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ERNIE IRVAN 1999 RACE-BY-RACE RECAPS

Ernie retired at Darlington on Friday, September 3rd, 1999. Jerry Nadeau took over for the rest of 1999. Kenny Schrader will drive the car in 2000
1999 IRVAN-SIMO RESULTS
WINSTON CUP - #14 Federated Auto Parts Ford
#TrackDateDriver
1Texas3/28/99Randy LaJoie
start 14 finish 40
 California5/2/99Boris Said
DNQ, rain
 Charlotte
Winston Open		5/22/99Boris Said
Start 25 Finish 21
2Charlotte5/30/99Randy LaJoie
DNQ
3Sears Point6/27/99Boris Said
DNQ
4Indianapolis8/7/99Boris Said
DNQ
5Watkins Glen8/15/99Boris Said
Start 2nd Finish 42nd
6New Hampshire9/19/99Randy LaJoie
Start 24th Finish 37th
7Charlotte10/10/99Buckshot Jones
DNQ
8Homestead11/14/99?
BUSCH - #14 Federated Auto Parts Pontiac
1Richmond5/14/99Ernie
Started 8
Finish 39
2Dover6/5/99Ernie
Started 24
Finish 34
3Michigan8/21/99Ernie
DNR injured
TRUCK SERIES - #44 Federated Auto Parts Ford
1Martinsville4/17/99Ernie
Start 11th Finish 8th
2Portland6/19/99Boris Said
Start 1st Finish 5th
3Nashville7/10/99Boris Said
Start 22nd
Finish 25th
4Heartland(KS)8/28/99Boris Said
Start 1st Finish 2nd
5Richmond9/9/99Boris Said
DNQ drove
another truck
6California10/30/99?
ATLANTA
JERRY's PRACTICE at ATLANTA:
11/19/1999 Practice: Jerry was 28th fastest with a speed of 189.564mph. #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr was the fastest at 192.908mph
11/20/1999 Practice: Jerry was the 33rd fatest in 29 laps with a fast speed of 183.935mph. #21-Elliott Sadler was the fastest at 187.322mph.

JERRY's QUALIFYING at ATLANTA: 11/19/1999 - Jerry went out 27th of 49 drivers and ended up being 21st fastest with a speed of 191.021mph in the nice dark blue Millenium M&M's #36 Pontiac with Ernie's name on it. Pole Winner: Kevin Lepage, #16 TV Guide Fond, 193.731mph

JERRY's HAPPY HOUR at ATLANTA: 11/20/1999 - Jerry ran 51 laps and was 35th fastest with a speed of 181.591mph. #22-Ward Burton was the fastest at 186.265mph.

JERRY's RACE at ATLANTA: 11/21/1999 - Jerry lost a lap early and twice made it up but NASCAR disallowed the 'racing back to the stripe' by many teams including the #36. Anyhow, even after spinning a bit trying to avoid a wreck, Jerry was able to finish 20th, two laps down in his last run in the #36. Good Luck to Jerry in the #25, hopefully they give him better equipment then Wally Dallenbach got this year. Ernie ran a lap before the race in a specially painted #36 Millenium M&M's pace car type Pontiac, they showed it a bit on NASCAR2Day. Kenny Schrader takes over the #36 in 2000 but I will not be following the MB2 team on the page any longer and we'll see what Ernie does with the Irvan-Simo team. Winner: Bobby Labonte, #18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac(5th of 1999)

HOMESTEAD
JERRY's PRACTICE at HOMESTEAD:
11/11/1999 Practice: Jerry was 34th fastest with a speed of 151.086mph in 26 laps, #18-Bobby Labonte was the fastest at 154.144mph
11/12/1999 Practice 1: Jerry was 31st fastest at 151.476mph
11/12/1999 Practice 2: not sure what happened but Jerry was 46th fastest at 148.314mph in five laps
11/13/1999 Practice: race setup? but Jerry was 42nd fastest at 146.898mph in 26 laps. Now, we know why so slow. Jerry wrecked in practice and will have to start a backup car.

