2005 Batman Begins 400

The 2005 Batman Begins 400 was a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series racing event held on June 19, 2005, at Michigan International Speedway in the American community of Brooklyn, Michigan.

2005 Batman Begins 400

Race details[1][2][3]
Race 15 of 36 in the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
2005 Batman Begins 400 program cover
Date	June 19, 2005 (2005-06-19)
Location	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.0 mi (3.219 km)
Distance	200 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Weather	Mild with temperatures approaching 73 °F (23 °C); wind speeds up to 7 miles per hour (11 km/h)
Average speed	150.596 miles per hour (242.361 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Ryan Newman	Penske Racing
Most laps led
Driver	Tony Stewart	Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps	97
Winner
No. 16	Greg Biffle	Roush Racing
Television in the United States
Network	Fox
Announcers	Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds
Nielsen Ratings	4.76

Run over 200 laps, the race was the fifteenth in the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and took place around the time of the controversial 2005 United States Grand Prix that Michael Schumacher would dominate.

Entry list

Car #[4]	Driver	Hometown	Make	Sponsor	Team	Crew Chief
0	Mike Bliss	Milwaukie, OR	Chevrolet	NetZero Best Buy	Gene Haas
01	Joe Nemechek	Lakeland, FL	Chevrolet	U.S. Army	Nelson Bowers
2	Rusty Wallace	St. Louis, MO	Dodge	Miller Lite	Roger Penske
4	Mike Wallace	St. Louis, MO	Chevrolet	Lucas / Wide Open Energy Drink	Larry McClure
5	Kyle Busch	Las Vegas, NV	Chevrolet	Kellogg's	Rick Hendrick
6	Mark Martin	Batesville, AR	Ford	Batman Begins / Pfizer	Jack Roush
07	Dave Blaney	Hartford, OH	Chevrolet	Jack Daniel's Country Cocktail	Richard Childress
7	Robby Gordon	Bellflower, CA	Chevrolet	Menards	James Smith
8	Dale Earnhardt Jr	Kannapolis, NC	Chevrolet	Budweiser	Teresa Earnhardt
9	Kasey Kahne	Enumclaw, WA	Dodge	Dodge Dealers / UAW	Ray Evernham
10	Scott Riggs	Bahama, NC	Chevrolet	Valvoline	James Rocco
11	Jason Leffler	Long Beach, CA	Chevrolet	FedEx Kinko's	J D Gibbs
12	Ryan Newman	South Bend, IN	Dodge	Alltel	Roger Penske
15	Michael Waltrip	Owensboro, KY	Chevrolet	NAPA Auto Parts	Teresa Earnhardt
16	Greg Biffle	Vancouver, WA	Ford	National Guard / Charter Communications	Geoff Smith
17	Matt Kenseth	Cambridge, WI	Ford	Carhartt	Mark Martin
18	Bobby Labonte	Corpus Christi, TX	Chevrolet	Interstate Batteries	Joe Gibbs
19	Jeremy Mayfield	Owensboro, KY	Dodge	Dodge Dealers / UAW	Ray Evernham
20	Tony Stewart	Rushville, IN	Chevrolet	The Home Depot	Joe Gibbs
21	Ricky Rudd	Chesapeake, VA	Ford	Motorcraft / Rent-A-Center	Glen Wood
22	Scott Wimmer	Wausau, WI	Dodge	Caterpillar	Bill Davis
23	Mike Skinner	Ontario, CA	Dodge	History Channel AutoManiac	Gail Davis
24	Jeff Gordon	Vallejo, CA	Chevrolet	DuPont	Rick Hendrick
25	Brian Vickers	Thomasville, NC	Chevrolet	GMAC / ditech.com	Mary Hendrick
29	Kevin Harvick	Bakersfield, CA	Chevrolet	GM Goodwrench	Richard Childress
31	Jeff Burton	South Boston, VA	Chevrolet	Beneficial / Cingular	Richard Childress
32	Bobby Hamilton Jr	Nashville, TN	Chevrolet	Tide	Calvin Wells III
34	PJ Jones	Torrance, CA	Chevrolet	Ultra Comp Trailers	William Edwards
37	Kevin Lepage	Shelburne, VT	Dodge	Patron Tequila	John Carter
38	Elliott Sadler	Emporia, VA	Ford	M&M's	Robert Yates
40	Sterling Marlin	Columbia, TN	Dodge	Coors Light	Felix Sabates
41	Casey Mears	Bakersfield, CA	Dodge	Target	Chip Ganassi
42	Jamie McMurray	Joplin, MO	Dodge	Home123 Corp.	Floyd Ganassi
43	Jeff Green	Owensboro, KY	Dodge	Cheerios / Betty Crocker	Richard L Petty
45	Kyle Petty	Trinity, NC	Dodge	Georgia-Pacific / Brawny	Kyle Petty
48	Jimmie Johnson	El Cajon, CA	Chevrolet	Lowe's	Jeff Gordon
49	Ken Schrader	Fenton, MO	Dodge	Schwan's Home Service	Elizabeth Morgenthau
66	Mike Garvey	McDonough, GA	Ford	Jani-King / Peak Fitness	Jeff Stec
77	Travis Kvapil	Janesville, WI	Dodge	Kodak / Jasper Engines	Douglas Bawel
88	Dale Jarrett	Hickory, NC	Ford	UPS	Robert Yates
89	Morgan Shepherd	Conover, NC	Dodge	Victory in Jesus / Red Line Oil	Cindy Shepherd
91	Bill Elliott	Dawsonville, GA	Dodge	McDonald's	Ray Evernham Sr.
97	Kurt Busch	Las Vegas, NV	Ford	Sharpie / IRWIN Industrial Tools	Georgetta Roush
99	Carl Edwards	Columbia, MO	Ford	AAA / Office Depot	Jack Roush
151	Stuart Kirby	Bowling Green, KY	Chevrolet	Marathon Multipower-3 HD Motor Oil	Joe Auer
179	Derrike Cope	Spanaway, WA	Chevrolet	SBC / Tubby's Subs	John Conely
192	Eric McClure	Abingdon, VA	Chevrolet	Front Row Motorsports	Bob Jenkins

