2005 Aaron's 499

2005 Aaron's 499
Race details
Race 9 of 36 in the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
2005 Aaron's 499 program cover
2005 Aaron's 499 program cover
Date May 1, 2005 (2005-05-01)
Location Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, Alabama
Course Permanent racing facility
2.66 mi (4.280855 km)
Distance 194 laps, 516.04 mi (830.514 km)
Scheduled Distance 188 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Average speed 146.904 mph
Attendance 155,000
Pole position
Driver
Richard Childress Racing
Most laps led
Driver Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 139
Winner
No. 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network FOX
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 2005 Aaron's 499 was the 9th race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season, held on May 1, 2005, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. The race was won by Jeff Gordon, who led 139 laps of the 194 lap race.

The race was extended from the scheduled 188 laps due to a late race caution.

Entry list

Car #[1] Driver Hometown Make Sponsor Team Crew Chief
0 Mike Bliss Milwaukie, OR Chevrolet NetZero Best Buy Gene Haas
00 Kenny Wallace St. Louis, MO Chevrolet Aaron's Buffy Waltrip
01 Joe Nemechek Lakeland, FL Chevrolet U.S. Army Nelson Bowers
1 Martin Truex Jr Mayetta, NJ Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Teresa Earnhardt
2 Rusty Wallace St. Louis, MO Dodge Miller Lite Roger Penske
4 Mike Wallace St. Louis, MO Chevrolet Lucas Oil Products Larry McClure
5 Kyle Busch Las Vegas, NV Chevrolet Kellogg's Rick Hendrick
6 Mark Martin Batesville, AR Ford Viagra Jack Roush
07 Dave Blaney Hartford, OH Chevrolet Jack Daniel's Richard Childress
7 Robby Gordon Bellflower, CA Chevrolet Harrah's James Smith
8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kannapolis, NC Chevrolet Budweiser Teresa Earnhardt
09 Johnny Sauter Necedah, WI Dodge Miccosukee Resort & Gaming James Finch
9 Kasey Kahne Enumclaw, WA Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW / "Longest Yard" Ray Evernham
10 Scott Riggs Bahama, NC Chevrolet Valvoline James Rocco
11 Jason Leffler Long Beach, CA Chevrolet FedEx Express J D Gibbs
12 Ryan Newman South Bend, IN Dodge Alltel Roger Penske
15 Michael Waltrip Owensboro, KY Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts Teresa Earnhardt
16 Greg Biffle Vancouver, WA Ford National Guard / Charter Communications Geoff Smith
17 Matt Kenseth Cambridge, WI Ford DEWALT Power Tools Mark Martin
18 Bobby Labonte Corpus Christi, TX Chevrolet Interstate Batteries Joe Gibbs
19 Jeremy Mayfield Owensboro, KY Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW Ray Evernham
20 Tony Stewart Rushville, IN Chevrolet The Home Depot Joe Gibbs
21 Ricky Rudd Chesapeake, VA Ford Motorcraft Genuine Parts Glen Wood
22 Scott Wimmer Wausau, WI Dodge Caterpillar Bill Davis
23 Mike Skinner Ontario, CA Dodge Bad Boy Mowers Gail Davis
24 Jeff Gordon Vallejo, CA Chevrolet DuPont / Pepsi Rick Hendrick
25 Brian Vickers Thomasville, NC Chevrolet GMAC / ditech.com Mary Hendrick
29 Kevin Harvick Bakersfield, CA Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Richard Childress
31 Jeff Burton South Boston, VA Chevrolet Cingular Wireless Richard Childress
32 Bobby Hamilton Jr Nashville, TN Chevrolet Tide Calvin Wells III
33 Kerry Earnhardt Kannapolis, NC Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops Richard Childress
36 Boris Said New York, NY Chevrolet CENTRIX Financial Bob Sutton
37 Kevin Lepage Shelburne, VT Dodge Patron Tequila John Carter
38 Elliott Sadler Emporia, VA Ford M&M's Robert Yates
40 Sterling Marlin Columbia, TN Dodge Coors Light Felix Sabates
41 Casey Mears Bakersfield, CA Dodge Target Chip Ganassi
42 Jamie McMurray Joplin, MO Dodge Texaco / Havoline Floyd Ganassi
43 Jeff Green Owensboro, KY Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker Richard L Petty
45 Kyle Petty Trinity, NC Dodge Georgia-Pacific / Brawny Kyle Petty
48 Jimmie Johnson El Cajon, CA Chevrolet Lowe's Jeff Gordon
49 Ken Schrader Fenton, MO Dodge Schwan's Home Service Elizabeth Morgenthau
66 Hermie Sadler Emporia, VA Ford Peak Fitness Jeff Stec
77 Travis Kvapil Janesville, WI Dodge Kodak / Jasper Engines Douglas Bawel
88 Dale Jarrett Hickory, NC Ford UPS Robert Yates
92 Stanton Barrett Bishop, CA Chevrolet First Trust Portfolios Bob Jenkins
97 Kurt Busch Las Vegas, NV Ford IRWIN Industrial Tools / Sharpie Georgetta Roush
99 Carl Edwards Columbia, MO Ford Scotts Ortho Jack Roush

