Qualifying
Carl Edwards came into the race with three goals for the weekend. Win the pole, lead the most laps and win the race. Carl was able to check the first item off his list as he put the Roush Racing #99 on the pole. Ryan Newman started on the outside of the front row.
Two drivers not involved in The Chase made up row two as Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch started third and fourth. Mark Martin rounded out the top five from his fifth place points position.
Drop The Green Flag
Carl Edwards was able to lead the first lap and score five points for leading. Then Ryan Newman blew past him going into turn one of lap two and took the early lead. Jeff Gordon got past Newman on lap 31 and took his turn. For the first half of the race those three drivers took turns at the head of the pack and staked their claim on the race win.
In the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Carl Edwards was running in the top three and moved past Jimmie Johnson into second in points. Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson were both racing for position in the mid-teens (15th-17th). Tony was doing just exactly what he needed to, keeping Johnson in sight and making sure that he stayed in the top half of the pack.
Storylines
Since this was the last race of the 2005 NEXTEL Cup season the focus was squarely on the Championship. However, there were other stories to keep an eye on. This was both Rusty Wallace's and Ricky Rudd's final race as both drivers will be stepping away from NEXTEL Cup after today.
Just past the 100 lap mark Jimmie Johnson started to drop back dramatically. Something was seriously wrong with the handling on the car and Johnson, who entered the race second in points, was fading fast. On lap 125 Johnson had a right rear tire go flat and backed it into the wall hard. This knocked him out of the race and crushed his Championship dreams for 2005. Johnson ended up fifth in the final standings.
Chasing The Checkers
The final restart came with 11 laps to go. Casey Mears had been leading with Mark Martin in second. Mears had the fast car on fresh tires but Martin was faster on long runs. When the leaders pitted different strategies promised to shuffle the final running order.
Mears and Martin took only two tires while Carl Edwards took four and fell all the way back to twelfth. Dave Blaney was the only car that stayed out on old tires.
Greg Biffle took the lead as Martin got held up behind Blaney. Mark ran him down and they took the white flag door-to-door. It was an exciting race back to the checkers as Mark Martin charged hard on the bottom and Greg Biffle held him off on the outside by two feet at the line.
This was a great race to end the 2005 season.
Top Ten
- Greg Biffle
- Mark Martin
- Matt Kenseth
- Carl Edwards
- Casey Mears
- Dave Blaney
- Ryan Newman
- Kevin Harvick
- Jeff Gordon
- Jeremy Mayfield
The Points
Tony Stewart closed out a great season today with a well-deserved Championship. What I say? He had the point lead going into The Chase, he won the ten race Chase, and he would have won the points under the old format too. There is just no arguing that Tony Stewart was the best in 2005.
Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards actually tied in points for second place. The tie breaker is the number of wins in the season so Greg Biffle gets credited with second place. Greg finished 2005 with six wins while Edwards only had four.
The Chase points are now:
- Tony Stewart -0
- Greg Biffle -35
- Carl Edwards -35
- Mark Martin -105
- Jimmie Johnson -127
- Ryan Newman -174
- Matt Kenseth -181
- Rusty Wallace -393
- Jeremy Mayfield -460
- Kurt Busch -559
Next Week
There is no next week. The annual awards banquet will be Friday December 2nd at 9pm.
Season Wrap-up
I'd like to say farewell to Rusty Wallace as he retires and to Ricky Rudd as he steps back from NEXTEL Cup racing. Most of all, congratulations to Tony Stewart on a great season! With all of the excitement on and off the track 2005 has to go down as one of the most interesting NASCAR NEXTEL Cup seasons in history.
I can't wait for Daytona!
