| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 36 in the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series | |||
 The 2005 Subway Fresh 500 program cover. | |||
| Date | April 23, 2005 | ||
| Official name | Inaugural Subway Fresh 500 | ||
| Location | Avondale, Arizona, Phoenix International Raceway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1 mi (1.6 km) | ||
| Distance | 315 laps, 315 mi (506.943 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 312 laps, 312 mi (502.115 km) | ||
| Average speed | 102.707 miles per hour (165.291 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 105,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 26.931 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kurt Busch | Roush Racing | |
| Laps | 219 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 97 | Kurt Busch | Roush Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FOX | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The 2005 Subway Fresh 500 was the eighth stock car race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and the inaugural iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, April 23, 2005, in Avondale, Arizona at Phoenix International Raceway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent low-banked tri-oval race track. The race took the scheduled 312 laps to complete. At race's end, Roush Racing driver Kurt Busch would dominate the majority of the race to take his 12th career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Dale Earnhardt, Inc. driver Michael Waltrip and Richard Childress Racing driver Jeff Burton would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
Phoenix International Raceway – also known as PIR – is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. It is named after the nearby metropolitan area of Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the IndyCar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
The raceway was originally constructed with a 2.5 mi (4.0 km) road course that ran both inside and outside of the main tri-oval. In 1991 the track was reconfigured with the current 1.51 mi (2.43 km) interior layout. PIR has an estimated grandstand seating capacity of around 67,000. Lights were installed around the track in 2004 following the addition of a second annual NASCAR race weekend.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Practice
First practice
The first practice session was held on Thursday, April 21, at 5:55 PM EST. The session would last for one hour. Travis Kvapil, driving for Penske Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 27.466 and an average speed of 131.071 mph (210.938 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 77 | Travis Kvapil (R) | Penske Racing | Dodge | 27.466 | 131.071 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske Racing | Dodge | 27.519 | 130.819 |
| 3 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 27.552 | 130.662 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Final practice
The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Thursday, April 21, at 9:15 PM EST. The session would last for 45 minutes. Ryan Newman, driving for Penske Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 27.356 and an average speed of 131.598 mph (211.786 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske Racing | Dodge | 27.356 | 131.598 |
| 2 | 01 | Joe Nemechek | MB2 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.386 | 131.454 |
| 3 | 07 | Dave Blaney | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 27.424 | 131.272 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, April 22, at 6:00 PM EST. Positions 1-42 would be decided by time, while the 43rd position would be given to a past champion who had not otherwise qualified. If no past champion needed it, the next team in owner's points would earn the spot. Also, if a team in the top 35 in owner's points had missed qualifying in the top 35, they would earn a spot between 36 and 42 if needed.[3]
Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 26.931 and an average speed of 133.675 miles per hour (215.129 km/h).[4]
Three drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 97 | Kurt Busch | Roush Racing | Ford | 312 | 219 | running | 190 | $269,000 |
| 2 | 28 | 15 | Michael Waltrip | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 312 | 23 | running | 175 | $181,939 |
| 3 | 20 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 312 | 0 | running | 165 | $147,995 |
| 4 | 15 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 312 | 0 | running | 160 | $150,018 |
| 5 | 5 | 25 | Brian Vickers | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 50 | running | 160 | $110,325 |
| 6 | 4 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 312 | 0 | running | 150 | $121,950 |
| 7 | 11 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Roush Racing | Ford | 312 | 0 | running | 146 | $94,775 |