Practice

Top 10 practice 1 results

Pos.[5]	Car #	Driver	Make	Speed	Time	Behind	Best	Laps
1	12	Ryan Newman	Dodge	192.164	0:37.468	0.000	0	0
2	5	Kyle Busch	Chevrolet	191.428	0:37.612	0.144	0	0
3	41	Casey Mears	Dodge	191.255	0:37.646	0.178	0	0
4	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	189.788	0:37.937	0.469	0	0
5	20	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	189.424	0:38.010	0.542	0	0
6	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	189.374	0:38.020	0.552	0	0
7	19	Jeremy Mayfield	Dodge	188.763	0:38.143	0.675	0	0
8	38	Elliott Sadler	Ford	188.753	0:38.145	0.677	0	0
9	22	Scott Wimmer	Dodge	188.625	0:38.171	0.703	0	0
10	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	188.191	0:38.259	0.791	0	0
Full results

Top 10 practice 2 results

Pos.	Car #	Driver	Make	Speed	Time	Behind	Best	Laps
1	19	Jeremy Mayfield	Dodge	192.097	0:37.481	0.000	0	0
2	12	Ryan Newman	Dodge	192.097	0:37.481	0.000	0	0
3	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	191.729	0:37.553	0.072	0	0
4	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	191.144	0:37.668	0.187	0	0
5	6	Mark Martin	Ford	191.057	0:37.685	0.204	0	0
6	9	Kasey Kahne	Dodge	190.966	0:37.703	0.222	0	0
7	25	Brian Vickers	Chevrolet	190.911	0:37.714	0.233	0	0
8	10	Scott Riggs	Chevrolet	190.809	0:37.734	0.253	0	0
9	01	Joe Nemechek	Chevrolet	190.602	0:37.775	0.294	0	0
10	43	Jeff Green	Dodge	190.144	0:37.866	0.385	0	0
Full results

