# 2005 Aaron's 499

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 # | Driver | Hometown | Make | Sponsor | Team |
| 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 | 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. The race was red flagged for almost 45 minutes 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.

## Results

| Fin | 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 | | | | |