58 Facts About Ernie Irvan

Ernie Irvan has been inducted into numerous halls of fame and was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.

Ernie Irvan began his racing career driving karts in California in 1968 at the age of nine.

Ernie Irvan won the California Championship at the age of 15.

In 1974, Ernie Irvan finished second in the country in his class at the national kart championship races.

In 1975, Ernie Irvan moved up to stock cars at the age of 16 at Stockton 99 Speedway and was victorious in his first race on asphalt in a semi-main event.

Ernie Irvan missed his high school graduation ceremony to race at Riverside, California.

In 1982, Ernie 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, Ernie Irvan stopped in Las Vegas and managed to leave with an additional $200.

Ernie 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.

Ernie Irvan met car-builder Marc Reno and they became partners in their racing ventures.

In 1988, Ernie Irvan made a bid for NASCAR Rookie of the Year, driving Ulrich's No 2 Kroger Chevrolets and Pontiacs.

Ernie 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.

Ernie Irvan finished 26th in the final points standings with winnings for the year totaling $96,370.

In 1989 Ernie Irvan started all 29 races in his first full year in the Winston Cup Series behind the wheel of Ulrich's US Racing Pontiac.

Ernie Irvan went on to lead 56 laps before being sidelined in an accident on lap 167.

Ernie Irvan finished 22nd in the final standings for the year with winnings totaling $155,239.

True Cure failed to fulfill its financial obligations, and after three races, Ernie Irvan was told he could seek other opportunities.

Ernie Irvan moved over to Morgan-McClure Motorsports' No 4 Kodak-sponsored Oldsmobile, filling the vacancy left by Phil Parsons.

Ernie Irvan then won his first Winston Cup pole position, at Bristol, in the spring.

Ernie Irvan wrapped up the season with three poles, one victory, six Top 5's, and 13 Top 10's; he won $535,280 and finished ninth in the final point standings.

In February 1991, Ernie 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, Ernie 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.

Ernie 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.

Ernie Irvan finished the year fifth in Winston Cup driver standings and won $1,079,017.

Ernie Irvan picked up his first Busch Grand National Series win in the AC-Delco 200 at Rockingham.

Ernie 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.

Ernie Irvan had three pole positions, nine Top 5's, and 11 Top 10's, $996,885 in winnings, and finished 11th in the final season points standing.

Ernie Irvan scored a pair of Busch Grand National wins at Watkins Glen and Talladega.

Ernie 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, Ernie Irvan obtained nine poles, seven wins, and 51 Top 10 finishes in 105 starts.

On July 12,1993, Ernie Irvan experienced a significant personal loss when his friend, Davey Allison, died from injuries sustained in a helicopter crash outside of Talladega.

Ernie 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.

Ernie Irvan scored five front-row positions and two victories in his nine races that season with RYR.

Ernie 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, Ernie Irvan was a factor and was leading with five laps to go when a tire puncture forced him to pit and lose a lap.

Ernie Irvan decided to run one more lap and subsequently blew a tire.

One of the other members of the crew discovered that Ernie Irvan had crashed, and McReynolds and several others commandeered the pace car to take a ride over to the scene.

Less than two months later, at the gala NASCAR Awards Banquet in New York, Ernie Irvan walked on stage at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel's Grand Ballroom to receive the True Value Hard Charger Award.

Ernie Irvan went through rehabilitation and strength training to regain his physical strength.

Six laps after the green flag was dropped, Ernie Irvan passed pole sitter Mike Skinner for the lead.

Ernie Irvan led another 23 laps before mechanical problems sidelined him.

Ernie Irvan held the lead for 31 laps and finished on the lead lap in sixth position.

Ernie Irvan started at Phoenix International Raceway a few weeks later but could not stay in the race due to engine failure, but he did lead the most laps despite having to start last in the field due to a crash in practice.

Ernie Irvan started the season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway and finished seventh.

Ernie Irvan returned for the 1997 season and notched his 15th career win.

Ernie Irvan ran up five top-five finishes, 13 top-10s and two pole positions and earned $1,614,281.

Ernie 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 1998, Ernie Irvan joined MB2 Motorsports to drive the No 36 Skittles Pontiac.

Ernie Irvan finished the season 19th in the Winston Cup points standings, earning $1,476,141.

Ernie Irvan continued driving the No 36 for MB2 in 1999, but with a different sponsor.

Ernie 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, Ernie Irvan announced his retirement from driving at a tearful press conference in Darlington, South Carolina.

Ernie 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.

Just before his final years in NASCAR, Ernie Irvan briefly co-owned a NASCAR Truck Series team in partnership with Mark Simo and No Fear.

Ernie Irvan attended five NASCAR races in 2006, promoting a foundation that he formed called Race2safety as an advocate for head-injury awareness.

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

The Ernie 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.

In June 2016, Ernie Irvan was inducted into the Sonoma Raceway Wall of Fame.

Ernie Irvan currently helps out his son Jared in his racing career and spends time with his family on their farm.