Ernie Irvan
Virgil Earnest Irvan, occasionally referred to as Swervin' Irvan, is an American former professional stock car racing driver. A retired NASCAR competitor, he is perhaps best remembered for his comeback after a serious head injury suffered from a crash during practice at Michigan International Speedway in 1994 that left him with only a 10% chance of survival. Irvan has been inducted into numerous halls of fame and was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998. After a series of injuries in the late 1990s, he retired from racing in 1999.
Early career
Irvan began his racing career driving karts in California in 1968 at the age of nine. He won the California Championship at the age of fifteen. In 1974, Irvan finished second in the country in his class at the national kart championship races. In 1975, Irvan moved up to stock cars at the age of sixteen at Stockton 99 Speedway and was victorious in his first race on asphalt in a semi-main event. From then until 1981 Irvan raced every weekend at Madera and Stockton, California, winning numerous feature events. He missed his high school graduation ceremony to race at Riverside, California. During this time, he lost his best friend, Tim Williamson, in a racing accident at Riverside, several months before he was slated to test in the Winston Cup.Early Winston Cup
In 1982, Irvan left California with $700 in his pocket and everything he owned loaded into his pickup truck and a homemade trailer, and he headed east to North Carolina. Worried about running out of money, Irvan stopped in Las Vegas and managed to leave with an additional $200.Irvan supported himself in Charlotte, North Carolina by welding grandstand seats at Charlotte Motor Speedway, unloading Ken Schrader's moving van, building racecars, and other odd jobs. During that time, he won nine races driving in the late model series at Concord Speedway. Driving a Firebird, Irvan won two races his first year and seven races the next year.
Irvan met car-builder Marc Reno and they became partners in their racing ventures. Before long, Irvan made his Winston Cup debut, on September 13, 1987, at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway driving the No. 56 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. The car, built and prepared by Irvan and Reno, was sponsored by Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet. Irvan qualified twentieth but was sidelined after 35 laps after the car's engine overheated. He finished 29th and won $860. Irvan was noticed by long-time owner and driver D.K. Ulrich and made three additional starts in Ulrich's No. 6 car, finishing fifteenth at Martinsville, 22nd at North Wilkesboro Speedway, and 19th at Riverside. In October, Irvan drove the No. 56, again sponsored by Dale Earnhardt, in his first Winston Cup start at Charlotte, starting 36th, leading lap 128, and finishing eighth.
In 1988, Irvan made a bid for NASCAR Rookie of the Year, driving Ulrich's No. 2 Kroger Chevrolets and Pontiacs. Irvan competed in 25 of the 29 Winston Cup Series events, losing rookie-of-the-year honors to Ken Bouchard by three points in the closest battle in Winston Cup history. Irvan's best finish of the year was 11th at Martinsville in September. He finished 26th in the final points standings with winnings for the year totaling $96,370. In 1989 Irvan started all 29 races in his first full year in the Winston Cup Series behind the wheel of Ulrich's U.S. Racing Pontiac. Irvan started 25th at Bristol in April and caught leader Mark Martin after 38 laps. Irvan went on to lead 56 laps before being sidelined in an accident on lap 167. Irvan's sixth-place finish at Martinsville in September gave him his best of four top-ten finishes for the year. Irvan finished 22nd in the final standings for the year with winnings totaling $155,239.
1990s success
After sponsorship problems plagued Ulrich's team, Irvan left to race for Junie Donlavey, who had procured a sponsorship program with True Cure. True Cure failed to fulfill its financial obligations, and after three races, Irvan was told he could seek other opportunities. He moved over to Morgan-McClure Motorsports' No. 4 Kodak-sponsored Oldsmobile, filling the vacancy left by Phil Parsons. After starting 30th in his first race for the new team, Irvan charged to the front and grabbed a third-place finish, the first top-five of his career. The next race, at Darlington Raceway, he became involved in controversy after being involved in an accident that nearly killed Neil Bonnett. Irvan then won his first Winston Cup pole position, at Bristol, in the spring. He won his first Winston Cup race, in the Busch 500 at Bristol, on August 25. Ernie wrapped up the season with three poles, one victory, six top-fives, and thirteen top-tens; he also won $535,280 and finished ninth in the final point standings.In February 1991, Irvan drove the Morgan-McClure Chevrolet to victory in the Daytona 500, stock car racing's most prestigious and then most lucrative race. Four years earlier, Irvan watched the 500 on a borrowed black and white TV while washing cars, one of several jobs he worked to support both his family and his struggling career. Irvan's next victory came later in the season at Watkins Glen International Raceway. The race was marred by the death of popular veteran J. D. McDuffie. Irvan ended the year with two victories, three second-place and four fourth-place finishes among his eleven top-five and nineteen top-10 finishes in 29 starts. He finished the year fifth in Winston Cup driver standings and won $1,079,017. Irvan also picked up his first Busch Grand National Series win in the AC-Delco 200 at Rockingham. During this time, Irvan came under more controversy due to his aggressive driving style, earning him the nickname "Swervin' Irvan" by his fellow competitors. Irvan apologized to his fellow drivers in a televised speech at the driver's meeting before the 1991 Diehard 500 after speaking with Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty about improving his image.