Qualifying

Pos[2][3] Car # Driver Make Primary Sponsor Speed Time Behind
1 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet GM Goodwrench 189.804 50.452 0.000
2 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont / Pepsi 188.988 50.670 -0.218
3 38 Elliott Sadler Ford M&M's 188.548 50.788 -0.336
4 10 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Valvoline 188.474 50.808 -0.356
5 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Alltel 188.237 50.872 -0.420
6 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 188.226 50.875 -0.423
7 21 Ricky Rudd Ford Motorcraft Genuine Parts 188.156 50.894 -0.442
8 07 Dave Blaney Chevrolet Jack Daniel's 187.919 50.958 -0.506
9 77 Travis Kvapil Dodge Kodak / Jasper Engines 187.857 50.975 -0.523
10 97 Kurt Busch Ford IRWIN Industrial Tools / Sharpie 187.831 50.982 -0.530
11 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 187.713 51.014 -0.562
12 36 Boris Said Chevrolet CENTRIX Financial 187.471 51.080 -0.628
13 42 Jamie McMurray Dodge Texaco / Havoline 187.427 51.092 -0.640
14 88 Dale Jarrett Ford UPS 187.350 51.113 -0.661
15 18 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 187.298 51.127 -0.675
16 6 Mark Martin Ford Viagra 187.276 51.133 -0.681
17 22 Scott Wimmer Dodge Caterpillar 187.276 51.133 -0.681
18 11 Jason Leffler Chevrolet FedEx Express 187.265 51.136 -0.684
19 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW / "Longest Yard" 187.247 51.141 -0.689
20 2 Rusty Wallace Dodge Miller Lite 187.232 51.145 -0.693
21 99 Carl Edwards Ford Scotts Ortho 187.192 51.156 -0.704
22 19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW 187.192 51.156 -0.704
23 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT Power Tools 187.071 51.189 -0.737
24 1 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet U.S. Army 187.068 51.190 -0.738
25 40 Sterling Marlin Dodge Coors Light 186.955 51.221 -0.769
26 41 Casey Mears Dodge Target 186.849 51.250 -0.798
27 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Cingular Wireless 186.710 51.288 -0.836
28 0 Mike Bliss Chevrolet NetZero Best Buy 186.685 51.295 -0.843
29 16 Greg Biffle Ford National Guard / Charter Communications 186.536 51.336 -0.884
30 66 Hermie Sadler Ford Peak Fitness 186.529 51.338 -0.886
31 33 Kerry Earnhardt Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops 186.496 51.347 -0.895
32 1 Martin Truex Jr Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 186.351 51.387 -0.935
33 4 Mike Wallace Chevrolet Lucas Oil Products 186.198 51.429 -0.977
34 23 Mike Skinner Dodge Bad Boy Mowers 186.148 51.443 -0.991
35 5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet Kellogg's 186.108 51.454 -1.002
36 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet Budweiser 185.934 51.502 -1.050
37 25 Brian Vickers Chevrolet GMAC / ditech.com 185.934 51.502 -1.050
38 15 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts 185.877 51.518 -1.066
39 43 Jeff Green Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker 185.848 51.526 -1.074
40 32 Bobby Hamilton Jr Chevrolet Tide 185.729 51.559 -1.107
41 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Georgia-Pacific / Brawny 185.348 51.665 -1.213
42 49 Ken Schrader Dodge Schwan's Home Service 183.988 52.047 -1.595
43 09 Johnny Sauter Dodge Miccosukee Resort & Gaming 185.151 51.720 -1.268
Failed to qualify
44 7 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Harrah's 51.733
45 37 Kevin Lepage Dodge Patron Tequila 51.868
46 00 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet Aaron's Dream Machine 50th Anniversary 51.948
47 92 Stanton Barrett Chevrolet First Trust Portfolios 52.032

