The 2005 Auto Club 500 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series stock car race held on February 27, 2005 at California Speedway in Fontana, California. Contested over 250 laps on the 2-mile (3.23 km) asphalt D-shaped oval, it was the second race of the 2005 Nextel Cup Series season. Greg Biffle of Roush Racing won the race, his first win of the season. Jimmie Johnson finished second and Kurt Busch finished third.

2005 Auto Club 500
Race details[1]
Race 2 of 36 in the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season
2005 Auto Club 500 program cover with Jeff Gordon
2005 Auto Club 500 program cover with Jeff Gordon
Date February 27, 2005 (2005-February-27)
Official name Auto Club 500
Location California Speedway, Fontana, California
Course Permanent racing facility
2.0 mi (3.23 km)
Distance 250 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather Chilly with temperatures approaching 64.9 °F (18.3 °C) and wind speeds gathering up to 11.3 miles per hour (18.2 km/h)
Average speed 139.697 miles per hour (224.821 km/h)
Attendance 90,000
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Most laps led
Driver Joe Nemechek MB2 Motorsports
Laps 63
Winner
No. 16 Greg Biffle Roush Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

Background

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The track, Auto Club Speedway, was a four-turn superspeedway that was 2 miles (3.2 km) long.[2] The track's turns were banked from fourteen degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, was banked at eleven degrees. Unlike the front stretch, the backstraightaway was banked at three degrees.

Qualifying

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Pos[3][4] Car # Driver Make Primary Sponsor Speed Time Behind
1 5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet CARQUEST 188.245 38.248 0.000
2 25 Brian Vickers Chevrolet GMAC 187.740 38.351 -0.103
3 19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW 187.612 38.377 -0.129
4 1 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet U.S. Army 187.539 38.392 -0.144
5 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M Post-it / National Guard 187.003 38.502 -0.254
6 17 Matt Kenseth Ford USG Sheetrock / DEWALT 186.998 38.503 -0.255
7 88 Dale Jarrett Ford UPS 186.625 38.580 -0.332
8 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 186.480 38.610 -0.362
9 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Alltel 186.461 38.614 -0.366
10 00 Mike Bliss Chevrolet NetZero Best Buy 186.403 38.626 -0.378
11 44 Terry Labonte Chevrolet Kellogg's 186.234 38.661 -0.413
12 10 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Valvoline 186.186 38.671 -0.423
13 40 Sterling Marlin Dodge Coors Light 186.124 38.684 -0.436
14 18 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 185.999 38.710 -0.462
15 42 Jamie McMurray Dodge Texaco / Havoline 185.907 38.729 -0.481
16 41 Casey Mears Dodge Target 185.883 38.734 -0.486
17 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW / Mountain Dew 185.711 38.770 -0.522
18 6 Mark Martin Ford Viagra 185.696 38.773 -0.525
19 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 185.653 38.782 -0.534
20 97 Kurt Busch Ford Sharpie / IRWIN Industrial Tools 185.615 38.790 -0.542
21 21 Ricky Rudd Ford Motorcraft Genuine Parts 185.486 38.817 -0.569
22 91 Bill Elliott Dodge Stanley Tools 185.452 38.824 -0.576
23 2 Rusty Wallace Dodge Miller Lite 185.447 38.825 -0.577
24 14 John Andretti Ford VB / APlus at Sunoco 184.867 38.947 -0.699
25 7 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Harrah's 184.833 38.954 -0.706
26 32 Bobby Hamilton Jr Chevrolet Tide - Give Kids The World 184.786 38.964 -0.716
27 22 Scott Wimmer Dodge Caterpillar 184.777 38.966 -0.718
28 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 184.677 38.987 -0.739
29 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 184.219 39.084 -0.836
30 15 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts 183.852 39.162 -0.914
31 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet GM Goodwrench 183.828 39.167 -0.919
32 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Cingular Wireless 183.645 39.206 -0.958
33 4 Mike Wallace Chevrolet Lucas Oil Products 183.570 39.222 -0.974
34 34 Randy LaJoie Chevrolet Mach One Inc. 183.043 39.335 -1.087
35 77 Travis Kvapil Dodge Kodak / Jasper Engines 182.997 39.345 -1.097
36 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Georgia-Pacific / Brawny 182.987 39.347 -1.099
37 43 Jeff Green Dodge General Mills Whole Grain 182.932 39.359 -1.111
38 49 Ken Schrader Dodge Schwan's Home Service 182.866 39.373 -1.125
39 11 Jason Leffler Chevrolet FedEx Express 182.597 39.431 -1.183
40 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet Budweiser 181.938 39.574 -1.326
41 38 Elliott Sadler Ford Pedigree 179.029 40.217 -1.969
42 7 Dave Blaney Chevrolet Jack Daniel's 0.000 0.000 0.000
43 37 Kevin Lepage Dodge Carter's Royal Dispos-all 181.507 39.668 -1.420
Failed to qualify
44 92 Stanton Barrett Chevrolet First Trust Portfolio 39.759
45 66 Hermie Sadler Dodge Peak Fitness 40.002
46 79 Stan Boyd Chevrolet Conely Racing 40.013
47 73 Eric McClure Chevrolet ARC Dehooker 0.000 0.000 0.000
48 27 Kirk Shelmerdine Chevrolet Kirk Shelmerdine Racing 0.000 0.000 0.000

Summary

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Magic Johnson gave the command for drivers to start their engines, and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger waved the green flag, which was taken by 19-year-old Kyle Busch. Busch became the youngest driver to ever take the green flag on pole position. Busch was still leading after the first lap, with Brian Vickers in second place.[5]