JERRY's QUALIFYING at HOMESTEAD: 11/12/1999 - Jerry went out 46th of 48 drivers and ran a speed of 153.044mph which qualifies him 20th for the race, way to go and not bad after poor practices. Pole Winner: David Green, #45 10-10-345 Pontiac, 155.759mph(track record-first event)

JERRY's HAPPY HOUR at HOMESTEAD: 11/13/1999 - Jerry was 41st fastest in a backup car with a top speed of 147.295mph. #20-Tony Stewart was the fastest at 150.212mph.

JERRY's RACE at HOMESTEAD: 11/14/1999 - Jerry started in a backup car and it just never seemed to be fast. Jerry cut a tire early and lost a lap quick. Jerry ended up finishing 38th, seven laps down. Winner: Tony Stewart, #20 Home Depot Pontiac(3rd of 1999)

IRVAN-SIMO

Next scheduled CUP race is Homestead, Boris Said will drive the car

BORIS SAID's PRACTICE at HOMESTEAD:
11/11/1999 Practice: Boris ran 28 laps and was 36th fastest with a speed of 150.947mph
11/12/1999 Practice 1: Boris was 33rd fastest at 151.353mph
11/12/1999 Practice 2: Boris was 35th fastest at 151.600mph in 7 laps
11/13/1999 Practice: Boris was 44th fastest at 146.643mph in 11 laps

BORIS's QUALIFYING at HOMESTEAD: 11/12/1999 - Boris went out 47th of 48 drivers and was able to run 152.504mph which was 27th fastest which should get him in the race. No one went faster in the Saturday morning practice then 151.358mph, Boris' speed should easily get him in the race.

BORIS's HAPPY HOUR at HOMESTEAD: 11/13/1999 - Boris did pretty good, was 19th fastest with a speed of 148.461mph

BORIS's RACE at HOMESTEAD: 11/14/1999 - Boris fell back early in the race and ended up finishing his first Cup oval race 34th, five laps down.

PHOENIX
JERRY's PRACTICE at PHOENIX:
11/5/1999 Practice 1: Jerry was 38th fastest with a speed of 129.287mph in 10 laps, #42-Joe Nemechek was the fastest at 132.134mph
11/5/1999 Practice 2: Jerry ran 12 laps and didn't pick it up much, he was 39th fastest at 129.505mph with #60-Geoffrey Bodine the fastest at 132.338mph
11/6/1999 Practice 1: Jerry was 41st of 44 cars with a lap of 126.747mph. #20-Tony Stewart was the fastest at 129.296mph

JERRY's QUALIFYING at PHOENIX: 11/5/1999 - Jerry went out 24th of 44 cars and could only muster up the 35th fastest qualifying lap of 130.440mph. Jerry did not make a 2nd round attempt and the three drivers who made attempts could not crack the top 36, so Jerry will start 35th. Pole Winner: John Andretti, #43 STP Pontiac, 132.714mph(track record)

JERRY's HAPPY HOUR at PHOENIX: 11/6/1999 - Jerry ran 65 laps and was 40th fastest of 43 cars with a speed of 126.724mph. #6-Mark Martin was the fastest at 129.050mph.

JERRY's RACE at PHOENIX: 11/7/1999 - Well that was a pretty bad weekend. The car was never hooked up, practiced bad, qualified bad, raced bad. Anyhow, Jerry lost a lap very early and ended up finishing 37th, four laps down. Winner: Tony Stewart, #20 Home Depot Pontiac(2nd of 1999)

ROCKINGHAM
JERRY's PRACTICE at ROCKINGHAM:
10/22/1999 Practice 1: Jerry was 11th fastest with a speed of 155.142mph, #88-Dale Jarrett was the fastest at 156.823mph
10/22/1999 Practice 2: Jerry slowed up a bit and was 22nd fastest with a speed of 154.821mph, #24-Jeff Gordon was the fastest at 157.322mph
10/23/1999 Practice: Jerry ran 38 laps and was 21st fastest at 149.473mph. #55-Kenny Wallace was the fastest at 154.142mph