Race

Outside pole sitter Jeff Gordon led the first lap of the race after he took the lead from pole sitter Kevin Harvick. The first caution flew on lap 20 when Kyle Petty blew a right front tire and hit the outside wall in the tri-oval. Gordon won the race off pit road and held onto the race lead on the restart. On lap 37, Tony Stewart took the lead from Gordon. On the same lap, the 2nd caution flew when Jeff Green blew a left-rear tire and spun out of turn 2. Jeff Gordon was the new race leader and led them to the restart on lap 42. On Lap 69, Kevin Harvick took the lead after restarting 37th due to problems with the nose of his car. Gordon took the lead back on lap 72 where green flag pitstops would begin. Harvick was the leader after everything cycled out on lap 75. On lap 79, Ryan Newman took the lead from Harvick. Jeff Gordon took the lead on lap 84 but was passed by Kevin Harvick the next lap. Dale Earnhardt Jr. soon took the lead on lap 89. Gordon took the lead from Earnhardt Jr. near the halfway mark on lap 92. After the longest green flag run of 61 laps, the 3rd caution flew on lap 102 when Bobby Hamilton Jr's tire blew and laid debris on the track. Scott Riggs won the race off pit road and was the new race leader and led them to the restart on lap 108. Riggs was immediately passed by Kevin Harvick for the lead. Gordon took the lead on lap 109 but was passed by Elliott Sadler on the next lap. On lap 116, Kyle Petty's car stalled on the front stretch bringing out the 4th caution of the race. Mark Martin won the race off pit road and led the field to the restart on lap 121. Martin was immediately passed by Jeff Gordon on the restart and Gordon took the lead. Elliott Sadler took the lead from Gordon on lap 124 but Gordon took it back two laps later.

On lap 133, the big one struck in turn one bringing out the 5th caution and took out a massive 26 cars. It started when Jimmie Johnson moved up and hit Mike Wallace in the left front sending Wallace up into Scott Riggs turning Wallace around and into the outside wall and taking out a lot more cars with him. The cars involved were Carl Edwards, Joe Nemechek, Jason Leffler, Ryan Newman, Dave Blaney, Ricky Rudd, Kasey Kahne, Mike Bliss, Rusty Wallace, Sterling Marlin, Bobby Labonte, Mike Wallace, Bobby Hamilton Jr, Scott Wimmer, Brian Vickers, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Scott Riggs, Jimmie Johnson, Boris Said, Johnny Sauter, Kyle Busch, Mike Skinner, Kerry Earnhardt, Casey Mears, and Jeff Green.[4] The race was red flagged for a short bit to clean up the mess. The race eventually got back under way with 51 laps to go with Jimmie Johnson as the new race leader. Jeff Gordon took the lead with 46 laps to.

Final Laps

With 23 laps to go, the 6th caution flew for debris at pit entry. Gordon won the race off pit road and led the field back to green with 18 to go. But on the restart, Hermie Sadler's car stalled and sat there on the apron of the frontstretch. The caution eventually flew for this with 17 to go. The race got back going with 14 laps to go with Gordon leading. With 6 laps to go, Michael Waltrip took the lead from Gordon but Gordon took it back with 4 to go. But with 2 laps to go, a multi-car wreck occurred on the backstretch. It started when Jimmie Johnson hit the wall off of turn 2 and Johnson turned down into Kevin Harvick sending Harvick into Dale Earnhardt Jr. and turning Jr. around along with Martin Truex Jr. while also collecting Greg Biffle and Travis Kvapil. The caution was the 8th and final caution of the race and set up a green-white-checkered finish. Gordon led on the restart and held off the pack in the last two laps to win his 2nd Aaron's 499 in a row. This was also Gordon's 3rd win in the first 9 races of 2005 placing him 3rd in points. But after this win, Gordon and his team would collapse. Gordon would win only 1 more race in the last 27 races of 2005. Gordon made it up to 2nd after the next race at Darlington but the team would fall to as low as 15th in the standings. They made their way back in the top 10 after Bristol but bad runs in the last two regular season races knocked Gordon out of the Chase for the Cup. Gordon finished the season with 4 wins but also had 9 DNF's and finished 11th in points with his crew chief Robbie Loomis being relived of duties before the start of the chase making way for a young 26 year old Steve Letarte. Tony Stewart, Michael Waltrip, Jeremy Mayfield, and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top 5 while Elliott Sadler, Kurt Busch, Ken Schrader, Dale Jarrett, and Jeff Burton rounded out the top 10.[5]

