2005 Dodge Charger 500

Race details[1]
Race 10 of 36 in the2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
The 2005 Dodge Charger 500 program cover, featuringKasey Kahne.
Date	May 7, 2005 (2005-05-07)
Official name	Dodge Charger 500
Location	Darlington Raceway,Darlington County, South Carolina
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	1.366 miles (2.198 km)
Distance	370 laps, 505.42 mi (813.395 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	Kasey Kahne	Evernham Motorsports
Time	28.923
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 andLarry McReynolds

The2005 Dodge Charger 500, the 56th running of theevent, was aNASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held on May 7, 2005 atDarlington Raceway inDarlington County, South Carolina. Contested over 370 laps on the 1.366-mile (2.198-kilometre) speedway, it was the tenth race of the2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season. The race was extended from 367 laps because of agreen–white–checkered finish.Greg Biffle ofRoush Racing won the race.

In 2004,Francis Ferko, a shareholder of the company that ownedTexas Motor Speedway, sued NASCAR, saying they had violatedantitrust 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 one of its Darlington dates so that asecond race could be held at Texas. In 2005, Darlington was forced to contract down to one race per year. The race was situated on the Saturday ofMother's Day weekend in mid-May, a date that was normally avoided by NASCAR over its history. The Carolina Dodge Dealers, a consortium ofDodge dealerships in North and South Carolina, continued the sponsorship of this race, having it renamed to promote Dodge's Charger automobiles.

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 arace track built forNASCAR racing located nearDarlington, 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-mile (2.198-kilometre) 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]

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

Greg Biffle led a race-high 176 of 370 laps en route to his thirdNextel Cup victory of 2005. With four laps to go, Biffle's Roush Racing teammateMark Martin spun out (sliding into the apron) trying to pass third-place runner and pole-sitterKasey Kahne. Biffle took two tires on his final pit stop, while race leaderRyan Newman andKen 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 agreen–white–checkered 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.

• Time of race: 4:06:29
• Average speed: 123.031 miles per hour (197.999 km/h)
• Pole speed: 170.024 miles per hour (273.627 km/h)
• Cautions: 12 for 48 laps
• Margin of victory: 0.990 seconds
• Lead changes: 30
• Percent of race run under caution: 13%
• Average green flag run: 24.8 laps

• 2005 in sports in South Carolina
• 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
• NASCAR races at Darlington Raceway
• May 2005 sports events in the United States

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