JERRY's QUALIFYING at ROCKINGHAM: 10/22/1999 - Jerry went out 22nd and slowed down some more. He was 29th fastest in 1st round with a speed of 155.083mph. Jerry did not make a 2nd round attempt and will start 31st. Pole Winner: Mark Martin, #6 Valvoline Ford, 157.383mph(event record)

JERRY's HAPPY HOUR at ROCKINGHAM: 10/23/1999 - Jerry was 25th with a speed of 149.027mph. #22-Ward Burton was the fastest at 152.435mph

JERRY's RACE at ROCKINGHAM: 10/24/1999 - have not seen the race yet, but Jerry finished 37th after getting caught up in a accident between Dale Earnhardt and Kenny Irwin. Winner: Jeff Burton, #99 Exide Batteries Ford(6th of 1999)

TALLADEGA
JERRY's PRACTICE at TALLADEGA:
10/15/1999 Practice: Jerry ran 12 laps and was 20th fastest with a speed of 194.701mph. #42-Joe Nemecheck was the fastest at 197.925mph
10/16/1999 Practice: Jerry ran 40 laps and was 11th fastest with a speed of 194.642mph. #24-Jeff Gordon was the fastest at 195.840mph

JERRY's QUALIFYING at TALLADEGA: 10/15/1999 - Jerry went out 37th and ran a fast lap of 194.761mph which is good for 24th starting spot. Pole Winner: Joe Nemechek, #42 BellSouth Chevy, 198.331mph.

JERRY's HAPPY HOUR at TALLADEGA: 10/16/1999 - Jerry was 8th fastest with a speed of 195.312mph. #25-Wally Dallenbach was the fastest at 196.773mph

JERRY's RACE at TALLADEGA: 10/17/1999 - Well, not so good. Jerry was staying in the 20-25 area but got caught up in a wreck not of his doing on lap 81. Jerry ended up finishing 40th. Winner: Dale Earnhardt, #3 Goodwrench Chevy(his 3rd of 1999)

CHARLOTTE
JERRY's PRACTICE at LOWES in Charlotte:
10/6/1999 Practice: Jerry ran 15 laps and was 13th fastest with a speed of 183.044mph. #18-Bobby Labonte was the fastest at 184.655mph
10/7/1999 AM Practice: Jerry ran 32 laps and was 23rd fastest with a fast lap of 178.394mph in his race setup.
10/7/1999 PM Practice: Jerry ran 34 laps and was 29th fastest with a fast lap of 176.159mph. #6-Mark Martin was the fastest with a speed of 180.922mph

JERRY's QUALIFYING at LOWES: 10/6/1999 - Jerry went out 7th and did great, put the car in the 10th starting spot, which is great considering 64 of the 79 Charlotte winners have come from the top 10 starting spots. Jerry ran a lap of 183.468mph. Pole Winner: Bobby Labonte, #18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac, 185.682mph.

JERRY's HAPPY HOUR at LOWES: 10/9/1999 - not so fast...Jerry ran 38 laps and was 41st fastest with a speed of 172.656mph. #18-Bobby Labonte was the fastest at 178.094mph

JERRY's RACE at LOWES: 10/11/1999 - after a 22 hour delay the race started at 11am/et. Jerry immediately fell back and not really sure what happened but he came home 35th, 6 laps down. Not sure what happened but in the Official Results posted Monday night, it has Jerry 34th instead. Winner: Jeff Gordon, #24 DuPont Chevy(his 7th of 1999)

IRVAN-SIMO

Buckshot Jones will attempt to make the race at Lowes in the #14 Federated Auto Parts Irvan-Simo Ford. Kind of ironic he is in instead of Randy LaJoie, his nemesis in the BGN series

BUCKSHOT JONE's PRACTICE at LOWES:
10/6/1999 Practice: not so good, Buckshot was 38th of 50 cars with a fast lap of 180.789mph.
10/7/1999 AM Practice: Buckshot was 10th fastest with a speed of 179.634mph in 17 laps. The 36th fastest and final speed spot is at 181.141mph, so Buckshot needs to get at least that to make the field

