2005 Subway 500

The 2005 Subway 500 was the 32nd stock car racing race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season, the sixth race of the 2005 Chase for the Nextel Cup, and the 57th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 23, before a crowd of 72,000 in Martinsville, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a 0.526 miles (0.847 km) permanent oval-shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. At race's end, Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports would hold off the field on the final restart with three to go to take his 73rd career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series win and his fourth and final win of the season, completing a Martinsville sweep. To fill out the podium, Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing and Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports would finish second and third, respectively.

Background
Martinsville Speedway is an NASCAR-owned stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948.

First practice
The first practice session would occur on Friday, October 21, at 11:20 AM EST and would last for two hours. Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with 19.352 and an average speed of 97.850 mph.

Second practice
The second practice session would occur on Saturday, October 22, at 9:30 AM EST and would last for 45 minutes. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with 19.583 and an average speed of 96.696 mph.

Third and final practice
The third and final practice session, sometimes referred as Happy Hour, would occur on Saturday, October 22, at 11:10 AM EST and would last for 45 minutes. Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with 19.548 and an average speed of 96.869 mph.

Qualifying
Qualifying would take place on Friday, October 21, 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.

Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing would win the pole, setting a time of 19.306 and an average speed of 98.084 mph.