2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Standings
Once Tony Stewart grabbed the lead in the 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup points standings in June, he was only out of first place a total of two weeks. He spent the early part of the season chasing Jimmie Johnson, who set the early pace, then hit stride and assumed command.
 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Champion Tony Stewart |
Stewart won five of seven races during the midpoint of the campaign, and took a five-point lead into the Chase for the 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. The reduced Chase points format was a mere inconvenience for Stewart as he held first place for eight of the final 10 weeks. His final margin of victory was 35 points over Jack Roush drivers Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards.
Five of the 10 players in The Chase were Roush competitors, which prompted a rules change limiting the number of teams one owner could field. Johnson, Stewart's biggest threat for the title, fell from second to fifth in the final race. Defending champion Kurt Busch was suspended for the final two races following a run-in with police in Phoenix, and fell to 10th place in the final standings. See how the other drivers fared this season with the 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standings chart below.
2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Standings
| Rank | Driver
|
Points
|
Wins
|
Earnings
|
| 1 | Tony Stewart
|
6,533 | 5 | $13,578,168 |
| 2 | Greg Biffle
|
6,498 | 6 | 8,354,052 |
| 3 | Carl Edwards
|
6,498 | 4 | 6,893,157 |
| 4 | Mark Martin
|
6,428 | 1 | 7,731,468 |
| 5 | Jimmie Johnson
|
6,406 | 4 | 8,336,712 |
| 6 | Ryan Newman
|
6,359 | 1 | 7,259,518 |
| 7 | Matt Kenseth
|
6,352 | 1 | 7,034,134 |
| 8 | Rusty Wallace
|
6,140 | 0 | 6,070,826 |
| 9 | Jeremy Mayfield
|
6,073 | 1 | 5,741,989 |
| 10 | Kurt Busch
|
5,974 | 3 | 7,930,830 |
| 11 | Jeff Gordon
|
4,174 | 4 | 6,855,440
|
| 12 | Jamie McMurray
|
4,130 | 0 | 3,923,970
|
| 13 | Elliott Sadler
|
4,084 | 0 | 5,024,120
|
| 14 | Kevin Harvick
|
4,072 | 1 | 4,970,050
|
| 15 | Dale Jarrett
|
3,960 | 1 | 4,705,440
|
| 16 | Joe Nemechek
|
3,953 | 0 | 4,223,380
|
| 17 | Brian Vickers
|
3,847 | 0 | 3,982,130
|
| 18 | Jeff Burton
|
3,803 | 0 | 4,265,670
|
| 19 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
|
3,780 | 1 | 5,761,830
|
| 20 | Kyle Busch
|
3,753 | 2 | 4,185,240
|
| 21 | Ricky Rudd
|
3,667 | 0 | 4,300,410 |
| 22 | Casey Mears
|
3,637 | 0 | 4,234,170
|
| 23 | Kasey Kahne
|
3,611 | 1 | 4,874,840
|
| 24 | Bobby Labonte
|
3,488 | 0 | 4,627,400 |
| 25 | Michael Waltrip
|
3,452 | 0 | 4,375,090
|
| 26 | Dave Blaney
|
3,289 | 0 | 3,342,290
|
| 27 | Kyle Petty
|
3,288 | 0 | 3,465,690
|
| 28 | Mike Bliss
|
3,262 | 0 | 3,091,110
|
| 29 | Jeff Green
|
3,241 | 0 | 4,040,430
|
| 30 | Sterling Marlin
|
3,183 | 0 | 4,080,120
|
| 31 | Ken Schrader
|
3,159 | 0 | 3,057,530
|
| 32 | Scott Wimmer
|
3,122 | 0 | 3,682,980
|
| 33 | Travis Kvapil
|
3,077 | 0 | 3,293,450
|
| 34 | Scott Riggs
|
2,965 | 0 | 4,030,680
|
| 35 | Mike Wallace
|
2,269 | 0 | 2,325,740
|
| 36 | Bobby Hamilton, Jr.
|
2,183 | 0 | 2,898,090
|
| 37 | Robby Gordon
|
2,117 | 0 | 2,271,310
|
| 38 | Jason Leffler
|
1,538 | 0 | 1,663,870
|
| 39 | Kevin Lepage
|
1,460 | 0 | 1,774,790
|
| 40 | Terry Labonte
|
1,071 | 0 | 1,202,520
|
| 41 | Denny Hamlin
|
806 | 0 | 610,030
|
| 42 | Boris Said
|
791 | 0 | 1,006,680
|
| 43 | Johnny Sauter
|
722 | 0 | 749,453
|
| 44 | Hermie Sadler
|
717 | 0 | 943,248
|
| 45 | Bill Elliott
|
695 | 0 | 809,013 |
| 46 | Jimmy Spencer
|
667 | 0 | 808,985
|
| 47 | Martin Truex, Jr.
|
589 | 0 | 929,028
|
| 48 | Mike Garvey
|
491 | 0 | 595,642
|
| 49 | Mike Skinner
|
487 | 0 | 969,109
|
| 50 | Tony Raines
|
419 | 0 | 420,500 |
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