BUCKSHOT's QUALIFYING at LOWES: 10/6/1999 - Buckshot went out 8th and ended up being 40th fastest with a lap of 180.204mph. He will have to re-qualify if he is to make the race as the team is not high enough in the provisionals. 2nd Round: Buckshot ran a lap of 180.024 but that was not fast enough to get him in the race, bummer

BUCKSHOT's HAPPY HOUR at LOWES: 10/9/1999 - DNQ

BUCKSHOT's RACE at LOWES: 10/10/1999 - DNQ

MARTINSVILLE
JERRY's PRACTICE at MARTINSVILLE:
10/1/1999 Practice 1: Jerry ran 32 laps and was 29th fastest at 93.737mph. #42-Joe Nemechek was fastest at 95.041mph.
10/2/1999 Practice: Jerry ran 22 laps and was 36th fastest with a speed of 92.592mph. #55-Kenny Wallace was the fastest at 93.975mph

JERRY's QUALIFYING at MARTINSVILLE: 10/1/1999 - Jerry went out 22nd of 47 cars. Not so good, 42nd fastest with a speed of 93.180mph, his 1st lap was 92.969mph. 2nd Round: Jerry made a 2nd round attempt but was not fast enough to get into the top 36 and will use a provisional to start 42nd. Pole Winner: Joe Nemechek, #42 BellSouth Chevy, 95.223mph(event record).

JERRY's HAPPY HOUR at MARTINSVILLE: 10/2/1999 - Jerry and the team picked it somewhat, Jerry ran 91 laps and was 32nd fastest with a speed of 91.739mph. #6-Mark Martin was the fastest at 92.828mph

JERRY's RACE at MARTINSVILLE: 10/3/1999 - Jerry started 42nd and lost a lap pretty early, got involved in a small accident, not much damage but got spun a bit. Jerry ended up finishing 26th, seven laps down. Winner: Jeff Gordon, #24 DuPont Chevy(his 6th of 1999)

DOVER
JERRY's PRACTICE at DOVER:
9/24/1999 Practice 1: not bad, not bad at all, Jerry ran 13 laps and was the FIFTH fastest with a speed of 158.401mph. #1-Steve Park was the fastest at 159.348mph
9/24/1999 Practice 2: still fast as Jerry ran 6 laps and had the fifth fastest speed of 158.702mph. #12 Jeremy Mayfield was fastest at 159.836mph
9/25/1999 Practice: Jerry was 15th fastest in 57 laps with a speed of 154.307mph. #30-Todd Bodine was the fastest with a speed of 156.808mph

JERRY's QUALIFYING at DOVER: 9/24/1999 - WOW! Not too shabby, Jerry went out and almost got the pole with a run of 159.879mph and will start 2nd. But....Jerry wrecked on his first lap of Happy Hour and will have to start a backup car from the rear of the field. Pole Winner: Rusty Wallace, #2 Miller Lite Ford, 159.964mph(track record).

JERRY's HAPPY HOUR at DOVER: 9/25/1999 - Well, not so good...Jerry wrecked on his first lap of Happy Hour and will have to start a backup car from the rear of the field. In the backup, Jerry ran 45 laps and was 38th fastest with a speed of 151.120mph. #12-Jeremy Mayfield was the fastest at 154.792mph

JERRY's RACE at DOVER: 9/26/1999 - No too bad considering. Since Jerry had to start the backup car at the back of the field and Tony Stewart lapping most of the field by lap 100, it was a miracle Jerry didn't get faurther behind. But he was able to salvage a 16th place finish, three laps down. Winner: Mark Martin, #6 Valvoline Ford(his 2nd of 1999)

NEW HAMPSHIRE
JERRY's PRACTICE at LOUDON:
9/18/1999 Practice: Jerry ran 23 laps and was 28th fastest with a speed of 128.156mph. #2-Rusty Wallace was the fastest at 129.891mph.