Before the race, Greg Biffle had promised to reporters and commentators that he would have the lead within 5 laps. He also happened to promise to win the race.[5]

Greg Biffle took the lead in only 4 laps, followed by Matt Kenseth in second place, and Biffle was still in the lead after 26 laps, when Bill Elliott went into the wall. Biffle was immediately overtaken by Matt Kenseth after the restart. Dale Earnhardt Jr. pitted on lap 38, going down a lap, with problems on his left front tire. Carl Edwards took over the lead around lap 46.[5]

On lap 59, Earnhardt – already a lap down – had another problem with his left front tire and the debris brought out the caution a lap later. Ultimately Earnhardt would end up 13 laps behind. Edwards was still in the lead when the caution came out. Kenseth took over the lap during the caution, and Edwards retook it within a lap. Kenseth recaptured the lead at lap 70.[5]

Green flag pitstops started on lap 105. However, on lap 107, well before the green flag pitstops had cycled, a caution came out for debris. Joe Nemechek led on the restart on lap 116. Dave Blaney hit the wall on lap 143 leading to the third caution, with Nemechek still leading over Johnson. At the restart on lap 151, Nemechek was leading from Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson with 26 cars on the lead lap. Within a lap, Johnson was second.[5]

Another caution came out on lap 161 when Kasey Kahne went into the wall. At the restart, Johnson led over Nemechek, but after a three-car tussle for the lead, Nemechek led on lap 166. However, Nemechek's success was short-lived: around lap 180, engine problems saw him fall down the leader board and he had to retire. Edwards took over the lead. Harvick then took over with about 55 laps to go.[5]

With 48 laps to go Michael Waltrip’s engine blew, bringing out the 6th caution, and when the green came out with 41 laps to go, Harvick was leading in front of Kenseth and Gordon. With 34 laps to go, the 7th caution came out because Jason Leffler was in trouble. Most of the leaders pitted, but cars that stayed out took the first six places on the restart, led by Kurt Busch. The race restarted with 29 laps to go.[5]

With 25 laps to go, Busch and Biffle pulled out into a 2-second lead, vying together for first place. Greg Biffle finally retook the lead on lap 228 and kept it to win the race ahead of Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch, with only 0.525 of a second separating the top three men.[5]

Race results

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Pos[5] Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 5 16 Greg Biffle Roush Racing Ford 250 185
2 8 48 Jimmie Johnson (W) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 250 175
3 20 97 Kurt Busch (W) Roush Racing Ford 250 170
4 15 42 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 250 160
5 19 99 Carl Edwards (R) Roush Racing Ford 250 160
6 31 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 250 155
7 18 6 Mark Martin (W) Roush Racing Ford 250 151
8 41 38 Elliott Sadler Robert Yates Racing Ford 250 142
9 9 12 Ryan Newman Penske Racing Dodge 250 138
10 23 2 Rusty Wallace (W) Penske Racing Dodge 250 134
11 7 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 250 130
12 10 0 Mike Bliss Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet 250 127
13 14 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 250 124
14 38 49 Ken Schrader BAM Racing Dodge 250 121
15 13 40 Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 250 118
16 27 22 Scott Wimmer Bill Davis Racing Dodge 250 115
17 29 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 250 112
18 36 45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 250 114
19 32 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 250 106
20 26 32 Bobby Hamilton Jr. (R) PPI Motorsports Chevrolet 250 103
21 2 25 Brian Vickers Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 250 105
22 16 41 Casey Mears Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 249 97
23 1 5 Kyle Busch (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 249 99
24 35 77 Travis Kvapil (R) Penske Racing Dodge 249 91
25 33 4 Mike Wallace Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 249 88
26 6 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford 249 90
27 37 43 Jeff Green Petty Enterprises Dodge 249 87
28 3 19 Jeremy Mayfield (W) Evernham Motorsports Dodge 248 84
29 24 14 John Andretti ppc Racing Ford 248 76
30 28 24 Jeff Gordon (W) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 246 73
31 43 37 Kevin Lepage R&J Racing Dodge 241 70
32 40 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 237 67
33 12 10 Scott Riggs MBV Motorsports Chevrolet 229 64
34 42 07 Dave Blaney Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 224 61
35 25 7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Chevrolet 222 58
36 11 44 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 216 55
37 39 11 Jason Leffler Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 215 52
38 30 15 Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 203 49
39 4 01 Joe Nemechek MB2 Motorsports Chevrolet 180 56
40 17 9 Kasey Kahne Evernham Motorsports Dodge 167 43
41 21 21 Ricky Rudd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 145 40
42 34 34 Randy LaJoie Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 47 42
43 22 91 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports Dodge 23 34

Race Statistics

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  • Time of race: 3:34:45
  • Average Speed: 139.697 miles per hour (224.821 km/h)
  • Pole Speed: 188.245 miles per hour (302.951 km/h)
  • Cautions: 7 for 40 laps
  • Margin of Victory: 0.231 sec
  • Lead changes: 26
  • Percent of race run under caution: 16%
  • Average green flag run: 26.2 laps

References

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  1. ^ "2005 Auto Club 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  2. ^ "Auto Club Speedway Track Facts". Auto Club Speedway. Archived from the original on 2010-08-24. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  3. ^ "Qualifying times: Auto Club 500". Crash. 2005-02-27. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  4. ^ "Auto Club 500 Qualifying Results and Starting Lineup Auto Club Speedway NASCAR 2005". NASCAR Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Complete Results
Preceded by NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Season
2005
Succeeded by