2005 MBNA NASCAR RacePoints 400

Race details
Race 28 of 36 in the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
The 2005 MBNA NASCAR RacePoints 400 program cover.
Date	September 25, 2005
Official name	37th Annual MBNA NASCAR RacePoints 400
Location	Dover, Delaware, Dover International Speedway
Course	Permanent racing facility 1 mi (1.6 km)
Distance	404 laps, 404 mi (650.174 km)
Scheduled Distance	400 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Average speed	119.067 miles per hour (191.620 km/h)
Attendance	150,000
Pole position
Driver	Ryan Newman	Penske-Jasper Racing
Time	22.770
Most laps led
Driver	Kurt Busch	Roush Racing
Laps	192
Winner
No. 48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	TNT
Announcers	Bill Weber, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach Jr.
Radio in the United States
Radio	Motor Racing Network

The 2005 MBNA NASCAR RacePoints 400 28th stock car race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season, the second race of the 2005 Chase for the Nextel Cup, and the 37th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, September 25, 2005, before a crowd of 150,000 in Dover, Delaware at Dover International Speedway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race was extended from its scheduled 400 laps to 404 due to a green–white–checker finish. On the final restart, Jimmie Johnson, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would fend off the field in a fierce restart to take the Chase for the Nextel Cup lead in the standings.^[1][2] The win was Johnson's 17th career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series victory and his third of the season. To fill out the podium, Kyle Busch, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, and Rusty Wallace, driving for Penske-Jasper Racing, would finish second and third, respectively.

Dover International Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.

The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.

• (R) denotes rookie driver.

The first practice session was held on Friday, September 23, at 11:00 AM EST. The session would last for two hours.^[3] Greg Biffle, driving for Roush Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 22.830 and an average speed of 157.687 miles per hour (253.773 km/h).^[4]

The second practice session was held on Saturday, September 24, at 9:30 AM EST. The session would last for 45 minutes.^[3] Kurt Busch, driving for Roush Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.379 and an average speed of 153.984 miles per hour (247.813 km/h).^[5]

The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, September 24, at 11:10 AM EST. The session would last for 45 minutes.^[3] Kurt Busch, driving for Roush Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.235 and an average speed of 154.939 miles per hour (249.350 km/h).^[6]

Qualifying was held on Friday, September 23, at 3:10 PM EST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.^[3]

Ryan Newman, driving for Penske-Jasper Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 22.770 and an average speed of 158.103 miles per hour (254.442 km/h).^[7]

Five drivers would fail to qualify: Morgan Shepherd, Hermie Sadler, Ryan McGlynn, Joey McCarthy, and Wayne Anderson.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 5 1 Jimmie Johnson 5,362 2 2 Rusty Wallace 5,355 (-7) 3 Ryan Newman 5,350 (-12) 3 4 Mark Martin 5,341 (–21) 4 5 Tony Stewart 5,539 (–23) 4 6 Greg Biffle 5,539 (–23) 1 7 Jeremy Mayfield 5,281 (–81) 1 8 Carl Edwards 5,259 (–103) 4 9 Matt Kenseth 5,228 (–124) 10 Kurt Busch 5,192 (–170) Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.