Irvan's 1992 season was highlighted by three more victories - Sonoma in June; Daytona in July; and Talladega in July. He had three pole positions, nine top-fives, and eleven top-tens, $996,885 in winnings, and finished eleventh in the final season points standing. He scored a pair of Busch Grand National wins at Watkins Glen and Talladega. He suffered a broken collarbone in an accident during a Busch Series race in March at Atlanta and twelve finishes of 24th or worse including seven he did not finish. On November 21, 1992, he married Kim Baker.
Moving to Robert Yates Racing
Irvan continued his tenure with Morgan-McClure in 1993, adding poles at Dover in June and Daytona in July and a victory at Talladega in May. In total, while driving for Morgan-McClure, Irvan obtained nine poles, seven wins, and 51 Top 10 finishes in 105 starts. On July 12, 1993, Irvan experienced a significant personal loss when his friend, Davey Allison, died from injuries sustained in a helicopter crash outside of Talladega. Robert Yates, Allison's team owner, asked Irvan to replace him as the driver of the No. 28 Texaco-Havoline Ford at Robert Yates Racing. Morgan-McClure was unwilling to let Irvan out of his contract with the team, and a lawsuit ensued.After the night race at Bristol in August, Irvan was released from his duties driving the No. 4 and took over the No. 28 at the Southern 500 at Darlington the next week, where he started tenth and finished fifth. Irvan's first victory with RYR came in his fourth start with the team when he won at Martinsville later that same month. Irvan dedicated his victory that day to Allison and then followed that victory two weeks later with one at Charlotte in which he led all but six laps. Irvan scored five front-row positions and two victories in his nine races that season with RYR. Irvan was ranked ninth in driver standings at the time of his departure from Morgan-McClure, but he rose to sixth in the final standings. At the 1994 Brickyard 400, Irvan was a factor and was leading with five laps to go when a tire puncture forced him to pit and lose a lap.
Head injury
In August 1994, Irvan was a contender for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship throughout the first twenty races of the season. Entering the GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 at Michigan on August 21, Irvan was in a close battle with Dale Earnhardt as the class of the field. They were matched on wins with three each, while Irvan led in top-five finishes and winnings and trailed Earnhardt by 27 points after having led the standings for most of the season. Although only running 20 out of 31 races in the 1994 season, Irvan was ahead of all drivers in miles led.His contention for the championship ended during a Saturday early-morning practice session at Michigan. Upon seeing how Irvan's car was handling on the track, Irvan's crew chief, Larry McReynolds, instructed Irvan to pit. Irvan decided to run one more lap and subsequently blew a tire.
The #28 careened into the concrete wall exiting turn two at 170 miles per hour. McReynolds, unaware that his driver had crashed, radioed to Irvan that the caution flag had just been displayed at the flag stand. One of the other members of the crew discovered that Irvan had crashed, and McReynolds and several others commandeered the pace car to take a ride over to the scene. Officials on the scene, however, refused to let them near the wreck due to the seriousness of the situation.
Track medical staff tended to Irvan, with a local trauma doctor offering assistance by performing an emergency tracheotomy to help him breathe. Irvan was then airlifted to Saint Joseph's Hospital in nearby Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was diagnosed with a basilar skull fracture and lung injuries and given only a 10% chance of surviving the night. Irvan clung to life for the first two days. By early September, Irvan was listed in "fair" condition and was removed from ventilator support. A few weeks later, he was deemed well enough to be transferred to the Charlotte Institute of Rehabilitation in Charlotte. A few weeks following the transfer, Irvan appeared and addressed the fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway prior to the start of the Mello Yello 500.
Less than two months later, at the gala NASCAR Awards Banquet in New York, Irvan walked on stage at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel's Grand Ballroom to receive the True Value Hard Charger Award. Despite missing the final 11 races at the end of the season, Irvan still ranked among the top five for the most laps led. In addition, Irvan tied Geoff Bodine for the most poles won during the season.