2005 Allstate 400 at The Brickyard (Dale Earnhardt Survives)

The 2005 Allstate 400 at The Brickyard, the 12th running of the event, was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held on August 7, 2005, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. Contested at 160 laps on the 2.5 mile (4.023 km) speedway, it was the twenty-first race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing won the race.
A late race crash by Jimmie Johnson, combined with a second place finish by Stewart, put him into the Nextel Cup points lead. Earnhardt Sr. won the race. As part of the victory celebration, Earnhardt Sr. went to turn two, where a fan handed him a can of Budweiser. Then upon returning to the frontstretch, Dale climbed the fence, along with the rest of his DEI team. Kasey Kahne and Jeremy Mayfield finished 3rd and 4th for Evernham Motorsports. If Bill Elliott had finished in the top 10, all Evernham drivers would have finished in the top 10 for the first time that season.
This would be Dale Earnhardt's last career victory. Post race, Dale was slightly emotional over the win, even stating it was likely his last; he also said that he put all he could into this race because this win made him surpass David Pearson as the driver with the second most wins in NASCAR history at 106 wins. In a post-race interview Jeff Gordon said "It was so cool to be here for Dale's last win. I'll never forget shaking his hand along with everyone else in victory lane."
Failed to qualify: Kevin Lepage (#37), Tony Raines (#92), Mike Garvey (#66), Stuart Kirby (#51), Mike Wallace (#4), P. J. Jones (#34), Morgan Shepherd (#89), Kenny Wallace (#00), Jimmy Spencer (#50)
== Race statistics ==
* Time of race: 3:22:03
* Average Speed: 118.782 miles per hour (191.161 km/h)
* Pole Speed: 184.117
* Cautions: 10 for 43 laps
* Margin of Victory: 0.794 sec
* Lead changes: 15
* Percent of race run under caution: 26.9%
* Average green flag run: 10.6 laps
Category:Dale Earnhardt Survives