Ernie Irvan gets a special win at New Hampshire track

Thursday, Jun. 25, 2009

There hardly was a dry eye that summer Sunday 13 years ago at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Not among the estimated 82,000 fans on hand and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series teams gathered for the Jiffy Lube 300.

And not among the millions watching the race telecast from the New England track, where the Lenox Tools 301 Sprint Cup Series event is scheduled this weekend.

That's because Ernie Irvan was the winner, dramatically and touchingly capping a comeback from life-threatening injuries he suffered only 99 weeks earlier.

A crash during practice at Michigan International Speedway in August of 1994 prior to the GM Goodwrench 400 dealt Irvan such terrible head and lung trauma that doctors at a hospital in Ypsilanti, near Detroit, initially gave him only a 10 percent chance to survive.

I remember that awful morning well.

A media pal and I were driving to the track in Michigan's Irish Hills from our lodging in nearby Adrian. At an intersection near the speedway we heard a siren and pulled over.

Two police cars went speeding by, followed by a van and two other private vehicles.

"Reckon what's going on?" my friend asked.

"Probably just some VIP friends of Roger Penske (the MIS owner) getting a police escort," I reasoned.

Wrong.

The caravan was rushing those close to Ernie to be with him at the hospital: His wife, Kim, and father, Vic, along with his team owner Robert Yates, crew chief Larry McReynolds and others.

Irvan had been flown minutes earlier by helicopter directly to Ypsilanti from the crash site near turn two. The star driver was hurt so badly that the track’s medical team knew seconds counted, and didn’t bother taking him to the infield infirmary.

Drivers who had been on the track with Irvan at the time of his 170 mph crash desribed what happened:

"As Ernie exited Turn 2 I saw his car's right-front dip down a little bit, like he might have cut a tire," said Ted Musgrave. "With the right-front flat, the car just went straight. It hit the wall very, very hard."

Despite the grim early prognosis, California native Irvan survived, fighting with the same bravery and determination he’d shown in winning 13 big-time races, including the 1991 Daytona 500.

But the odds that he'd ever drive a race car again appeared incredibly long.

However, Ernie DID come back.

In March of 1995 he drove well in a testing session at Darlington Raceway. By early fall he'd been given NASCAR clearance to return to the cockpit.

His first start came in the Tyson Holly farms 400 on Oct. 1 at North Wilkesboro. He led 31 laps, eventually finishing sixth.

Irvan triumphed for Yates' team once more on Feb. 15, 1996, in a 125-mile qualifying race leading to the Daytona 500.

Now, with tears flowing freely and all around, he returned to Victory Lane in a NASCAR points race on July 14, 1996, amid the green forests of New Hampshire.

"I knew in my heart and mind that I was going to win again," said Ernie in Victory Lane. "I never, ever gave up hope. There was no doubt in my mind that this day would come."

Fine pit work played a pivotal role in the storybook win.

During a final pit stop on the 245th of the race's 300 laps on the 1.058-mile track Yates and McReynolds decided to just put on right-side tires and refuel. When rivals pitted later, it enabled Irvan to take the lead on the 278th lap and he was ahead the rest of the way, finishing 5.47 seconds ahead of the runner-up, his teammate Dale Jarrett.

"Gosh, the emotions are overflowing," said McReynolds. "Ernie's comeback is complete now. We're not in comeback mode any more."

Irvan's peers praised his overall perseverance and the performance at the speedway near Loudon, N.H.

Said Jarrett: "I can't express how glad I am to see Ernie win. It's just terrific. I think this is one of the great days in racing."

Added Ricky Rudd: "What Ernie has done serves as an inspiration to all of us. He has shown that if we get hurt real bad, we can overcome the injuries and return to race competitively again."

Irvan triumphed one more time, taking the Miller 400 at Richmond in Sept. of 1996.

Almost unbelievably, Ernie experienced another hard crash at Michigan on Aug. 20, 1999, once more suffering a head injury. He retired about a month later, finishing with 15 victories, 22 poles and approximately $11 million in winnings.

During NASCAR's Golden Anniversary celebration in 1998 Irvan, who lives with his family near Mooresville, N.C., and operates a chain of businesses, was honored as one of the sanctioning body's 50 greatest drivers.

Although he won much bigger, richer races, to me his most memorable victory came in New Hampshire almost 13 years ago. It was a triumph not only for Ernie Irvan, but for the human spirit as well.

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