2005 Telcel Motorola 200 Explained

Year:2005
Race Name:Telcel Motorola 200
Details Ref:[1]
Race No:3
Season No:35
Official Name:2005 Telcel Motorola 200
Location:Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, Mexico
Course:Road Course
Course Mi:2.518
Course Km:4.053
Distance Laps:80
Distance Mi:201.440
Distance Km:324.186
Weather:Clear
Avg:67.591mph
Attendance:94,229
Pole Driver:Jorge Goeters
Pole Team:Brewco Motorsports
Pole Time:1:27.696
Most Driver:Martin Truex Jr.
Most Team:Chance 2 Motorsports
Most Laps:45
Car:8
First Driver:Martin Truex Jr.
First Team:Chance 2 Motorsports
Network:Fox
Announcers:Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip

The 2005 Telcel Motorola 200 was a NASCAR Busch Series race held at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, Mexico on March 6, 2005. The race was NASCAR's first ever trip to Mexico City and their first race that is not in the United States since 1999. It was also the 3rd race of the 2005 NASCAR Busch Series. The race was the NASCAR debut for former IndyCar Series driver and the hometown hero Adrián Fernández. One of Mexico's own Jorge Goeters, who was one of 10 Mexican born drivers attempting to qualify in the race, won the pole but it would be Martin Truex Jr. who would dominate the race, leading the most laps and winning the first ever race in the end.[2]

Background

The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a 4.304km (02.674miles) motorsport race track in Mexico City, Mexico, named after the racing drivers Ricardo (1942–1962) and Pedro Rodríguez (1940–1971). The circuit got its name shortly after it opened when Ricardo Rodríguez died in practice for the non-Championship 1962 Mexican Grand Prix. Ricardo's brother Pedro was also killed behind the wheel nine years later. Since 2015, the track has once again hosted the Formula One Mexican Grand Prix, an event it previously hosted in two separate periods on a different layout, the last occasion of which was in 1992.

The circuit is located within the public park of the Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City in southeast Mexico City. The circuit is owned by the Government of the city, but is currently operated under concession by Corporación Interamericana de Entretenimiento (CIE) through OCESA, one of CIE's subsidiaries. CIE also organizes the NASCAR and Desafío Corona races in this circuit and rents the circuits to other parties, including race organizers, automobile clubs and track amateurs for fees that are controversial due to their disproportionately high amounts compared to other ex-F1 courses.

Entry list

DriverTeamMake
0 Chevrolet
1 Dodge
2 Chevrolet
4 Ryan Hemphill (R) Dodge
5 Chevrolet
6 Paul Wolfe (R) Dodge
7 Chevrolet
8 Chevrolet
10 Michel Jourdain Jr. (R) Ford
11 Chevrolet
12 Dodge
14 FitzBradshaw Racing Dodge
16 Chevrolet
18 Chevrolet
20 Denny Hamlin (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet
21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
22 ppc Racing Ford
23 Chevrolet
24 Kim Crosby (R) Chevrolet
25 Ford
27 Ford
28 Phoenix Racing Dodge
32 Chevrolet
33 Chevrolet
34 Chevrolet
35 Team Rensi Motorsports Ford
36 Chevrolet
38 Tyler Walker (R) Dodge
40 FitzBradshaw Racing Dodge
41 Reed Sorenson (R) Dodge
42 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge
43 Ford
44 Chevrolet
47 Jon Wood (R) Ford
49 Ford
52 Ford
58 Brent Sherman (R) Akins Motorsports Dodge
59 ST Motorsports Ford
60 Carl Edwards (R) Roush Racing Ford
64 Dodge
65 Chevrolet
66 Brewco Motorsports Ford
67 Dodge
72 Chevrolet
73 Chevrolet
83 Robby Gordon (i) Chevrolet
87 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet
90 Ford
92 Ford
97 Chevrolet
Official Entry list

Qualifying

Mexico's own Jorge Goeters won the pole for the race with a time of 1:27.696 and a speed of 103.366 mph.[3]

