Ernie Irvan had the elusive dream of becoming a big-time racing driver. But long after his move from Salinas, Calif., to Charlotte, N.C., the closest he could get to the real thing was watching the Daytona 500 on a borrowed black-and-white TV. That year, 1987, the 28-year-old Irvan found himself washing cars for a living. Imagine his satisfaction, four years later, when he drove the winning car at the Daytona race.

He got his first break in September 1987 when he began driving for Marc Freno. He subsequently drove two years for D.K. Ullrich before joining Kodak’s Morgan/McClure Racing team in 1990. It was during this period that his fortunes really improved. Over the next three-and-a-half seasons, he logged seven victories, beginning with the 1990 Busch 500 at Bristol, Tenn., and including a win at Watkins Glen, N.Y., and two at Daytona, Fla. His best overall finish was fifth in 1991.

In the middle of the 1993 season, Ernie switched to the Texaco/Havoline Yates Racing team following the death of Davey Allison in a helicopter accident. Only nine events remained on the 1993 calendar, but Ernie made the most of them. He reeled off nine consecutive top-10 qualifying efforts, three outside poles and seven top-five starts. He capped these achievements with victories on the Martinsville, Va., short track and the Charlotte, N.C., super speedway, where he had worked part-time while waiting for his big break. In addition, Ernie scored top-five finishes at Darlington, S.C.; North Wilkesboro, N.C.; and Phoeniz, Ariz., and a sixth at Rockingham, N.C. His overall record with the two owners netted him sixth place in championship points and the fourth ranking in money earned during 1993.

The following year, Ernie started as the dominant driver on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit and eventually won the prestigious True Value Hard Charger award for 1994. His season came to an abrupt, nearly tragic end in August when he crashed during practice on the Michigan Speedway track, suffering life-threatening injuries.

As someone who knew what it felt to be down from his early black-and-white TV watching days in Charlotte, Ernie incredibly bounced back. Late in 1995, he secured clearances to return to racing and appeared in a NASCAR Super Track race at North Wilkesboro in the No. 88 Texaco/Havoline Ford. The next year, the aptly nicknamed “Comeback Kid” scored two wins and finished 10th in overall points.

In 1997, he completed his comeback by winning on the same Michigan Speedway on which he nearly lost his life three years earlier. He finished the season, his last as a driver for Robert Yates Car No. 28, 14th in overall points.

Before retiring from the sport at the end of 1999, Ernie competed for two more seasons, recording 11 top-10 finishes in 1998 and five in 1999.

Named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers at the time of the sanctioning body’s 50th anniversary in 1998, Ernie completed his career with a total of 15 wins, 68 top-fives and 124 top-10s on the premier NASCAR Winston Cup circuit.

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