| 8 | 27 | 5 | Kyle Busch (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 8 | running | 147 | $92,050 |
| 9 | 26 | 09 | Johnny Sauter | Phoenix Racing | Dodge | 312 | 0 | running | 138 | $75,750 |
| 10 | 13 | 01 | Joe Nemechek | MB2 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 0 | running | 134 | $103,158 |
| 11 | 33 | 38 | Elliott Sadler | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 312 | 0 | running | 130 | $109,141 |
| 12 | 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 4 | running | 132 | $120,886 |
| 13 | 8 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 312 | 0 | running | 124 | $98,245 |
| 14 | 7 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske-Jasper Racing | Dodge | 312 | 0 | running | 121 | $119,541 |
| 15 | 12 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 0 | running | 118 | $113,066 |
| 16 | 22 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 312 | 0 | running | 115 | $80,700 |
| 17 | 14 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 312 | 0 | running | 112 | $98,375 |
| 18 | 16 | 10 | Scott Riggs | MBV Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 1 | running | 114 | $90,133 |
| 19 | 10 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 311 | 0 | running | 106 | $109,011 |
| 20 | 23 | 0 | Mike Bliss | Haas CNC Racing | Chevrolet | 311 | 0 | running | 103 | $67,600 |
| 21 | 37 | 43 | Jeff Green | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 311 | 0 | running | 100 | $94,261 |
| 22 | 25 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 311 | 0 | running | 97 | $61,700 |
| 23 | 35 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 311 | 0 | running | 94 | $100,083 |
| 24 | 21 | 07 | Dave Blaney | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 311 | 0 | running | 91 | $72,725 |
| 25 | 34 | 42 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 311 | 0 | running | 88 | $72,900 |
| 26 | 31 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 311 | 0 | running | 85 | $92,183 |
| 27 | 42 | 4 | Mike Wallace | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 310 | 0 | running | 82 | $64,050 |
| 28 | 29 | 37 | Kevin Lepage | R&J Racing | Dodge | 310 | 0 | running | 79 | $60,925 |
| 29 | 18 | 11 | Jason Leffler | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 309 | 0 | running | 76 | $60,800 |
| 30 | 40 | 92 | Stanton Barrett (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Chevrolet | 309 | 0 | running | 73 | $60,675 |
| 31 | 39 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 306 | 0 | running | 70 | $78,208 |
| 32 | 36 | 22 | Scott Wimmer | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 305 | 1 | running | 72 | $82,558 |
| 33 | 6 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 305 | 0 | running | 64 | $109,561 |
| 34 | 38 | 21 | Ricky Rudd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 293 | 0 | running | 61 | $87,364 |
| 35 | 19 | 32 | Bobby Hamilton Jr. | PPI Motorsports | Chevrolet | 283 | 0 | running | 58 | $69,572 |
| 36 | 9 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske-Jasper Racing | Dodge | 272 | 0 | running | 55 | $90,908 |
| 37 | 43 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Robby Gordon Motorsports | Chevrolet | 262 | 0 | running | 52 | $59,750 |
| 38 | 30 | 49 | Ken Schrader | BAM Racing | Dodge | 255 | 4 | crash | 54 | $59,625 |
| 39 | 32 | 41 | Casey Mears | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 243 | 0 | running | 46 | $67,500 |
| 40 | 24 | 77 | Travis Kvapil (R) | Penske-Jasper Racing | Dodge | 237 | 0 | crash | 43 | $67,350 |
| 41 | 3 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Racing | Ford | 172 | 2 | overheating | 45 | $77,510 |
| 42 | 17 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Racing | Ford | 164 | 0 | crash | 37 | $107,021 |
| 43 | 41 | 00 | Carl Long | McGlynn Racing | Chevrolet | 52 | 0 | engine | 34 | $58,935 |
| Failed to qualify | ||||||||||
| 44 | 66 | Hermie Sadler | Peak Fitness Racing | Ford | ||||||
| 45 | 34 | Steve Portenga | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | ||||||
| 46 | 02 | Brandon Ash | Ash Motorsports | Ford | ||||||
| Official race results | ||||||||||
References
- ↑ Harris, Mike (April 24, 2005). "Racing clinic". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 43. Retrieved November 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Utter, Jim (April 24, 2005). "Kurt Busch holds off Waltrip". St. Joseph News-Press. p. 33. Retrieved November 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2005 Phoenix 1 Race Info / Rundown Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on September 7, 2005. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ↑ Harris, Mike (April 23, 2005). "Sun adds another danger". The Indianapolis Star. p. 35. Retrieved November 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.