2005 Daytona 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 36 in the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series | |||
Daytona International Speedway
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| Date | February 20, 2005 | ||
| Location |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. |
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| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.02336 km) |
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| Distance | 203 laps, 507.5 mi (816.742 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 72 °F (22 °C); wind speeds approaching 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 135.173 miles per hour (217.540 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 200,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Robert Yates Racing | ||
| Time | 47.793 | ||
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | Michael Waltrip | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 107 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, and Larry McReynolds | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 10.9/23 (18.7 million viewers) |
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The 2005 Daytona 500, the 47th running of the event, was held on February 20, 2005 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. Dale Jarrett won the pole and Jeff Gordon won the race, making this his third Daytona 500 win. Kurt Busch finished second and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished third.
As the result of NASCAR's implementation of the green-white-checker finish rule the previous season, the race had three extra laps due to a caution with three laps to go, reaching a total distance of 203 laps and 507.5 miles (816.7 km). Because of that, this was the first Daytona 500 to go longer than 500 miles. It was also the first Daytona 500 to end at sunset, around 6:18 pm EST.
A crowd of 200,000 people were estimated to have attended this race.
Three-time Daytona 500 champion Dale Jarrett won his third pole for this race with a speed of 188.312 miles per hour (303.059 km/h).2001 and 2003 winner Michael Waltrip won the first Gatorade Duel and 2002 Cup Series champion Tony Stewart won the second. The main story focusing on the Gatorade Duels was an accident involving Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick, which turned into a minor feud.
The green flag waved with Dale Jarrett leading the field, but he lost the first lap to Jimmie Johnson and fell back through the field after a small bump from behind from defending Daytona 500 champion Dale Earnhardt, Jr.. Tony Stewart took the lead from Johnson on lap 4 and led 12 laps.
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