2005 Golden Corral 500
The 2005 Golden Corral 500 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held on March 20, 2005 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, in Hampton, Georgia. Contested at 325 laps on the 1.54 mile (2.48 km) speedway, it was the 4th race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season. Carl Edwards of Roush Racing won the race, the first of his career.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 4 of 36 in the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season | |||
| Date | March 20, 2005 | ||
| Official name | Golden Corral 500 | ||
| Location | Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.54 mi (2.48 km) | ||
| Distance | 325 laps, 500.5 mi (805.476 km) | ||
| Average speed | 143.478 miles per hour (230.905 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Penske Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 156 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Broadcasting Company | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds | ||
Background
Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a track in Hampton, Georgia, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It is a 1.54-mile (2.48 km) quad-oval track with a seating capacity of 111,000. It opened in 1960 as a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two 1.5-mile (2.4 km) ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval. The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.
Summary
Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle dominated the race, leading at a combined 307 laps. At the end, Carl Edwards slithered past Jimmie Johnson on the final lap to score his first career win. He also sweeps the weekend at Atlanta, having won the Busch Series race the day earlier.
Top 10 results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Racing | Ford |
| 2 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 3 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Racing | Ford |
| 4 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford |
| 5 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge |
| 6 | 25 | Brian Vickers | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 7 | 15 | Michael Waltrip | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet |
| 8 | 07 | Dave Blaney | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 9 | 10 | Scott Riggs | MBV Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | 38 | Elliott Sadler | Robert Yates Racing | Ford |
Race Statistics
- Time of race: 3:29:18
- Average Speed: 143.478 miles per hour (230.905 km/h)
- Pole Speed: 194.69 miles per hour (313.32 km/h)
- Cautions: 8 for 40 laps
- Margin of Victory: 0.028 sec
- Lead changes: 27
- Percent of race run under caution: 12.3%
- Average green flag run: 31.7 laps
References
| Preceded by 2005 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 |
NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Season 2005 |
Succeeded by 2005 Food City 500 |