Results

Fin[6] St # Driver Sponsor Make Laps Led Status Pts
1 2 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont, Pepsi, Star Wars Episode III Chevy 194 139 running 190
2 11 20 Tony Stewart Home Depot Chevy 194 2 running 175
3 38 15 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Chevy 194 2 running 170
4 22 19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Dealers, UAW Dodge 194 0 running 160
5 13 42 Jamie McMurray Texaco, Havoline Dodge 194 0 running 155
6 3 38 Elliott Sadler M&M's Ford 194 9 running 155
7 10 97 Kurt Busch Irwin Industrial Tools, Sharpie Ford 194 1 running 151
8 42 49 Ken Schrader Schwan's Home Service Dodge 194 1 running 147
9 14 88 Dale Jarrett UPS Ford 194 0 running 138
10 27 31 Jeff Burton Cingular Wireless Chevy 194 0 running 134
11 23 17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Ford 194 0 running 130
12 1 29 Kevin Harvick GM Goodwrench Chevy 194 12 running 132
13 29 16 Greg Biffle National Guard, Charter Communications Ford 194 2 running 129
14 26 41 Casey Mears Target Dodge 193 0 running 121
15 36 8 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Budweiser Chevy 193 3 running 123
16 43 09 Johnny Sauter Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts Dodge 192 0 running 115
17 31 33 Kerry Earnhardt Bass Pro Shops Chevy 190 0 running 112
18 9 77 Travis Kvapil Kodak, Jasper Engines & Transmissions Dodge 188 0 crash 109
19 8 07 Dave Blaney Jack Daniel's Chevy 187 0 running 106
20 6 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevy 186 8 crash 108
21 32 1 Martin Truex, Jr. Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Boats Chevy 186 0 crash 100
22 20 2 Rusty Wallace Miller Lite Dodge 180 0 running 97
23 15 18 Bobby Labonte Interstate Batteries Chevy 174 1 engine 99
24 19 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dealers, UAW, The Longest Yard Dodge 172 0 running 91
25 39 43 Jeff Green Cheerios, Betty Crocker Dodge 172 0 running 88
26 18 11 Jason Leffler FedEx Express Chevy 171 0 running 85
27 4 10 Scott Riggs Valvoline Chevy 171 4 running 87
28 33 4 Mike Wallace Lucas Oil Chevy 171 1 running 84
29 30 66 Hermie Sadler Peak Fitness Ford 170 0 rear end 76
30 7 21 Ricky Rudd Motorcraft Ford 170 0 running 73
31 24 01 Joe Nemechek U.S. Army Chevy 169 1 running 75
32 21 99 Carl Edwards Scotts, Ortho Ford 166 0 running 67
33 16 6 Mark Martin Viagra Ford 166 3 running 69
34 25 40 Sterling Marlin Coors Light Dodge 162 0 running 61
35 12 36 Boris Said Centrix Financial Chevy 146 0 crash 58
36 28 0 Mike Bliss NetZero, Best Buy Chevy 141 0 crash 55
37 37 25 Brian Vickers GMAC, ditech.com Chevy 139 0 crash 52
38 17 22 Scott Wimmer Caterpillar Dodge 139 0 crash 49
39 5 12 Ryan Newman Alltel Dodge 135 5 crash 51
40 40 32 Bobby Hamilton, Jr. Tide Chevy 132 0 crash 43
41 35 5 Kyle Busch Kellogg's Chevy 132 0 crash 40
42 34 23 Mike Skinner Bad Boy Mowers Dodge 132 0 crash 37
43 41 45 Kyle Petty Georgia-Pacific, Brawny Dodge 106 0 running 34
Failed to qualify
44 7 Robby Gordon Harrah's Chevrolet
45 37 Kevin Lepage Patron Tequila Dodge
46 00 Kenny Wallace Aaron's Dream Machine 50th Anniversary Chevrolet
47 92 Stanton Barrett First Trust Portfolios Chevrolet

References

  1. ^ "2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Aaron's 499 Entry List - Talladega Superspeedway". frcs.pro. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  2. ^ "Qualifying times: Aaron's 499". Crash. April 30, 2005. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  3. ^ "Aarons 499 Qualifying Results and Starting Lineup Talladega Superspeedway NASCAR 2005". NASCAR Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  4. ^ "Watch: Talladega Superspeedway's Big One wrecks through the years". Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  5. ^ "Gordon wins Aaron's 499 after shootout | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved May 2, 2005.
  6. ^ "2005 Aaron's 499 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
Preceded by NASCAR Nextel Cup Season
2005 		Succeeded by