JERRY's QUALIFYING at LOUDON: 9/18/1999 - Jerry went out 44th of 47 cars and was not as fast as practice, but will start 30th after running a lap of 127.231mph. Pole Winner: Rusty Wallace, #2 Miller Lite Ford, 129.820mph(event record).

JERRY's HAPPY HOUR at LOUDON: 9/18/1999 - not so good, Jerry ran 71 laps and was 40th of 43 cars with a fast speed of 126.905mph. #42-Joe Nemechek was the fastest at 128.740mph

JERRY's RACE at LOUDON: 9/19/1999 - Oh well, not so great. Jerry got spun around in one of the early accidents and fell a lap down early. He ended up finishing 32nd, just wasn't his weekend, never seemed to get the car dialed in. Winner: Joe Nemechek, #42 BellSouth Chevy(his first career win)

IRVAN-SIMO

RANDY LaJOIE's PRACTICE at LOUDON:
9/17/1999 Practice 1: Randy ran 11 laps with the 42nd fastest speed of 127.146mph

RANDY's QUALIFYING at LOUDON: 9/18/1999 - Randy went out 26th or 47 cars and cut quite a lap: 127.855mph which will allow him to start 24th in the #14 Irvan-Simo Ford

RANDY's HAPPY HOUR at LOUDON: 9/18/1999 - Randy ran 58 laps and was 27th fastest with a speed of 127.512mph.

RANDY's RACE at LOUDON: 9/19/1999 - Well, the car did have Federated Auto Parts on as the sponsor and I found it hard to tell which car was which, the #58 with Hut Stricklin driving. Anyhow, Randy fell back and finished 37th

RANDY's Qualifying Notes and Quotes: "We're real happy. For a part-time time, Irvan-Simo, they've put together a good race car. We got a motor from Larry Wallace -- Penske Engines. We weren't that good in practice and I can't drive this thing like I can a Busch car. I had to get off the brake and get on the gas a lot quicker and there's a lot left in the seat still, I do believe. I think we're in the show, I think we will be. It's just a good deal for Federated. They've stuck with Irvan-Simo all year and we're trying to put together a deal for next year for these guys. I'm just helping these guys out on one of my Sunday's off."(irvan.com)(9-19-1999)

RICHMOND
JERRY's PRACTICE at RICHMOND:
9/10/1999 Practice 1: Jerry was only 31st fastest with a speed of 122.210mph in 15 laps. #2-Rusty Wallace was fastest at 123.875mph
9/10/1999 Practice 2: Jerry ran a fast lap of 122.100mph which was 24nd fastest(?). #18-Bobby Labonte was fastest at 124.515mph
9/11/1999 Practice: Jerry was 33rd fastest with a speed of 102.138mph in 84 laps. #45-Jack Sprague was the fastest at 122.822mph

JERRY's QUALIFYING at RICHMOND: 9/10/1999 - Jerry went out 46th of 48 cars and didn't fare too well, was 41st fastest with a lap of 122.856mph. Jerry stood on his 1st round time and will use a provisional to start 38th(based on his 29th in owners points). Pole Winner: Mike Skinner, #31 Lowes Chevy, 125.465mph(event record).

JERRY's HAPPY HOUR at RICHMOND: 9/11/1999 - Jerry was 33rd fastest with a speed of 120.010mph in 72 laps. #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr was the fastest at 122.560mph.

JERRY's RACE at RICHMOND: 9/11/1999 - Can we keep Jerry? Not feeling 100% after that wreck at Bristol and not having much luck in practice or qualifying, starting 38th, Jerry fell a lap down early and kept fighting to stay in the lead lap but could not. He still fought and finished a very nice 18th, two laps down and took home #38,080 in winnings. Winner: Tony Stewart, #20 Home Depot Pontiac(his first career win)