Starting grid

GridDriverTeamManufacturer
1 66 Jorge Goeters Brewco Motorsports Ford
2 83 Robby Gordon (i)** Robby Gordon Motorsports Chevrolet
3 8 Martin Truex Jr. Chance 2 Motorsports Chevrolet
4 1 Boris Said Phoenix Racing Dodge
5 87 Ron Fellows NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet
6 21 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
7 11 Paul Menard Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet
8 40 Carlos Contreras FitzBradshaw Racing Dodge
9 60 Carl Edwards (R) Roush Racing Ford
10 90 Elliott Sadler Robert Yates Racing Ford
11 27 David Green Brewco Motorsports Ford
12 38 Tyler Walker (R) Akins Motorsports Dodge
13 2 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
14 42 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge
15 35 Jason Keller Team Rensi Motorsports Ford
16 7 Chris Cook** NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet
17 12 Tim Fedewa** FitzBradshaw Racing Dodge
18 10 Michel Jourdain Jr. (R) ppc Racing Ford
19 41 Reed Sorenson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge
20 25 Ashton Lewis Team Rensi Motorsports Ford
21 33 Ron Hornaday Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet
22 58 Brent Sherman (R) Akins Motorsports Dodge
23 18 J. J. Yeley Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet
24 59 Stacy Compton ST Motorsports Ford
25 52 Jimmy Morales* ** Means Motorsports Ford
26 32 Shane Hmiel Braun Racing Chevrolet
27 47 Jon Wood (R) ST Motorsports Ford
28 36 Stanton Barrett DCT Motorsports Chevrolet
29 28 Johnny Sauter Phoenix Racing Dodge
30 4 Ryan Hemphill (R) Biagi Brothers Racing Dodge
31 64 Rusty Wallace Rusty Wallace Inc. Dodge
32 34 Randy LaJoie Frank Cicci Racing Chevrolet
33 43 José Luis Ramírez Curb Agajanian Racing Ford
34 20 Denny Hamlin (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet
35 22 Kenny Wallace ppc Racing Ford
36 14 David Stremme FitzBradshaw Racing Dodge
37 72 Rubén García Novoa MacDonald Motorsports Chevrolet
38 44 Justin Labonte Labonte-Haas Motorsports Chevrolet
39 49 Mara Reyes Jay Robinson Racing Ford
40 5 Adrián Fernández** Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
41 23 Shawna Robinson Keith Coleman Racing Chevrolet
42 0 Rafael Martínez Davis Motorsports Chevrolet
43 73 Eric Jones Red Cactus Racing Chevrolet
Failed to Qualify, withdrew, or driver changes
44 6 Paul Wolfe (R) Evernham Motorsports Dodge
45 67 Jimmy Morales Tom Eriksen Racing Dodge
46 97 Todd Souza Central Coast Racing Chevrolet
47 24 Kim Crosby (R) GIC-Mixon Motorsports Chevrolet
48 16 Mark Montgomery Day Enterprise Racing Chevrolet
49 92 Alfredo Tame Jr. Team Fuerza Motorsports Ford
50 65 Stan Silva Jr. Silva Motorsports Chevrolet
DC 52 Scott Gaylord Means Motorsports Ford
Official Starting grid

* – Scott Gaylord originally qualified the car and was to compete but made a last minute change to allow Jimmy Morales to be able to compete in his home Country.

** – Adrián Fernández, Chris Cook, Tim Fedewa, Jimmy Morales, and Robby Gordon all had to start at the rear of the field. Fernández had a backup car, Cook and Gordon had an engine change, Fedewa had a transmission change, and Morales has a driver change.

Race

On lap 1, Martin Truex Jr. attempted to take the lead from pole sitter Jorge Goeters in turn 3 but failed to get in front of him and Goeters led the first lap becoming the first Mexican born driver to lead a Busch Series race. On lap 8, the first caution flew for debris after José Luis Ramírez's right front tire came apart. The race would restart on lap 12. On the restart, Ron Fellows attempted to take the lead from Goeters but failed to get in front of him. On lap 17, Mara Reyes spun in turn 3 and ended up getting stuck on the gravel traps in turns 1 and 2 which would bring out the second caution on lap 18. The race would restart on lap 21. On lap 25, Martin Truex Jr. took the lead after the top 2 in Jorge Goeters and Jamie McMurray both pitted. On lap 27, a couple of incidents would occur. First being when Tyler Walker overshot turn 3 and ended up going through the gravel trap but that did not bring out a caution after Walker got back onto the track without any harm. The third caution flew when Mara Reyes' car stalled in turn 1. During the caution, a wacky and funny moment would occur when a dog ran out onto the track before it found its way out going through a hole in the fence. The race would restart on lap 30. On lap 32, Stanton Barrett spun in turn 3 but no caution flew as Barrett got going again. On lap 33, Mexico City's own Adrián Fernández took the lead from Truex. At the same time, Paul Menard spun in turn 5 but no caution was thrown as he got back going again. On lap 37, Martin Truex Jr. took the lead back from Fernández. On lap 38, the 4th caution would fly when Michel Jourdain Jr. crashed in turn 8.

