2005 NASCAR Pepsi Cup Series Season

The **2005 NASCAR Pepsi Cup Series** was the 57th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 34th modern-era Cup series. The season began on Saturday, February 12. The ten-race Chase for the Pepsi Cup started with the Sylvania 300 on Sunday, September 18, and ended on Sunday, November 20, with the Ford 400.

## Teams and Drivers

### Complete Schedule

1. #00 Micheal Waltrip Racing Chevrolet - Kenny Wallace
2. #01 MB2 Motorsports Chevrolet - Joe Nemechek
3. #0 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet - Mike Bliss
	1. 1 Dale Earnhardt, Inc Chevrolet - Steve Park
4. #2 Penske-Jasper Racing Dodge - Rusty Wallace
5. #4 Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet - Mike Wallace
6. #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet - Kyle Busch **(R)**
7. #6 Roush Racing Ford - Mark Martin
8. #07 - Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet - Dave Blaney
9. #7 Robby Gordon Motorsports Chevrolet - Robby Gordon
10. #8 Dale Earnhardt, Inc Chevrolet - Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
11. #9 Evernham Motorsports Dodge - Kasey Kahne
12. #10 MB2 Motorsports Chevrolet - Scott Riggs
13. #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet - Jason Leffler
14. #12 Penske-Jasper Racing Dodge - Ryan Newman
15. #15 Dale Earnhardt, Inc Chevrolet - Micheal Waltrip
16. #16 Roush Racing Ford - Greg Biffle
17. #17 Roush Racing Ford - Matt Kenseth
18. #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet - Bobby Labonte
19. #19 Evernham Motorsports Dodge - Jeremy Mayfield
20. #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet - Tony Stewart
21. #21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford - Jeff Green
22. #22 Bill Davis Racing Dodge - Scott Wimmer
23. #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet - Jeff Gordon
24. #25 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet - Jerry Nadeau
25. #26 Dennit Racing Chevrolet - Ricky Bobby
	1. 28 Robert Yates Racing Ford - David Green
26. #29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet - Brandon Miller **(R)**
27. #31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet - Jeff Burton
28. #32 PPI Motorsports Chevrolet - Bobby Hamilton, Jr.
29. #36 MB2 Motorsports Chevrolet - Boris Said
30. #37 R&J Racing Dodge - Kevin LePage (21), Tony Raines (11), Mike Skinner (4)
31. #38 Robert Yates Racing Ford - Ricky Rudd
32. #39 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge - Jamie McMurray
33. #40 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge - Sterling Marlin
34. #41 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge - Casey Mears
35. #42 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge - Kenny Irwin, Jr.
36. #43 Petty Enterprises Dodge - Ricky Craven
37. #44 Petty Enterprises Dodge - Kyle Petty
38. #45 Petty Enterprises Dodge - Adam Petty
39. #47 Dennit Racing Chevrolet - Cal Naughton, Jr.
40. #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet - Jimmie Johnson
41. #49 BAM Racing Dodge - Ken Schrader
42. #51 Farve Steele Racing Ford - Tim Steele
43. #54 Petty Enterprises Dodge - Christian Fittipaldi
44. #55 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet - Brian Vickers
45. #66 Peak Fitness Racing Ford - Hermie Sadler (14), Mike Garvey (11), Kevin LePage (10)
46. #77 Penske-Jasper Racing Dodge - Travis Kvapil **(R)**
47. #86 MOPAR Racing Dodge - Casey Atwood (12), Ward Burton (20), John Andretti (4)
48. #88 Robert Yates Racing Ford - Dale Jarrett
49. #97 Roush Racing Ford - Kurt Busch
50. #99 Roush Racing Ford - Carl Edwards

### Limited Schedule

1. #02 Ash Motorsports Dodge/Ford - Brandon Ash (4)
	1. 04 Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge - Bobby Hamilton, Sr. (1)
	2. 08 Braun Racing Chevrolet - Shane Hmiel (2)
	3. 09 Phoenix Racing Dodge - Johnny Sauter (19), Bobby Hamilton, Sr. (1)
	4. 14 ppc Racing Ford - John Andretti (4)
	5. 23 Bill Davis Racing Dodge - Mike Skinner (6), Johnny Benson, Jr. (1)
	6. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet - Kerry Earnhardt (4), Clint Bowyer (1), Brian Simo (1)
	7. 34 MACH 1 Chevrolet Ford - Randy LaJoie (7),
	8. 44 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet - Terry Labonte (8)
	9. 50 Arnold Motorsports Dodge - Jimmy Spencer (12), Jorge Goeters (1)

## Changes

### Drivers

* Kenny Wallace joined Micheal Waltrip Racing to drive full-time for them in their no.00 Chevrolet after driving most of races for them in 2004.
* Mike Bliss replaced Ward Burton in the No.0 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet after he drove the last two races for them in 2004.
* Mike Wallace joined Morgan-McClure to drive their no.4 Chevrolet full time in 2005 after he drove the last four races for the team in 2004.
* Kyle Busch went full-time in the NASCAR Pepsi Cup Series in the no.5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, replacing Terry Labonte, who moved to Hendrick's No. 44 R&D car on a part-time schedule.
* Dave Blaney took over RCR's no.07 Chevrolet after he drove eight races in the No. 30 Chevrolet for the team in 2004.
* Robby Gordon left Richard Childress Racing's no.31 Chevorlet to drive for his own team Robby Gordon Motorsports in his own no.7 Chevrolet.
* Jason Leffler joined Joe Gibbs Racing to drive their new no.11 Chevrolet.
* Brandon Miller replaced Jason Keller in the no.29 Chevrolet for RCR.
* Bobby Hamilton, Jr. took over PPI Motorsports' no.32 Chevrolet after he competed in 11 races in 2004.
* Boris Said went full-time at MB2 Motorsports with their no.36 Chevrolet.
* R&J Racing ran full-time in 2005, with Kevin Lepage as their driver, however after the first 21 races, LePage was released, and replaced by Tony Raines and Mike Skinner for the rest of the year.
* SCORE Motorsports and the no.02 Chevrolet was sold to Jeff Stec, and rebranded to Peak Fitness Racing and the no.66 Ford. Hermie Sadler was originally going to race full-time, however after 14 races, Sadler left. Mike Garvey, and Kevin Lepage closed out the year.
* Travis Kvapil drove full-time with Penske-Jasper Racing in their no.77 Dodge, after driving their R&D car in four of the last five races in 2004.
* Casey Atwood, Ward Burton, and John Andretti drove for MOPAR Racing after Scott Pruett was injured in a bad practice crash with the team in off-season testing at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
* Carl Edwards went full-time in Roush's no.99 Ford after running 13 of the last 14 races of 2004.

