The 2005 Sharpie 500 was the 24th stock car race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and the 45th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, August 27, 2005, before a crowd of 160,000 in Bristol, Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. At race's end, Matt Kenseth of Roush Racing would dominate the race to win his 10th career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series win and his first and only win of the season.^[1] To fill out the podium, Jeff Burton of Richard Childress Racing and Greg Biffle of Roush Racing would finish second and third, respectively.

The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.

The first and only two-hour practice session would occur on Friday, August 26, at 12:00 PM EST.^[2] Greg Biffle of Roush Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 15.247 and an average speed of 125.848 miles per hour (202.533 km/h).^[3]

Qualifying was held on Friday, August 26, at 6:10 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.^[2]

Matt Kenseth of Roush Racing would win the pole, setting a time of 15.073 and an average speed of 127.300 miles per hour (204.869 km/h).^[4]

6 drivers would fail to qualify: Wayne Anderson, Mike Garvey, Johnny Sauter, Morgan Shepherd, P. J. Jones, and Tony Raines.