Ernie Irvan

Ernie Irvan
Miller 400 (Michigan )
Wins Top tens Poles 15 124 22
Fram Filter 500K (Talladega )
Wins Top tens Poles 3 15 5
NAPA 250 (Martinsville )
Wins Top tens Poles 0 8 0

Virgil Earnest "Ernie" Irvan (born January 13, 1959), occasionally referred to as Swervin' Irvan, is an American former professional

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

. 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

Las Vegas

and managed to leave with an additional $200.

Irvan supported himself in

, Irvan won two races his first year and seven races the next year.

Irvan met car-builder

Charlotte

, starting 36th, leading lap 128, and finishing eighth.

In 1988, Irvan made a bid for

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-10 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

, on August 25. Ernie wrapped up the season with three poles, one victory, six Top 5’s, and 13 Top 10’s; 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

Irvan's 1992 season was highlighted by three more victories -

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

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 #4 and took over the #28 at the Southern 500 at Darlington the next week, where he started 10th 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 (including two poles) 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 20 races of the season. Entering the

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 (273 km/h). 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

.

Less than two months later, at the gala NASCAR Awards Banquet in New York, Irvan walked on stage at the

for the most poles won during the season.

Recovery and comeback

Throughout the first eight months of 1995, Irvan remained focused on returning to Winston Cup racing and did broadcast work for TNN while recovering. He went through rehabilitation and strength training to regain his physical strength. On September 16, NASCAR cleared Irvan for competition. His first attempt at qualifying for a race since his absence, the NASCAR

race at Martinsville in late September, ended when the field was set by points standings after qualifying was rained out.

The following weekend's events at North Wilkesboro Speedway would see Irvan qualify on the outside pole for the Truck Series event. Six laps after the green flag was dropped, Irvan passed pole sitter Mike Skinner for the lead. Irvan led another 23 laps before mechanical problems sidelined him.

That, however, was not the story of the weekend. For the first time since his accident at Michigan, Irvan entered a Winston Cup race. Driving in the #88 Texaco Havoline Ford as teammate to

For the 1996 season, Irvan moved back into the #28 Ford as Jarrett, his substitute, became his full-time teammate in the #88.

Irvan's comeback season started well when he qualified on the front row for the season opening Daytona 500 beside Dale Earnhardt. During Speedweeks, Irvan captured a victory in the 125-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500. As the season progressed, Irvan won the pole position for the spring race at Talladega, then scored victories at New Hampshire and Richmond. On his way to a top-10 finish in the Winston Cup points standings, he collected 12 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes, led 15 of the 31 events, and earned a career-best $1,670,113.

Irvan returned for the 1997 season and notched his 15th career win. The victory came in June at Michigan Speedway, the track that nearly claimed his life three years earlier. Irvan ran up five top-five finishes, 13 top-10s and two pole positions and earned $1,614,281. This would be also be Ernie Irvan's final season with Robert Yates. Irvan would be involved in an altercation in Charlotte during Easter weekend where he refused to dance with a female patron and escalated into a fight in the parking lot. In May, Irvan arrived late to a reception dinner thanking Texaco for 10 years of support.

.

Last years in NASCAR and retirement

In 1998, Irvan joined

Pontiac. During the year he scored 11 top-10 finishes with three pole positions despite missing the final three races while recovering from injuries suffered at Talladega in October. Irvan finished the season 19th in the Winston Cup points standings, earning $1,476,141. His highlight of 1998 was the birth of his son, Jared, on February 9. Irvan continued driving the No. 36 for MB2 in 1999, but with a different sponsor. M&M Mars (parent corporation of Skittles) decided to emblazon the popular M&Ms characters on the car.

On August 20, exactly five years after his near fatal accident there, Irvan crashed at Michigan while driving his own No. 84 Irvan-Simo Federated Auto Parts Pontiac in a practice session for the Busch Series race. Irvan was again airlifted from the track and was diagnosed with a mild head injury and a bruised lung as a result of the accident.

Two weeks later, on September 3, 1999, surrounded by his wife and two children, Irvan announced his retirement from driving at a tearful press conference in Darlington, South Carolina. While he would fully recover before the end of the 1999 season, the reasoning for his retirement was to prevent future incidents while he had a family to support.

Irvan finished his Winston Cup career as a driver with 15 victories, 22 poles, 68 top-fives, 124 top-10s and over 11 million dollars in career earnings.^[1]

After retirement from NASCAR

Just before his final years in NASCAR, Irvan briefly co-owned a NASCAR Truck Series team in partnership with Mark Simo and No Fear. The team's first driver was Joe Ruttman, who finished second in points in 1995. The team's next and most famous driver was sports-car racer Boris Said, who drove the #44 Irvan-Simo Racing truck sponsored by Federated Auto Parts. Said's only win was at Sonoma in 1998. The team also fielded a part-time Cup effort with Said in 1999, where Said qualified 2nd at Watkins Glen, led 9 laps, but retired with a blown engine.