DARLINGTON - SOUTHERN 500
JERRY's PRACTICE at DARLINGTON for the SOUTHERN 500:
9/3/1999 Practice 1: Jerry did well and was 8th fastest with a speed of 167.390 in 6 laps. #88-Dale Jarrett was the fastest at 169.695mph
9/3/1999 Practice 2: Jerry moved it up to 5th fastest with a speed of 168.796mph in 4 laps. #24-Jeff Gordon was fastest with a fast lap of 169.812mph
9/4/1999 Practice: Jerry ran 71 laps with a fast lap of 161.880mph which was 15th. #88-Dale Jarrett was the fastest wih a speed of 164.937mph

JERRY's QUALIFYING at DARLINGTON: 9/3/1999 - Jerry went out 34th of 45 cars, had a nice cloud and was able to qualify 3rd with a speed of 170.833mph, nice tribute to Ernie by the team. Pole Winner: Kenny Irwin, #28 Texaco Ford, 170.970mph(event record). ironic that on the day Ernie retires the #28 is on the pole, the #36 is 3rd and the #4 qualifies 5th

JERRY's HAPPY HOUR at DARLINGTON: 9/4/1999 - Jerry was 29th fastest in 58 laps with a speed of 160.380mph. #99-Jeff Burton was the fastest at 165.103mph

JERRY's RACE at DARLINGTON: 9/5/1999 - Jerry hung around the top ten most of the early part, but seemed to be falling back a bit, then when he came up on another car who had checked up/slowed down, he slammed on his brakes and flat spotted his tires, making the car difficult to handle. A few laps later the right right tire exploded and Jerry hit the turn four wall a ton then came back across the track and hit the inside wall slightly. Mike Skinner also got into him after the initial hit, but the damage had been done. Jerry was flown to the hospital, see the stories above. All I could think about was, "I am so glad Ernie was not in that car". Jerry finished 43rd(last) in 48 laps and had winnings of $35,725. Winner: Jeff Burton, #99 Exide Batteries Ford

BRISTOL - GOODY's 500
ERNIE's BEST at BRISTOL: Ernie has started 20 races at Bristol with his best start being poles in April 1990 and August 1992 and his best finish was a win in August 1990. Last year Ernie started the race 37th and finished 22nd. This past April, Ernie started 41st and finished 43rd, so he is due some good luck. That is, if he is ready to come back from his latest Michigan injuries. These stats come from stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

NOTE: Ernie will not race at Bristol because of injuries suffered at the BGN Michigam practice. Jerry Badeau will sub for Ernie at Bristol or until he is ready to race again

 JERRY's PRACTICE at BRISTOL:
8/27/1999 Practice 1: not so bad, Jerry was 9th fastest with a speed of 122.756mph. #2-Rusty Wallace was the fastest at 124.050mph
8/27/1999 Practice 2: not as good as Jerry was 20th in seven laps but he was a tad faster at 122.961mph. #6-Mark Martin was the fastest at 124.468mph
8/28/1999 Practice: Jerry ran 85 laps and was 30th fastest with a speed of 117.739mph. #45-Rich Bickle was the fastest at 120.664mph


JERRY's QUALIFYING at BRISTOL: 8/27/1999 - Jerry went out 37th of 45 cars and cut a great lap of 123.978mph which will allow him to start 8th which is very important as it gets him on the front stretch pits and also, no one outside the top 12 has ever won the 2nd Bristol race . Pole Winner: Tony Stewart, #20 Home Depot Pontiac, 124.589mph

JERRY's HAPPY HOUR at BRISTOL: 8/28/1999 - Jerry ran 104 laps and was 13th fastest with a speed pf 118.466mph. #5-Terry Labonte was the fastest at 119.611mph.

JERRY's RACE at BRISTOL: 8/28/1999 - Jerry did quite a good job, despite a poor call by NASCAR on putting Jerry in the 'pentaly box' for hitting the #88. From my view the #88 was all over the track and tried to move to let Jerry by but had a hard time moving and Jerry tapped the #88 who spun and hit the wall. And this occurred after Jerry had lost a lap will an ill handling car and the crew fixed it on the first pit stop and Jerry raced to get that lap back, good job. Anyhow, he was relagated to the deep 30's two laps down. He worked the rest of the race to get back into the top 20 to finish 20th. Not too bad. Winner: Dale Earnhardt, #3 GM Goodwrench Chevy(2nd of the year)

