2005 Auto Club 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 36 in the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season | |||
_-_Speedway.svg)
Track map of the speedway at Auto Club Speedway AKA California Speedway
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| Date | February 27, 2005 | ||
| Official name | Auto Club 500 | ||
| Location | California Speedway, Fontana, California | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.0 mi (3.23 km) |
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| 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 | ||
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.
The track, Auto Club Speedway, is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long. The track's turns are banked from fourteen degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at eleven degrees. Unlike the front stretch, the backstraightaway is banked at three degrees.
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.
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.
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.
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