
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, August 23, 1994                   TAG: 9408230092
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IRVAN REMAINS CRITICAL

There was little change in driver Ernie Irvan's condition Monday, although his lung injury continues to improve, his doctor said.

The 35-year-old stock car racing star remained in critical condition on a life-support system at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti, Mich., with injuries that also included a fractured skull and swelling of the brain.

Irvan was hurt at about 8:40 a.m. Saturday during a practice session at Michigan International Speedway when a tire apparently blew out on his No. 28 Ford Thunderbird and it slammed into the second-turn wall.

``Mr. Irvan has been and remains unconscious as a result of his injuries [and] remains on ventilator support in the intensive care unit,'' trauma surgeon Dr. Errol Erlandson said in a statement released Monday afternoon.

``His vital signs continue to be stable. The injury to his lungs remains severe but continues to improve. A CAT scan shows no signs of worsening of his brain injury or hemorrhaging in the brain.

``When a neurological injury occurs, recovery follows a slow, progressive course,'' the doctor said. ``No additional injuries have been discovered.''

Arrangements were made for Irvan's wife, Kim, to stay at the hospital continuously, but she was seeing only a few of the many visitors who came by. In addition to Mark and Arlene Martin, close friends of the Irvans, others who visited hospital Sunday included Michael Waltrip, Kyle Petty, Felix Sabates, Brett Bodine, members of Dale Earnhardt's team and many more, according to Wayne Estes, Ford's Winston Cup publicist.

Since Irvan's injuries continue to be life threatening, his car owner, Robert Yates, was not planning to make any announcement about the team's plans, including a possible substitute driver for this weekend's race at Bristol International Raceway, before this afternoon at the earliest, Estes said.

Because of the volume of mail sent to the hospital, the Irvan family asked that correspondence be sent to the Ernie Irvan Fan Club, 1027 Central Drive, Concord, N.C. 28027. The hospital specifically asked that flowers not be sent there because there was no place to put them. Flowers cannot be taken into the intensive care unit.

Meanwhile, John Andretti, certainly one of the choices available to Yates when he is ready to resume racing, has agreed to another one-race deal to drive Richard Petty's No. 43 Pontiac Grand Prix in Saturday night's Goody's 500 at Bristol.

``John's going to drive for us again at Bristol,'' crew chief Robbie Loomis said. Andretti gave the struggling team a lift by qualifying on the outside pole for the Michigan race. He finished 17th, two laps down.

Keywords:
AUTO RACING

by CNB