IRVAN-SIMO

Boris Said ran the #44 Federated Auto Parts Ford Truck at the Topeka road course in the CTS race

BORIS's CTS PRACTICE at TOPEKA:
8/27/1999 Practice: Boris was the fastest in practice with a speed of 88.621mph

BORIS's CTS QUALIFYING at TOPEKA: 8/27/1999 - Boris won the pole at Heartland Park in Topeka, KS with a speed of 89.287mph

BORIS's FINAL CTS PRACTICE at TOPEKA: 8/27/1999 - no final practice was held

BORIS's CTS RACE at TOPEKA: 8/28/1999 - Boris lead most of the laps and wound up finishing 2nd, not too bad

ERNIE's BEST at BRISTOL: Ernie has started 20 races at Bristol with his best start being poles in April 1990 and August 1992 and his best finish was a win in August 1990. Last year Ernie started the race 37th and finished 22nd. This past April, Ernie started 41st and finished 43rd, so he is due some good luck. That is, if he is ready to come back from his latest Michigan injuries. These stats come from stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

MICHIGAN - PEPSI 400
ERNIE's BEST at MICHIGAN: Ernie has started 20 races at Michigan with his best start being pole in August 1998 and his best finish was a dramatic win in August 1997. Last year Ernie started the race 1st and finished 6th. In june Ernie started 2nd and finished 7th. Be ready to see a lot of stories on Ernie's Michigan accident in August 1994 and the comeback. These stats come from stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

ERNIE's PRACTICE at MICHIGAN:
8/20/1999 Practice: Dick Trickle is running the car this weekend and was the 9th fastest with a speed of 186.606mph. Mike Skinner was the fastest with a lap of 188.280mph in the #31 Lowes Chevy
8/21/1999 Practice: Dick Trickle is running the car this weekend and was the 43rd fastest with a speed of 180.509mph in 17 laps. Kevin Lepage was the fastest in the #16 TV Guide Ford at 186.200mph

ERNIE's QUALIFYING at MICHIGAN: 8/20/1999 - Dick Trickle, subbing for Ernie, went out 10th of 48 cars and ran a lap of 186.109mph, which will allow Dick to start a decent 15th. Pole Winner: Ward Burton, #22 Caterpillar Pontiac, 188.843mph(track record)

ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at MICHIGAN: 8/21/1999 - Dick Trickle, subbing for Ernie, was the 41st fastest with a fast lap of 177.248mph in 29 laps of practice. #6-Mark Martin was the fastest at 181.159mph

ERNIE's RACE at MICHIGAN: 8/22/1999 - Dick Trickle, subbing for Ernie, started 15th and fell back quickly at the start of the race, fell a lap down around lap 48. Towards the end of the race, #16 Kevin Lepage spun out in front of Trickle who slowed down and was tapped by #10-Ricky Rudd. Trickle then wacked the wall, damaging the backend of the car, but was able to stay running and finish the race 40th. Trickle's winnings were $27,620. Ernie missing the race caused him to fall to 29th in the Winston Cup drivers points standings. Winner: Bobby Labonte, #18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac(4th of the year)

IRVAN-SIMO

Ernie is running the #84 Federated Auto Parts Pontiac at Michigan in the BGN race

ERNIE's BGN PRACTICE at MICHIGAN:
8/19/1999 Practice: Ernie was 37th fastest of 60 cars with a speed of 176.461mph. Jeff Gordon was the fastest at 179.847mph
8/20/1999 Practice: Ernie was 4th fastest at 178.686mph in five laps, but he crashed and totalled the car, and was injured enough that they decided not to race at Michigan in either race. Michael Waltrip was fastest in the #21 Chevy at 179.193mph

ERNIE's BGN QUALIFYING at MICHIGAN: 8/19/1999 - Yikes, not too fast today, was 41st of 60 drivers with a speed of 176.730mph, Ernie needs to pick it up in the 2nd round or he will miss the race, he has no provisional to use. Dave Blaney won the pole in the #93 at 180.054mph

