THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 23, 1996 TAG: 9606230178
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BROOKLYN, MICH. LENGTH: 75 lines
Who could have guessed that it would have come to this for Ernie Irvan?
It has been 22 months since he blew a tire on a Saturday morning at Michigan International Speedway and hit the wall in turn 2 so hard that his head broke from the inside, not because it hit anything, but simply because of the sudden stop.
He was expected to die because few people so badly injured survive. When it became apparent he would survive, you had to figure his racing career was over, because no one really fully recovers from a head injury like that.
But there he was, back in the car at North Wilkesboro last Oct. 1, driving the wheels off of his No. 28 Ford Thunderbird, finishing sixth, defying the stiffest odds.
He then went to Phoenix and led more than 100 laps before his engine blew, then to Atlanta, where he finished seventh.
Ernie Irvan was back.
But with the new season, we found out that Ernie Irvan was not back. Not where he wants to be. The success he enjoyed before the accident, even the success he enjoyed at the end of 1995, has eluded him.
And on his first race weekend back at Michigan since the accident, Irvan faced the press and admitted that he really doesn't know what's going on, or why he can't find his old form.
On Friday, he wheeled his car onto the track to qualify for today's Miller 400, ran a half-second faster than he had all day, and still qualified only 32nd-fastest in a 40-car field. Less than two hours before making his qualifying lap, he was asked if he is as good a driver now as he was before the accident.
``Today is not a good day to ask me that, because we aren't running good,'' he said. ``At Dover, if you had asked me that, I would have said, `Hey, I think I'm just as good as I was before.'
``The most-asked question is, `Why did you run good last year and why aren't you running as good this year?' If we had that answer, we would fix it. But we don't have that answer.''
Is it Ernie? Is it the car? Is it just that he missed a year of racing and has fallen behind? Or is it that he can't read his car as well as he used to? Is he spooked by the accident?
He wishes he knew. He's learned how to handle the frustration for the most part, but sometimes he still snaps at unsuspecting reporters who ask one too many questions, or the same question one too many times.
So he handled all the questions at once here, and his answers show why he gets frustrated with the questions. He simply can't give good answers.
The best Irvan can figure, he's just having to reacclimate himself to the cars, to the tracks, and to the racing.
``I think it is like that at almost every track,'' he said. ``Dr. (Errol) Erlandson (who treated Irvan after the accident) has told me, and he told me again last night, `You have to be patient. All everybody realizes is that you have had an accident and you are coming back. They don't realize how much trauma your mind and your brain and your whole body went through.''
But that still doesn't explain the burst of success at the end of 1995. And it doesn't explain why Irvan and teammate Dale Jarrett ran poorly in practice and qualifying even though Irvan tested here. Testing at a track usually gives a team an advantage.
On the other hand, we must put things in perspective. Irvan has three top-five and five top-10 finishes this year. Ricky Craven, considered one of the hottest young drivers in the series this year, has two top fives and four top 10s.
``I think I drive the exact same,'' Irvan said. ``I think I am just as aggressive. Hopefully, I'm smarter. It's a hard situation to actually compare what I am now to what I was before. I was at the top of my game. When I came back last year, it looked like I was going to be back just like I was before.
``It's a hard question to answer. There are a lot of factors. I think everybody has to be their own judge of it. I guess the only story that is going to tell that is if I get back to racing (Dale) Earnhardt for the championship sometime.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
Ernie Irvan takes daughter Jordan, 2, for a stroll. His comeback has
been both satisfying and baffling. by CNB