## Schedule

1. Budweiser Shootout @ Daytona International Speedway
2. Gatorade Duels @ Daytona International Speedway
3. Daytona 500 @ Daytona International Speedway
4. Auto Club 500 @ California Speedway
5. UAW- DaimlerChrysler 400 @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway
6. Golden Corral 500 @ Atlanta Motor Speedway
7. Food City 500 @ Bristol Motor Speedway
8. Advance Auto Parts 500 @ Martinsville Speedway
9. Samsung/Radio Shack 500 @ Texas Motor Speedway
10. Subway Fresh 500 @ Phoenix International Raceway
11. Aaron's 499 @ Talladega Superspeedway
12. Dodge Charger Southern 500 @ Darlington Raceway
13. Chevy Americal Revolution 400 @ Richmond International Raceway
14. NEXTEL Open @ Lowe's Motor Speedway
15. NEXTEL All Star Race @ Lowe's Motor Speedway
16. Coca Cola 600 @ Lowe's Motor Speedway
17. MBNA RacePoints 400 @ Dover International Speedway
18. Dunder Mifflin 500 @ Pocono Raceway
19. Batman Begins 400 @ Michigan International Speedway
20. Dodge-Save Mart 350 @ Infineon Raceway
21. Pepsi 400 @ Daytona International Speedway
22. USG Sheetrock 400 @ Chicagoland Speedway
23. New England 300 @ New Hampshire Motor Speedway
24. Pennsylvania 500 @ Pocono Raceway
25. Allstate 400 at the Brickyard @ Indianapolis Motor Speedway
26. Sirus Sattilite Radio at the Glen @ Watkins Glen International
27. GFS Marketplace 400 @ Michigan Speedway
28. Sharpie 500 @ Bristol Motor Speedway
29. Sony HD 500 @ California Speedway
30. Chevy Rock & Roll 400 @ Richmond International Raceway
31. Slyvania 300 @ New Hampshire Motor Speedway
32. MBNA NASCAR RacePoints 400 @ Dover International Speedway
33. UAW-Ford 500 @ Talladega Superspeedway
34. Banquet 400 presented by ConAgra Foods @ Kansas Speedway
35. UAW-GM Quality 500 @ Lowe's Motor Speedway
36. Subway 500 @ Martinsville Speedway
37. Dickies 500 @ Texas Motor Speedway
38. Checker Auto Parts 500 @ Phoenix International Raceway
39. Ford 400 @ Homestead-Miami Speedway

## Track Themes

* "Here Comes the King (Budweiser)" was used once again for the Budweiser Shootout.
* "Let's Go Away" from Daytona USA, performed by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi continued it's use as the theme song for the Daytona 500. One of the tracks from the game, "Gentlemen Start Your Engines" was used for the Duels.
* "California Love" performed by TuPac was used once again as the theme for both California races.
* Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas" remained as Las Vegas' theme. Rumors circulated that ZZ Top's cover of the song would be replacing Elvis' original version beginning in 2005, but it later denied.
* Ray Charles' "Georgia On My Mind" returned once again for both Atlanta races.
* Bristol Motor Speedway received "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd for the Food City 500, which replaced AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" after the song was moved to be the theme of the second Texas race.
* Martinsville Speedway announced it would keep "Fuel" by Metallica for its two races, after making an agreement with Metallica to continue using the song.
* "La Grange" by ZZ Top would continue being used for the spring Texas race, but "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC would be used for Texas' new second date on the 2005 Schedule.
* Johnny Cash's "Lost on the Desert" would still be used for Phoenix's two dates on the 2005 Schedule.
* Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" was revealed to still be used on a contact through 2008 for both Talladega races.
* Darlington Raceway would use "I Go Back" by Kenny Chesney for their lone race in 2005 and 2006, after the Rebel 400 was removed.
* "Walk of Life" by Dire Straits, which was the original theme for the Rebel 400 since 2000, was moved to the first race at Richmond.
* "All Star" by Smash Mouth remained as the All Star Race's theme.
* Motley Crue's "Kickstart my Heart" won the 2005 Coca Cola 600 Theme Poll.
* "More Human than Human" by White Zombie remained the theme for both Dover races.
* Beginning in 2005, for a new partnership with Dunder Mifflin, the theme song for the new show filmed at an office facility used by Dunder Mifflin in Scranton (38 miles away from Pocono Raceway), called *The Office,* was used for the first Pocono race in 2005. The second race would use Black Sabbath's "Paranoid".
* For the release of Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, Michigan used the 1960's Batman show theme song for their first race on the 2005 schedule. KISS' "Detroit Rock City" would be used for their second date in 2005.
* The Mamas & Papas' "California Dreaming" would continue to be used for Infineon.