Final laps

The race would restart with 40 laps to go. At around 37 to go, Ron Hornaday spun in turn 3 after he got turned by Jorge Goeters but no caution flew as Hornaday got back going again. With 36 to go, Ron Fellows spun in almost the same area Hornaday did before after Fellows got turned by Carlos Contreras. No caution flew as he got back going again. With 35 to go, Kevin Harvick took the lead after Martin Truex Jr. went to pit. As soon as Truex entered pit road, the 5th caution flew with 34 to go when Rubén García Novoa crashed in the chicane at around turn 3. Stanton Barrett was the new leader and Barrett led the field to the restart with 30 laps to go. With 28 to go, both Ron Fellows and Denny Hamlin spun in turn 3. No caution was thrown as Hamlin and Fellows got back going again. At the same time, Martin Truex Jr. took the lead from Barrett. With 27 to go, the 6th caution flew for debris. The race would restart with 23 laps to go. With 22 to go, Reed Sorenson spun in turn 4 but no caution threw as he got going again before the 7th caution flew for fluid from Robby Gordon's blown engine. The race would restart with 17 to go. With 16 to go, Tim Fedewa spun in turn 4 but no caution flew as he got back going again. With 15 to go, the 8th and final caution flew when Jorge Goeters' engine blew. The race would restart with 11 laps to go. Multiple incidents occurred during the run with no cautions thrown as the drivers got going. With 10 to go, Shawna Robinson spun in turn 3. With 9 to go, Stanton Barrett spun in turn 5. With 7 to go, Tyler Walker and Jamie McMurray spun in turn 5. With 3 to go, José Luis Ramírez spun in turn 4. While all that was going on, Martin Truex Jr. held onto the lead and Truex would win the first race at Mexico with Truex scoring his first of 6 wins en route to his 2nd Busch Series championship in a row. Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Shane Hmiel, and Boris Said rounded out the top 5 while Rusty Wallace, Clint Bowyer, Kenny Wallace, Ashton Lewis, and Adrián Fernández rounded out the top 10.[4]

Race results

PosCarDriverTeamManufacturerLaps RunLaps LedStatusPoints
1 8 Martin Truex Jr. Chance 2 Motorsports Chevrolet 80 45 running 190
2 21 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 80 2 running 175
3 60 Carl Edwards (R) Roush Racing Ford 80 0 running 165
4 32 Shane Hmiel Braun Racing Chevrolet 80 0 running 160
5 1 Boris Said Phoenix Racing Dodge 80 0 running 155
6 64 Rusty Wallace Rusty Wallace Inc. Dodge 80 0 running 150
7 2 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 80 0 running 146
8 22 Kenny Wallace ppc Racing Ford 80 0 running 142
9 25 Ashton Lewis Team Rensi Motorsports Ford 80 1 running 143
10 5 Adrián Fernández Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 80 4 running 139
11 28 Johnny Sauter Phoenix Racing Dodge 80 0 running 130
12 33 Ron Hornaday Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet 80 0 running 127
13 35 Jason Keller Team Rensi Motorsports Ford 80 0 running 124
14 41 Reed Sorenson (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 80 0 running 121
15 20 Denny Hamlin (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 80 0 running 118
16 47 Jon Wood (R) ST Motorsports Ford 80 0 running 115
17 4 Ryan Hemphill (R) Biagi Brothers Racing Dodge 80 0 running 112
18 90 Elliott Sadler Robert Yates Racing Ford 80 0 running 109
19 36 Stanton Barrett SCT Motorsports Chevrolet 80 4 running 111
20 52 Jimmy Morales Means Motorsports Ford 80 0 running 103
21 12 Tim Fedewa FitzBradshaw Racing Dodge 80 0 running 100
22 14 David Stremme FitzBradshaw Racing Dodge 80 0 running 97
23 58 Brent Sherman (R) Akins Motorsports Dodge 80 0 running 94
24 38 Tyler Walker (R) Akins Motorsports Dodge 80 0 running 91
25 44 Justin Labonte Labonte-Haas Motorsports Chevrolet 80 0 running 88
26 7 Chris Cook NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet 80 0 running 85
27 72 Rubén García Novoa MacDonald Motorsports Chevrolet 80 0 running 82
28 59 Stacy Compton ST Motorsports Ford 80 0 running 79
29 73 Eric Jones Red Cactus Racing Chevrolet 80 0 running 76
30 23 Shawna Robinson Keith Coleman Racing Chevrolet 80 0 running 73
31 43 José Luis Ramírez Curb Agajanian Racing Ford 80 0 running 70
32 34 Randy LaJoie Frank Cicci Racing Chevrolet 80 0 running 67
33 42 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 80 0 running 64
34 11 Paul Menard Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet 77 0 running 61
35 49 Mara Reyes Jay Robinson Racing Ford 75 0 running 58
36 40 Carlos Contreras FitzBradshaw Racing Dodge 73 0 handling 55
37 10 Michel Jourdain Jr. (R) ppc Racing Ford 69 0 running 52
38 66 Jorge Goeters Brewco Motorsports Ford 65 24 engine 54
39 27 David Green Brewco Motorsports Ford 63 0 running 46
40 83 Robby Gordon (i) Robby Gordon Motorsports Chevrolet 56 0 engine 0
41 87 Ron Fellows NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet 54 0 crash 40
42 18 J. J. Yeley Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 20 0 engine 37
43 0 Rafael Martínez Davis Motorsports Chevrolet 0 0 engine 34
Official Race results

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2005 Telcel Motorola 200. March 6, 2005.
  2. Web site: Truex Jr. wins NASCAR race in Mexico City. March 6, 2005.
  3. Web site: Mexico's Goeters wins pole at home. March 6, 2005.
  4. Web site: Press Snoop: Truex wins first Mexican Busch race.. March 8, 2005.