Qualifying

Pos.[6]	Car #	Driver	Make	Primary Sponsor	Speed	Time	Behind
1	12	Ryan Newman	Dodge	Alltel	194.232	37.069	0.000
2	41	Casey Mears	Dodge	Target	193.757	37.160	-0.091
3	20	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	The Home Depot	193.512	37.207	-0.138
4	9	Kasey Kahne	Dodge	Dodge Dealers / UAW	193.123	37.282	-0.213
5	19	Jeremy Mayfield	Dodge	Dodge Dealers / UAW	193.086	37.289	-0.220
6	18	Bobby Labonte	Chevrolet	Interstate Batteries	193.055	37.295	-0.226
7	25	Brian Vickers	Chevrolet	GMAC / ditech.com	192.818	37.341	-0.272
8	7	Robby Gordon	Chevrolet	Menards	192.771	37.350	-0.281
9	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	DuPont	192.658	37.372	-0.303
10	91	Bill Elliott	Dodge	McDonald's	192.658	37.372	-0.303
11	1	Joe Nemechek	Chevrolet	U.S. Army	192.606	37.382	-0.313
12	2	Rusty Wallace	Dodge	Miller Lite	192.555	37.392	-0.323
13	97	Kurt Busch	Ford	Sharpie / IRWIN Industrial Tools	192.555	37.392	-0.323
14	88	Dale Jarrett	Ford	UPS	192.493	37.404	-0.335
15	6	Mark Martin	Ford	Batman Begins / Pfizer	192.380	37.426	-0.357
16	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Lowe's	192.313	37.439	-0.370
17	5	Kyle Busch	Chevrolet	Kellogg's	192.225	37.456	-0.387
18	38	Elliott Sadler	Ford	M&M's	192.102	37.480	-0.411
19	43	Jeff Green	Dodge	Cheerios / Betty Crocker	191.980	37.504	-0.435
20	00	Mike Bliss	Chevrolet	NetZero Best Buy	191.980	37.504	-0.435
21	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	Carhartt	191.627	37.573	-0.504
22	22	Scott Wimmer	Dodge	Caterpillar	191.627	37.573	-0.504
23	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	AAA / Office Depot	191.413	37.615	-0.546
24	42	Jamie McMurray	Dodge	Home123 Corp.	191.306	37.636	-0.567
25	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	National Guard / Charter Communications	191.189	37.659	-0.590
26	11	Jason Leffler	Chevrolet	FedEx Kinko's	191.189	37.659	-0.590
27	32	Bobby Hamilton Jr	Chevrolet	Tide	190.739	37.748	-0.679
28	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	GM Goodwrench	190.587	37.778	-0.709
29	10	Scott Riggs	Chevrolet	Valvoline	190.582	37.779	-0.710
30	15	Michael Waltrip	Chevrolet	NAPA Auto Parts	190.491	37.797	-0.728
31	23	Mike Skinner	Dodge	History Channel AutoManiac	190.376	37.820	-0.751
32	45	Kyle Petty	Dodge	Georgia-Pacific / Brawny	190.370	37.821	-0.752
33	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	Beneficial / Cingular	190.179	37.859	-0.790
34	21	Ricky Rudd	Ford	Motorcraft / Rent-A-Center	190.129	37.869	-0.800
35	66	Mike Garvey	Ford	Jani-King / Peak Fitness	189.878	37.919	-0.850
36	07	Dave Blaney	Chevrolet	Jack Daniel's Country Cocktail	189.783	37.938	-0.869
37	77	Travis Kvapil	Dodge	Kodak / Jasper Engines	189.783	37.938	-0.869
38	49	Ken Schrader	Dodge	Schwan's Home Service	189.579	37.979	-0.910
39	37	Kevin Lepage	Dodge	Patron Tequila	189.449	38.005	-0.936
40	40	Sterling Marlin	Dodge	Coors Light	189.404	38.014	-0.945
41	8	Dale Earnhardt Jr	Chevrolet	Budweiser	188.260	38.245	-1.176
42	4	Mike Wallace	Chevrolet	Lucas / Wide Open Energy Drink	186.591	38.587	-1.518
43	51	Stuart Kirby	Chevrolet	Marathon Multipower-3 HD Motor Oil	188.848	38.126	-1.057
Failed to qualify
44	92	Eric McClure*	Chevrolet	Front Row Motorsports	0.000	0.000	0.000
45	79	Derrike Cope	Chevrolet	SBC / Tubby's Subs
46	34	P.J. Jones	Chevrolet	Ultra Comp Trailers
47	89	Morgan Shepherd	Dodge	Victory In Jesus / Red Line Oil
WD	00	Carl Long	Chevrolet	Buyer's Choice Auto Warranties	0.000	0.000	0.000

