, Sonoma	January 30	WBC
	Budweiser Shootout	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	February 12	WBC
	Gatorade Duel		February 17	WBC
2	Daytona 500		February 20	WBC
3	Subway 400	North Carolina Speedway, Rockingham	February 27	WBC
4	San Jose 500	San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy	March 6	WBC
5	UAW-Dodge 400	Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas	March 13	ESPN
6	Golden Corral 500	Atlanta Motor Speewday, Hampton	March 20	ESPN
7	Diet Coke 500	Denver International Speedway, Denver	March 27	WBC
8	Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol	April 3	TNN
9	Advanced Auto Parts 500	Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway	April 10	TNN
10	Samsung/RadioShack 500	Texas World Speedway, College Station	April 17	WBC
11	Carolina Dodge Dealers 400	Darlington Raceway, Darlington	April 23	ESPN
12	Aaron's 499	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln	May 1	WBC
13	Auto Club 500	California Speedway, Fontana	May 7	WBC
14	Chevy American Revolution 400	Richmond International Raceway, Richmond	May 14	TNN
	RCA Open	Indianapolis Raceway Park, Brownsburg	May 21	TNN
	RCA All-Star Challenge XXI			TNN
15	Coca-Cola 600	Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord	May 29	WBC
16	MBNA RacePoints 400	Dover International Speedway, Dover	June 5	TNN
17	Pabst Blue Ribbon 400	The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis	June 12	ESPN
18	Dodge Charger 400	Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth	June 19	WBC
19	Budweiser 400	Riverside International Speedway, Riverside	June 26	WBC
20	Pepsi 400	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	July 2	WBC
21	USG Sheetrock 400	Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet	July 10	ESPN
22	New England 300	New Hampshire International Speedway, Loudon	July 17	WBC
23	Pennsylvania 500	Pocono Raceway, Long Pond	July 24	ESPN
24	Music City USA 420	Music City Motorplex, Nashville	July 31	TNN
25	Allstate 400 at the Brickyard	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway	August 7	WBC
26	Sirius Satellite Radio at The Glen	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen	August 14	ESPN
27	GFS Marketplace 400	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn	August 21	TNN
28	Sharpie 500	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol	August 27	TNN
29	Southern 500	Darlington Raceway, Darlington	September 4	WBC
30	Chevy Rock & Roll 400	Richmond International Raceway, Richmond	September 10	TNN
31	Tyson Holly Farms 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro	September 18	WBC
32	MBNA NASCAR RacePoints 400	Dover International Speedway, Dover	September 25	TNN
34	UAW-Ford 500	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln	October 2	WBC
35	Banquet 400 Presented by ConAgra Foods	Kansas Speedway, Kansas City	October 9	ESPN
36	UAW-GM Quality 500	Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord	October 15	WBC
37	Subway 500	Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway	October 23	TNN
38	Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton	October 30	ESPN
39	ACDelco 400	North Carolina Speedway, Rockingham	November 6	TNN
40	Checker Auto Parts 500	Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale	November 13	TNN
41	Ford 400	Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead	November 20	WBC
42	iPod 500	San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy	November 27	WBC
43	Sprite 500	Denver International Speedway, Denver	December 3	WBC
44	Los Angeles Times 500	Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario	December 11	WBC

