THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 22, 1994 TAG: 9408220177
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BROOKLYN, MICH. LENGTH: Long : 124 lines
As he clung to life in a Michigan hospital Sunday, Ernie Irvan started showing signs of improvement, and family members, friends and the entire NASCAR community began to believe he would survive the critical lung and brain injuries he suffered in a crash Saturday morning.
Irvan, 35, was still on life support in the intensive-care unit of St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti. He was still unconscious, and still in critical condition. But his vital signs were stable. The swelling of his brain from his fractured skull did not worsen. And his severely injured lungs were getting better.
``The area of the injury to his lungs remains severe but improved,'' trauma surgeon Dr. Errol Erlandson said in a press conference after Sunday's Goodwrench 400. ``His oxygenation has improved. We see some increase in improvement on his chest X-ray examination today, certainly no worsening.
``And in the area of neurologic or brain injury, our assessment today, which included a follow-up CAT scan of the brain, showed no worsening.''
Erlandson said no areas of the brain had hemorrhaged, there were no signs of increased pressure on the brain, ``and we see no areas of the brain which have suffered irreversible injury.
``However,'' he said, ``I would point out that the (brain) injury is still severe.'' And he could not give a time frame for improvement.
``But when we're dealing with severe neurologic injury, certainly stabilization is very, very important,'' Erlandson said. ``Certainly, stabilization on an hourly basis and a daily basis, and then slow, gradual improvement, would be the evolution that I would expect.''
Asked specifically about brain activity, Erlandson said, ``Yes, I believe there is brain activity. Yes.''
Erlandson also said Irvan had no other injuries except surface abrasions and lacerations around his face. He did not have any deep cuts in his face or neck, the doctor said.
Irvan's close friend, Mark Martin, who went to the hospital Saturday evening, was planning to return home to Jamestown, N.C., immediately after Sunday's race. But before Martin left the track, Irvan's wife, Kim, relayed the message that she wanted Martin to return to the hospital Sunday evening and speak to her husband, even though he is still unconscious.
``I'm going to go back and talk to Ernie,'' Martin told team publicist Diane Hollingsworth. ``It's one of those things.''
Meanwhile, it appeared certain that Irvan's crash, into the second-turn wall at Michigan International Speedway around 8:40 a.m. Saturday during practice, was caused by the blowout of his right front tire.
Although NASCAR did not officially say that tire failure caused the crash, spokesman Andy Hall said: ``The right front tire was deflated on the car before it hit the wall. Something caused it to go flat, but we don't know what that was.''
Crash witness Joe Nemechek, who on Saturday was reluctant to talk about what he saw, opened up Sunday after the race.
``I was behind Ernie before it happened and I was catching him real quick. And I really caught him quick there in turn one,'' just before the crash, Nemechek said.
``Just beyond the center of the corner in turn two, all of a sudden a big explosion came out of the right front tire area. There was rubber flying and all kinds of stuff. And the car fell down on that side and it went up into the fence.''
There were also unconfirmed reports that corner workers heard the ``boom'' of the tire exploding before the car hit the wall.
``His car hit the wall a couple of times when it was in front of me,'' Nemechek said. ``It was a pretty hard hit. I've seen a lot of cars hit harder and no one got hurt. But I've seen cars hit not as hard and people get hurt.''
There was no immediate word on the future plans for Robert Yates Racing and the No. 28 Ford Thunderbird, but the team withdrew from Sunday's race, and its hauler had left the garage area.
``No matter what we decided to do (about Sunday's race), I wanted us all to feel strongly about it,'' Yates said in a statement released by the team. ``We've been caught up in the chase for points, points points. Now it's time to be family, and we want to be near him. When something goes wrong in this business, we're used to being able to grab something and do something about it. In this situation, there's not much we can do but be here, so that's what we're going to do.''
Team spokesman Brian VanDercook said Yates and crew chief Larry McReynolds returned to Charlotte with their wives Sunday evening. ``They don't intend to make any decisions about the days to come until they have greater certainty about Ernie's condition,'' VanDercook said.
At the speedway Sunday, as the race and the other activities went on as usual, the atmosphere in the garage area was not particularly downcast, even in the morning, when there was no new detailed information about Irvan's condition.
But Irvan's fight for life was not far from everyone's thoughts, including Dale Earnhardt, the man with whom Irvan was battling for the Winston Cup championship.
``It's tough,'' Earnhardt said as he made himself a sandwich in his hauler before the race. ``It's really tough, knowing you were standing on pit road talking to him yesterday and the day before that and getting ready for the Busch race and at Watkins Glen.
``It's hard to believe things happen like that, but they do. Hopefully, Ernie will fight and beat this thing. The hardship for Kim and the family, it's something I wouldn't want anyone to have to go through. And we've faced this so many times. We've had some good races this year, but it's been tough at times, too.''
The concern for Irvan was compounded by the sorrow over the loss of Frank Wilson, chief executive officer of North Carolina Motor Speedway, who died at 10:07 p.m. Saturday in a hospital in Greenville, N.C. He had suffered a stroke on Aug. 12 at his condominium near Myrtle Beach. Earnhardt took special pains to remember Wilson as well as Irvan.
``Last night we lost a good friend in Frank Wilson,'' he said. ``That's another blow to the sport. I began on the ground floor with Frank.''
Earnhardt seemed to agree with the suggestion that the race for the Winston Cup championship has lost a lot with Irvan out of it.
``That's going to be tough,'' he said. ``A race is a race. And to win a race is great, but . . . things shouldn't happen that way. It don't seem right.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS color photo
Fans at Michigan International Speedway show their support for
NASCAR driver Ernie Irvan, who was critically injured in a crash on
Saturday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
Joy Neading signs a get-well banner for Ernie Irvan at Michigan
International Speedway.
by CNB