Afterwards, Irvan announced he was planning to start a Cup team with Mark Simo with sponsorship from Federated Auto Parts, but it never materialized.

After a fire in his house destroyed all of his trophies in March 2000, NASCAR presented Irvan with replicas of the lost trophies.^[5]

As of 2007, he is the crew chief on his son Jared's

season.

Irvan attended five NASCAR races in 2006, promoting a foundation that he formed called Race2safety as an advocate for head-injury awareness.[5] The foundation promotes awareness and prevention of head injuries, especially among children.^[1]

Irvan attended the 50th annual Daytona 500 and was one of the 24 grand marshals giving the command to start the engines.

The Irvan family used to live in Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina, near Charleston, where they owned El Cardenal Farm and organized the Equestrian Club of Charleston. According to Irvan on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Dirty Mo Media podcast in September 2020, he and his wife currently live in Ocala, Florida.

Irvan and his family were featured on NASCAR Now on its "Wayback Wednesday" segment. It featured him and his wife on their ranch in South Carolina.

Irvan was (and still is) recognized on

In June 2016, Irvan was inducted into the Sonoma Raceway Wall of Fame.^[7] He currently helps out his son Jared in his racing career and spends time with his family on their farm.^[8][9]

Career highlights

Winston Cup victories (15 career wins)

• 1997 (One win)
  Miller 400 (Michigan
  )
• 1996 (Two wins)
  Richmond
  )
• 1994 (Three wins)
  Sonoma
  )
• 1993 (Three wins)
  Charlotte
  )
• 1992 (Three wins)
  DieHard 500 (Talladega
  )
• 1991 (Two wins)
  Budweiser At The Glen (Watkins Glen
  )
• 1990 (One win)
  Busch 500 (Bristol
  )

Busch Series victories (three career wins)

• 1992 (Two wins)
  Fram Filter 500K (Talladega
  )
• 1991 (One win) AC-Delco 200 (
  Rockingham
  )

