
Kenny Irwin
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Kenny
Irwin
1969 - 2000
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Car:
No. 42 Chevrolet
Primary Sponsor: Bell South Owner: Team SABCO Crew Chief: Tony Glover
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Career Statistics
Year | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Money |
1997 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 71,730 |
1998 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1,459,867 |
1999 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1,979,524 |
2000 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 886,370 |
TOTAL | 87 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 4397,491 |
The former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series star climbed from 28th in points as a rookie to 19th in his sophomore season, putting up a pair of top-5 finishes and six top-10s. He also won a pair of Bud Poles.Not many drivers have done a whole lot better at the same stage of their careers
Irwin grabbed the spotlight in September of '97 at Richmond by qualifying his Ford on the outside pole in his first series race. He then put the racing community on its feet when he snatched the lead on Lap 86, and held it for 12 laps. When the night race was over, Irwin crossed the finish line in eighth place, becoming the only driver in NASCAR's modern history to start on the front row and finish in the top-10 in his first race.
In five full seasons with the USAC Skoal National Midget Series, Irwin earned eight wins, 20 second-place, 59 top-five and 87 top-10 finishes, as well as the 1996 championship.
Irwin also has seven wins in the USAC's Stoops Freightliner Sprint Car Series, and was named its Rookie of the Year in 1993. Irwin followed that by being named the USAC Silver Crown Series Rookie of the Year in 1994, and finished second in points in 1996. He has four career Silver Crown Series victories.
In 1997, his only full season with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Irwin once again was named Rookie of the Year, behind two wins at Metro Dade-Homestead Motorsports Complex (March) and Texas Motor Speedway (June) and finished 10th in the series point standings.
Kenny Irwin killed at Louden, New Hampshire on July 7, 2000 in an accident in turn three of the 1.05-mile flat speedway was similar to the May 12 crash in a NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division practice session that fatally injured 19-year-old Adam Petty.