*Had an accident during qualifying

Race recap

On April 27, 2005 Warner Bros. would announce that the race would be sponsored by the movie Batman Begins, marking the first time a motion picture sponsored a Cup Series race.^[7] In a press release, NASCAR CEO and chairman Brian France said "Batman will cheer on the 43 super heroes that will be competing for the Batman Begins 400 at Michigan International Speedway."^[8] Along with the sponsorship, the Batmobile served as the honorary pace car for the race,^[2] while Batman was the grand marshal, and Karen Newman sang the national anthem.^[9]

Mark Martin also ran a Batman Begins paint scheme, along with Ricky Craven at the Paramount Health Insurance 200 on the previous day.^[10] Defending race winner Ryan Newman^[11] of Penske Racing won the pole position after breaking the track record with a speed of 194.232 miles per hour (312.586 km/h), breaking the original record held by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2001,^[9] while Roush Racing's Greg Biffle won the race.^[12] Michigan International Speedway has been a Ford dominated track starting in 1984, and a Mercury track before that from 1969-78. It was also a track that suited a smooth driver or a driver that could change his driving tactics for Michigan International Speedway.

Tony Stewart would dominate the race, he would end up leading a race-high 97 laps. However, on lap 168, Stewart took a four-tire pit stop, while Greg Biffle, Elliott Sadler and Roush Racing teammates Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch, as they and other drivers had pitted 12 laps earlier; Joe Nemechek and Michael Waltrip also beat Stewart to the track, forcing him to start in eighth on lap 174. Biffle, who led 67 laps, would go on to win his eighth career Cup race and fifth of the season.^[13] Stewart was able to fight his way into second, while Mark Martin finished in third.^[14] Kenseth and Edwards rounded out the top five. Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished the race in 32nd and 17th, respectively, and were knocked out of contention for the 2005 Chase for the Nextel Cup.^[9]

Race results

Fin[15]	St	#	Driver	Sponsor	Make	Laps	Led	Status	Pts	Winnings
1	25	16	Greg Biffle	National Guard, Charter Communications	Ford	200	63	running	185	171075
2	3	20	Tony Stewart	Home Depot	Chevy	200	97	running	180	174461
3	15	6	Mark Martin	Batman Begins, Pfizer	Ford	200	10	running	170	116125
4	21	17	Matt Kenseth	Carhartt	Ford	200	0	running	160	138261
5	23	99	Carl Edwards	AAA, Office Depot	Ford	200	0	running	155	98650
6	11	01	Joe Nemechek	U.S. Army	Chevy	200	1	running	155	110148
7	30	15	Michael Waltrip	NAPA Auto Parts	Chevy	200	3	running	151	116454
8	18	38	Elliott Sadler	M&M's	Ford	200	0	running	142	126106
9	17	5	Kyle Busch	Kellogg's	Chevy	200	0	running	138	89265
10	12	2	Rusty Wallace	Miller Lite	Dodge	200	0	running	134	110548
11	33	31	Jeff Burton	Beneficial, Cingular Wireless	Chevy	200	0	running	130	106825
12	13	97	Kurt Busch	Sharpie, Irwin Industrial Tools	Ford	200	12	running	132	125665
13	24	42	Jamie McMurray	Home123 Corp.	Dodge	200	1	running	129	87390
14	6	18	Bobby Labonte	Interstate Batteries	Chevy	200	0	running	121	110915
15	1	12	Ryan Newman	Alltel	Dodge	200	3	running	123	122781
16	22	22	Scott Wimmer	Caterpillar	Dodge	200	0	running	115	101798
17	41	8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Budweiser	Chevy	200	0	running	112	118448
18	4	9	Kasey Kahne	Dodge Dealers, UAW	Dodge	200	0	running	109	106965
19	16	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's	Chevy	200	2	running	111	118881
20	26	11	Jason Leffler	FedEx Kinko's	Chevy	200	0	running	103	75890
21	2	41	Casey Mears	Target	Dodge	199	7	running	105	107248
22	5	19	Jeremy Mayfield	Dodge Dealers, UAW	Dodge	199	0	running	97	99535
23	29	10	Scott Riggs	Valvoline	Chevy	199	0	running	94	93448
24	14	88	Dale Jarrett	UPS	Ford	199	0	running	91	106698
25	28	29	Kevin Harvick	GM Goodwrench	Chevy	199	0	running	88	116351
26	37	77	Travis Kvapil	Kodak, Jasper Engines & Transmissions	Dodge	199	0	running	85	79965
27	20	0	Mike Bliss	NetZero, Best Buy	Chevy	198	0	running	82	71680
28	38	49	Ken Schrader	Schwan's Home Service	Dodge	198	0	running	79	71425
29	36	07	Dave Blaney	Jack Daniel's Country Cocktail	Chevy	198	0	running	76	79215
30	32	45	Kyle Petty	Georgia-Pacific, Brawny	Dodge	198	0	running	73	80687
31	27	32	Bobby Hamilton Jr.	Tide	Chevy	198	0	running	70	67990
32	9	24	Jeff Gordon	DuPont	Chevy	197	0	running	67	116651
33	34	21	Ricky Rudd	Motorcraft, Rent-A-Center	Ford	197	0	running	64	96004
34	31	23	Mike Skinner	History Channel AutoManiac	Dodge	197	0	running	61	67735
35	10	91	Bill Elliott	McDonald's	Dodge	196	0	running	58	67595
36	35	66	Mike Garvey	Peak Fitness	Ford	196	0	running	55	67545
37	39	37	Kevin Lepage	Patron Tequila	Dodge	195	0	running	52	67495
38	19	43	Jeff Green	Cheerios, Betty Crocker	Dodge	184	0	running	49	96331
39	8	7	Robby Gordon	Menards	Chevy	182	1	running	51	67350
40	40	40	Sterling Marlin	Coors Light	Dodge	167	0	engine	43	95223
41	7	25	Brian Vickers	GMAC, ditech.com	Chevy	154	0	running	40	75280
42	43	51	Stuart Kirby	Marathon Multipower-3 HD Motor Oil	Chevy	91	0	crash	37	67240
43	42	4	Mike Wallace	Lucas Oil, Wide Open Energy Drink	Chevy	50	0	engine	34	66671
Failed to qualify, withdrew, or driver changes
44		92	Eric McClure	Front Row Motorsports	Chevrolet
45		79	Derrike Cope	SBC / Tubby's Subs	Chevrolet
46		34	P.J. Jones	Ultra Comp Trailers	Chevrolet
47		89	Morgan Shepherd	Victory In Jesus / Red Line Oil	Dodge
WD		00	Carl Long	Buyer's Choice Auto Warranties	Chevrolet

