2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Champion Tony Stewart — No. 20 - The Home Depot Chevrolet
Tony Stewart won the 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Championship in the 57th season of NASCAR's
premier series.
This is Stewart's second title in the seven seasons that he has competed in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup
Series. Stewart was also the Series champion in 2002.
Stewart has ranked in the top 10 every season since his 1999 rookie year and has never ranked lower than
seventh in the final point standings.
Stewart posted three Bud Poles, five victories, 17 top-fives and 25 top-10 finishes this season.
This is Joe Gibbs' third championship as a car owner. Bobby Labonte won for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2000
and Stewart in 2002. Gibbs has fielded at least one full-time team since 1992.
This is also the second championship for crew chief Greg Zipadelli, both with Stewart. Zipadelli has been a
NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Crew Chief for seven seasons, all with Stewart and Gibbs.
There have been 27 different champions Stewart is the 14th different driver to win multiple
championships.
Stewart was the 1999 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year. He became the eighth
Rookie-of-the-Year to subsequently win a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship.
Stewart started the season at Daytona in sixth place after leading the most laps en route to a seventh-place
finish. He struggled for the next 13 races, finishing in the top 10 only five times but also finishing 24th or
worse five times. He then finished second in the June Michigan race, beginning a 13-race streak of
consecutive top 10 finishes that ran through Loudon in September. During the 13 races, he scored five
victories and 10 top fives. His Brickyard 400 victory propelled him to first place in the point standings for
the first time in 2005. He held the top position following all but one of the final 15 races.
His biggest point lead was 213 points following second Bristol. His smallest lead was when he was tied with
Jimmie Johnson in points scored after the second Charlotte race.
Stewart started the Chase in first place by five points over Greg Biffle, 15 ahead of Johnson. Stewart led the
standings after nine of the 10 Chase races (all but Dover when he fell to fifth after an 18th place finish).
This is the 22nd time in 57 seasons a Chevrolet driver has won the championship; the first since 2001.
1983 International Karting Foundation Grand National
Stewart is 34 years old (5/20/71); Zipadelli is 38 years old (4/21/67); Gibbs is 64 years old (11/25/40).
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup statistics
Race
Poles
Wins
Top 5
Top 10
2005
36
3
5
17
25
Career
248
10
24
93
149
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