Top Row Seat - Ernie Irvan Retires
Dateline: 09/07/99At Darlington Raceway last Friday a tearful Ernie Irvan announced that he was officially retiring from racing.
This sad news was a result of the injuries Ernie received during practice at Michigan Speedway on August 20th. That wreck was the second hard hit for him in the last year (Ernie was sidelined last fall for three races after taking a hard shot in Talladega) both of which only compound the near fatal injuries he received in Michigan in 1994.
Ernie said that it was his concern for his health and his family that brought him to this conclusion. Ernie has a wife, Kim, and two children, Jordan and Jared who need him more than he needs to satisfy his desire to compete.
In the past I have been highly critical of Ernie's excessive aggressiveness on the racetrack and his "bulldozer" passing techniques. However, I believe that NASCAR will not be as fun of a place and the races will definitely be lacking something without Ernie Irvan in the field.
Ernie Irvan is a monument to raw determination. Thanks for the great memories Ernie!
Do you think Ernie did the right thing? Think he should have finished out the season instead? Tell the world on the bulletin board. Or you can talk about all things NASCAR in the chat room Wednesday night from 8-9pm EST.