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	NWCC	Pts	Ref
1987	Reno Enterprises	56	Chevy	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	NWS	BRI	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	POC	RSD	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH 29	DOV			CLT 8	CAR								53rd	324	[10]
	U.S. Racing	6	Chevy																								MAR 15	NWS 22			RSD 19	ATL
1988		2		DAY DNQ	RCH	CAR 25	ATL 18	DAR 22	BRI 26			TAL 32	CLT 22	DOV 26	RSD 31	POC 37	MCH 15	DAY 25	POC 22	TAL 32				DAR 20		DOV 13												26th	2319	[11]
			Pontiac							NWS 24	MAR										GLN 29	MCH 33	BRI 15		RCH 28		MAR 11	CLT	NWS 26	CAR 15	PHO 22	ATL 18
1989				DAY 41	CAR 23	ATL 12	RCH 9	DAR 24	BRI 29	NWS 10	MAR 19	TAL 25	CLT 15	DOV 17	SON 23	POC 26	MCH 18	DAY 23	POC 26	TAL 20	GLN 24	MCH 25	BRI 15	DAR 24	RCH 26	DOV 33	MAR 6	CLT 33	NWS 8	CAR 16	PHO 33	ATL 11						22nd	2919	[12]
1990	Donlavey Racing	90	Ford	DAY 13	RCH 22	CAR 29																																9th	3593	[13]
	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	4	Olds				ATL 3	DAR 32	BRI 16	NWS 16	MAR 15	TAL 4	CLT 5	DOV 7	SON 7	POC 17	MCH 2	DAY 33	POC 26								MAR 11	NWS 6
			Chevy																	TAL 6	GLN 28	MCH 35	BRI 1	DAR 2	RCH 12	DOV 26			CLT 27	CAR 9	PHO 9	ATL 7
1991				DAY 1	RCH 27	CAR 6	ATL 14	DAR 7	BRI 2	NWS 10	MAR 15	TAL 32	CLT 7	DOV 4	SON 4	POC 6	MCH 5	DAY 5*	POC 7*	TAL 33	GLN 1*	MCH 7	BRI 18	DAR 2	RCH 4	DOV 28	MAR 4	NWS 33	CLT 30	CAR 31	PHO 6	ATL 2						5th	3925	[14]
1992				DAY 28	CAR 11	RCH 15	ATL 25	DAR 26	BRI 24	NWS 13	MAR 25	TAL 5	CLT 2	DOV 4	SON 1	POC 19	MCH 30	DAY 1*	POC 37	TAL 1	GLN 3*	MCH 4	BRI 28	DAR 25	RCH 11	DOV 11	MAR 27	NWS 6	CLT 6	CAR 2	PHO 34	ATL 29						11th	3580	[15]
1993				DAY 37	CAR 3	RCH 11	ATL 2	DAR 22	BRI 23	NWS 11	MAR 32	TAL 1	SON 2	CLT 5	DOV 32	POC 34	MCH 3	DAY 7	NHA 15	POC 31	TAL 2	GLN 15	MCH 32	BRI 26														6th	3834	[16]
	Yates Racing	28	Ford																						DAR 5	RCH 36	DOV 26	MAR 1*	NWS 3	CLT 1*	CAR 6	PHO 2	ATL 12
1994				DAY 2*	CAR 5	RCH 1*	ATL 1*	DAR 6	BRI 33	NWS 3*	MAR 2	TAL 2*	SON 1*	CLT 5	DOV 2*	POC 7	MCH 18	DAY 2*	NHA 30*	POC 37	TAL 3*	IND 17	GLN 2	MCH Wth†	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO	ATL				22nd	3026	[17]
1995		88		DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	SON	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	DAY	NHA	POC	TAL	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS 6	CLT	CAR DNQ	PHO 40*	ATL 7				48th	354	[18]
1996		28		DAY 35	CAR 14	RCH 38	ATL 4	DAR 33	BRI 16	NWS 6	MAR 2	TAL 31	SON 42	CLT 9	DOV 4	POC 39	MCH 5	DAY 5	NHA 1	POC 4	TAL 4	IND 2	GLN 35	MCH 4	BRI 36	DAR 7	RCH 1	DOV 36	MAR 12	NWS 36	CLT 37	CAR 4	PHO 7	ATL 36				10th	3632	[19]
1997				DAY 20	CAR 9	RCH 36	ATL 2	DAR 21	TEX 36	BRI 39	MAR 31	SON 8	TAL 10	CLT 13*	DOV 30	POC 29	MCH 1	CAL 37	DAY 9	NHA 8	POC 40	IND 10*	GLN 21	MCH 4	BRI 41	DAR 33	RCH 23	NHA 2	DOV 9	MAR 10	CLT 18	TAL 5	CAR 28	PHO 18	ATL 12			14th	3534	[20]
1998	MB2 Motorsports	36	Pontiac	DAY 6	CAR 19	LVS 30	ATL 15	DAR 36	BRI 20	TEX 43	MAR 9	TAL 6	CAL 13	CLT 11	DOV 9	RCH 29	MCH 14	POC 34	SON 36	NHA 20	POC 9	IND 6	GLN 33	MCH 6*	BRI 22	NHA 28	DAR 6	RCH 14	DOV 8	MAR 8	CLT 31	TAL 37	DAY 8	PHO	CAR	ATL		19th	3262	[21]
1999				DAY 14	CAR 29	LVS 6	ATL 7	DAR 24	TEX 37	BRI 43	MAR 22	TAL 40	CAL 35	RCH 33	CLT 36	DOV 35	MCH 7	POC 8	SON 30	DAY 9	NHA 21	POC 11	IND 24	GLN 41	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	NHA	DOV	MAR	CLT	TAL	CAR	PHO	HOM	ATL	40th	1915	[22]
† - Withdrew after getting injured in practice

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1988	U.S. Racing	Chevrolet	DNQ
1989		Pontiac	33	41
1990	Donlavey Racing	Ford	18	13
1991	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	Chevy	2	1
1992			7	28
1993			8	37
1994	Yates Racing	Ford	3	2
1996	Yates Racing	Ford	2	35
1997			5	20
1998	MB2 Motorsports	Pontiac	10	6
1999			31	14

