The 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 57th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 34th modern-era Cup series. The season began on Saturday, February 12. The ten-race Chase for the Nextel Cup started with the Sylvania 300 on Sunday, September 18, and ended on Sunday, November 20, with the Ford 400. Tony Stewart was the dominant driver going into the ten race "playoff" with five wins. Going into the final race before the Chase for the Cup, Stewart had amassed a 209-point lead over his nearest competitor, Greg Biffle. Points are reset going into the Chase for the cup, and Stewart's lead was dropped to a 5-point margin. Leading into the final race before the Chase, ten racers were still mathematically contending for the final four spots in the Chase and only one point separated Jamie McMurray in 10th from Ryan Newman in 11th. In the end, the ten racers who qualified for the Chase for the Cup were: Tony Stewart (3716) Greg Biffle (−185) Rusty Wallace (−304) Jimmie Johnson (−316) Kurt Busch (−412) Mark Martin (−443) Jeremy Mayfield (−488) Carl Edwards (−602) Matt Kenseth (−602) Ryan Newman (−661) Overall, Roush Racing was the dominant team going into the Chase for the Cup with five of the ten final racers from their organization (Biffle, Busch, Martin, Edwards, and Kenseth). This was the first season since his rookie season that Jeff Gordon did not finish in the top 10 in points. The 2005 season was the first year of competition for the Dodge Charger since 1977, which replaced the Dodge Intrepid, a model that Dodge dropped from its consumer lineup for the 2005 model year. The change did little to improve Dodge's fortunes as a distant third manufacturer in NASCAR Nextel Cup behind Ford and Chevrolet. In 2004, Dodge won 4 of 36 cup races with the Intrepid. In 2005, the Charger won three races. The Charger was, however, much more of a success in the Busch Series, winning 10 of 32. The 2005 season was the final year for the Ford Taurus, which was replaced by the Ford Fusion in the 2006 season. In addition, two prominent drivers announced that this would be their final season in NASCAR: Mark Martin, and 1989 Winston Cup Champion Rusty Wallace. Wallace would stay with his word and retire at season's end, but Martin, however, would return