Official name Golden Corral 500 | ||
Date March 20, 2005 (2005-March-20) 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) | ||
The 2005 Golden Corral 500 was an 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.
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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.