Standings

Pos	Driver	Points[12]
1	Jimmie Johnson	2173
2	Greg Biffle	2124
3	Elliott Sadler	1923
4	Carl Edwards	1914
5	Mark Martin	1904
6	Tony Stewart	1862
7	Ryan Newman	1856
8	Rusty Wallace	1848
9	Kurt Busch	1813
10	Kevin Harvick	1803

References

1. "Weather information for the "Batman Begins 400 at Michigan International Speedway"". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
2. "Warner Bros Announces "Batman Begins 400 at Michigan International Speedway"". About.com. 2005-04-27. Archived from the original on 2013-06-14. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
3. "TV RATINGS 2005". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2014-02-14. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
4. "2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Batman Begins 400 Entry List - Michigan International Speedway". frcs.pro. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
5. "2005 Batman Begins 400 Practice 1 Results - Michigan International Speedway". frcs.pro. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
6. "Batman Begins 400 Qualifying Results and Starting Lineup Michigan International Speedway NASCAR 2005". NASCAR Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Archived from the original on 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
7. "News from May 15, 2005". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2013-06-10. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
8. ""Batman Begins" Sponsors Nascar with "Batman Begins 400"". CBR. 2005-04-27. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
9. "Batman Begins 400". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2013-06-10. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
10. "Warner Bros. and NASCAR Announce "Batman Begins" 400 at Michigan International Speedway". Motor Trend. 2005-04-28. Archived from the original on 2013-06-11. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
11. McCormick, Steve. "2005 Batman Returns 400 at Michigan International Speedway". About.com. Archived from the original on 2013-05-13. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
12. "2005 Batman Begins 400". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
13. Harris, Mike (2005-06-19). "Biffle captures fifth win of season in Batman Begins 400". USA Today. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
14. Donahue, Alan (2012-07-10). "Dale Earnhardt Jr's 'Dark Knight Rises' NASCAR Vehicle Among Top 5 Superhero Designs". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
15. "2005 Batman Begins 400 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2021-06-15.

Previous race: 2005 Pocono 500

Nextel Cup Series 2005 season

Next race: 2005 Dodge/Save Mart 350