Results

No.	Race	Pole Position	Most Laps Led	Winner	Make/Model
1	Dodge/Save Mart 350	Ron Fellows	Adam Petty	Alan Kulwicki	Dodge Charger
	Budweiser Shootout	Dale Jarrett	Greg Biffle	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
	Gatorade Duel 1	Dale Jarrett	Greg Biffle	Michael Waltrip	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
	Gatorade Duel 2	Jimmie Johnson	Jimmie Johnson	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2	Daytona 500	Dale Jarrett	Tony Stewart	Adam Petty	Dodge Stratus
3	Subway 400	Kyle Busch	Joe Nemechek	Greg Biffle	Roush Mustang
4	San Jose 500	Casey Elliott	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
5	UAW-Dodge 400	Ryan Newman	Jimmie Johnson	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
6	Golden Corral 500	Ryan Newman	Jimmie Johnson	Carl Edwards	Roush Mustang
7	Diet Coke 500	Tony Stewart	Jimmie Johnson	Adam Petty	Dodge Stratus
8	Food City 500	Elliott Sadler	Rusty Wallace	Rusty Wallace	Dodge Charger
9	Advanced Auto Parts 500	Scott Riggs	Tony Stewart	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
10	Samsung/RadioShack 500	Ryan Newman	Greg Biffle	Greg Biffle	Roush Mustang
11	Carolina Dodge Dealers 400	Jeff Gordon	Kurt Busch	Adam Petty	Dodge Stratus
12	Aaron's 499	Kevin Harvick	Dale Earnhardt	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
13	Auto Club 500	Kasey Kahne	Greg Biffle	Greg Biffle	Roush Mustang
14	Chevy American Revolution 400	Kasey Kahne	Kasey Kahne	Kasey Kahne	Dodge Stratus
	RCA Open	Mike Bliss	Mike Bliss	Brian Vickers	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
	RCA All-Star Challenge XXI	Ryan Newman	Ryan Newman	Mark Martin	Roush Mustang
15	Coca-Cola 600	Tim Richmond	Brian Vickers	Adam Petty	Dodge Stratus
16	MBNA RacePoints 400	Jimmie Johnson	Greg Biffle	Greg Biffle	Roush Mustang
17	Pabst Blue Ribbon 400	Michael Waltrip	Greg Biffle	Carl Edwards	Roush Mustang
18	Dodge Charger 400	Ryan Newman	Tony Stewart	Blaise Alexander	Dodge Charger
19	Budweiser 400	Jeff Gordon	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
20	Pepsi 400	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
21	USG Sheetrock 400	Jimmie Johnson	Matt Kenseth	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
22	New England 300	Brian Vickers	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
23	Pennsylvania 500	Jamie McMurray	Kurt Busch	Kurt Busch	Roush Mustang
24	Music City USA 420	Jeff Gordon	Casey Elliott	Casey Elliott	Dodge Stratus
25	Allstate 400 at the Brickyard	Elliott Sadler	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
26	Sirius Satellite Radio at The Glen	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
27	GFS Marketplace 400	Joe Nemechek	Kurt Busch	Jeremy Mayfield	Chevrolet Impala
28	Sharpie 500	Matt Kenseth	Matt Kenseth	Matt Kenseth	Roush Mustang
29	Southern 500	Carl Edwards	Kyle Busch	Adam Petty	Dodge Stratus
30	Chevy Rock & Roll 400	Kevin Harvick	Tony Stewart	Kurt Busch	Roush Mustang
31	Tyson Holly Farms 400	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
32	MBNA NASCAR RacePoints 400	Ryan Newman	Kurt Busch	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
33	UAW-Ford 500	Elliott Sadler	Tony Stewart	Dale Jarrett	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
34	Banquet 400 Presented by ConAgra Foods	Matt Kenseth	Mark Martin	Mark Martin	Roush Mustang
35	UAW-GM Quality 500	Elliott Sadler	Adam Petty	Adam Petty	Dodge Stratus
36	Subway 500	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
37	Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500	Ryan Newman	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Carl Edwards	Roush Mustang
38	ACDelco 400	Ryan Newman	Matt Kenseth	Carl Edwards	Roush Mustang
39	Checker Auto Parts 500	Denny Hamlin	Greg Biffle	Kyle Busch	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
40	Ford 400	Carl Edwards	Carl Edwards	Mark Martin	Roush Mustang
41	iPod 500	Casey Elliott	Carl Edwards	Adam Petty	Dodge Stratus
42	Sprite 500	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Steve Park	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
43	Los Angeles Times 500	Dale Earnhardt	Dale Earnhardt	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Cars Used in 2005 (incomplete)

Chevrolet Monte Carlo (final year with this trim)

Ford Taurus (final year with factory support)

Dodge Charger (RETURNING)

Dodge Stratus