Busch Series

Busch Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	NBGNC	Pts	Ref
1986	Reno Enterprises	09	Pontiac	DAY	CAR	HCY	MAR	BRI	DAR	SBO	LGY	JFC	DOV	CLT	SBO	HCY	ROU	IRP	SBO	RAL	OXF	SBO	HCY	LGY	ROU	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	ROU	CLT 27	CAR 35	MAR		68th	140	[23]
1990	Rodney Franklin	58	Pontiac	DAY 7	RCH	CAR 5	MAR	HCY	DAR	BRI	LAN	SBO	NZH	HCY																						42nd	742	[24]
	Henderson Motorsports	75	Olds												CLT 40	DOV 26	ROU	VOL	MYB	OXF	NHA	SBO	DUB	IRP 2	ROU	BRI 27	DAR 34	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT	NHA	CAR	MAR
1991	Ernie Irvan Racing	10	Chevy	DAY 41	RCH	CAR 37	MAR	VOL	HCY 27	DAR 27	BRI 22*	LAN	SBO	NZH	CLT 23	DOV 13*	ROU	HCY	MYB			NHA 5	SBO	DUB	IRP	ROU	BRI 31	DAR 11	RCH 10	DOV	CLT 24	NHA 36	CAR 1	MAR		28th	1551	[25]
		4																		GLN 3	OXF
1992				DAY 2	CAR	RCH	ATL 36	MAR	DAR	BRI	HCY 29	LAN	DUB	NZH 36	CLT 41	DOV	ROU	MYB	GLN 1*	VOL	NHA	TAL 1			MCH 31						CLT 39	MAR	CAR 31	HCY		31st	1237	[26]
			Olds																				IRP 5	ROU		NHA 33*	BRI	DAR	RCH 29*	DOV
1993			Chevy	DAY 39	CAR	RCH	DAR	BRI					CLT 2*	DOV	MYB	GLN 36	MLW	TAL 17	IRP 24*	MCH 35	NHA	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	ROU										39th	901	[27]
			Olds						HCY 27*	ROU	MAR	NZH
		41	Chevy																								CLT 32
	BACE Motorsports	74	Chevy																									MAR 9	CAR
	Ken Schrader Racing	52	Chevy																											HCY 27	ATL
1994	Ernie Irvan Racing	28	Ford	DAY 5	CAR	RCH	ATL 40	MAR	DAR	HCY	BRI	ROU	NHA 43	NZH	CLT 5	DOV 40	MYB	GLN	MLW 36	SBO	TAL 30	HCY	IRP	MCH 42	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT	MAR	CAR					51st	558	[28]
1995				DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	NSV	DAR	BRI	HCY	NHA	NZH	CLT	DOV	MYB	GLN	MLW	TAL	SBO	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT	CAR	HOM DNQ							NA	-	[29]
1997	Phoenix Racing	4	Chevy	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	LVS	DAR	HCY	TEX	BRI	NSV	TAL	NHA	NZH	CLT 28	DOV	SBO	GLN	MLW	MYB	GTY	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT	CAL	CAR	HOM			101st	79	[30]
1999	Irvan-Simo Racing	14	Pontiac	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	TEX	NSV	BRI	TAL	CAL	NHA	RCH 39	NZH	CLT	DOV 34	SBO	GLN	MLW	MYB	PPR	GTY	IRP											107th	107	[31]
		84																								MCH DNQ	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT	CAR	MEM	PHO	HOM

Craftsman Truck Series

Craftsman Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	NCTC	Pts	Ref
1995	Irvan-Simo Racing	28	Ford	PHO	TUS	SGS	MMR	POR	EVG	I70	LVL	BRI	MLW	CNS	HPT	IRP	FLM	RCH	MAR DNQ	NWS 30	SON	MMR 3	PHO 2								45th	408	[32]
1996				HOM	PHO	POR	EVG	TUS	CNS	HPT	BRI	NZH	MLW	LVL	I70	IRP	FLM	GLN 25	NSV	RCH	NHA 5	MAR	NWS	SON	MMR	PHO	LVS 29				60th	39	[33]
1997				WDW	TUS	HOM	PHO	POR	EVG	I70	NHA	TEX	BRI	NZH	MLW	LVL	CNS	HPT	IRP	FLM	NSV	GLN	RCH 36	MAR 2	SON	MMR	CAL 4	PHO	LVS		52nd	385	[34]
1998				WDW	HOM	PHO	POR	EVG	I70	GLN	TEX	BRI	MLW	NZH	CAL 2	PPR	IRP	NHA	FLM	NSV	HPT	LVL	RCH 2	MEM	GTY	MAR	SON	MMR	PHO	LVS	50th	340	[35]
1999		44		HOM	PHO	EVG	MMR	MAR 8	MEM	PPR	I70	BRI	TEX	PIR	GLN	MLW	NSV	NZH	MCH	NHA	IRP	GTY	HPT	RCH	LVS	LVL	TEX	CAL			78th	142	[36]

ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	APSC	Pts	Ref
1989	Tri-Star Motorsports	18	Pontiac	DAY	ATL	KIL	TAL	FRS	POC	KIL	HAG	POC	TAL	DEL	FRS	ISF	TOL	DSF	SLM	ATL 1*	105th	-	[37]

References

External links

• Ernie Irvan driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Ernie Irvan owner statistics at Racing-Reference
• Lawsuit news story
• Lawsuit op-ed column

Achievements
Preceded by Derrike Cope	Daytona 500 winner 1991	Succeeded by Davey Allison