ERNIE's FINAL BGN PRACTICE at MICHIGAN: 8/20/1999 - will not race, injured

ERNIE's BGN RACE at MICHIGAN: 8/21/1999 - will not race, injured

WATKINS GLEN
ERNIE's BEST at Watkins Glen: Ernie has started 10 races at Watkins Glen with his best start being 3rd in August 1991 and his best finish was a win in August 1991. Last year Ernie started the race 9th and finished 33rd. These stats come from stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

ERNIE's PRACTICE at WATKINS GLEN:
8/13/1999 Practice 1 wet: it rained in the first practice and 30 cars went out. Ernie ran three laps with a speed of 99.431mph which was 17th fastest. Rusty Wallace was fastest at 103.839mph
8/13/1999 Practice 2 dry: Ernie ran 10 laps and was 29th fastest of 49 with a speed of 120.653mph. Jeff Gordon was the fastest at 123.570mph

  • Qualifying at the Glen is being delayed: Things have cleared up, so they may get qualfying in around 6pm/et or so. If not they would run one qualifying round Saturday morning. If it gets rained out Saturday then the field is set by owners points for the first 35 teams, then by post mark on the entry form...

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at WATKINS GLEN: 8/13/1999 - Ernie went out 26th of 49 cars and ended up being 36th fastest, I didn't see the run, so I am not sure if anything went wrong or the car was just not hooked up. 2nd round: was rained out, so Ernie will start where he qualified on Friday, 36th. Pole Winner: Rusty Wallace, #2 Miller Lite Ford, 121.234mph(track record)

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at WATKINS GLEN: 8/14/1999 - happy hour/final practice was cancelled by rain

    ERNIE's RACE at WATKINS GLEN: 8/15/1999 - Ernie started 36th and was up to 26th by the first caution. A few laps after the restart, Ernie got on the curb in the innerloop and spun, ending up in the sand and stuck. Ernie lost a lap while getting pulled out and fell back to 40th. Ernie moved up to 36th when Ned Jarrett mentioned Ernie was in the pits, hood up and on jack stands, three laps down. Ernie never came back out and was shown out on the ESPN leader board. Ernie ended up finishing 41st, getting his 5th DNF pf the season and dropped down to 26th(from 22nd) in the drivers points. From what I hear, the Engine got rocks in it causing it to fail. Winner: Jeff Gordon, #24 DuPont Chevy(5th of the year)

    IRVAN SIMO

    BORIS's PRACTICE at WATKINS GLEN:
    8/13/1999 Practice 1 wet: Boris was not one of the 30 cars to go out in the rain conditions
    8/13/1999 Practice 2 dry: Boris ran 10 laps and was the 10th fastest with a speed of 122.067mph

    BORIS's QUALIFYING at WATKINS GLEN: 8/13/1999 - This is more like it, Boris rang up the 2nd fastest qualifying attempt at 120.915mph, which was faster then the track record, but Rusty beat him

    BORIS's HAPPY HOUR at WATKINS GLEN: 8/14/1999 - happy hour/final practice was cancelled by rain

    BORIS's RACE at WATKINS GLEN: 8/15/1999 - Early in the race Boris maintained 2nd while chasing Jeff Gordon. After Ernie's spin, Gordon pitted but Boris didn't, so he assumed the lead for 9 laps. Boris pitted on the next caution, around lap 38 and fell to around 15th. Boris was up to 7th when on lap 49, he developed transmission/gear problems and slowed to a crawl on the track before taking it to the garage for the crew to look at the car. Boris said something went in the drive train and never returned to the race and finished 42nd.

    BRICKYARD 400
    ERNIE's BEST at INDY: Ernie has started 4 races at Indianapolis with his best start being poles in August 1997 and 1998 and his best finish was a 2nd in August 1996. Last year Ernie started the race 1st and finished 6th. These stats come from stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

    ERNIE's PRACTICE at INDY:
    8/5/1999 Practice 1: Ernie ran 8 laps for the 12th fastest speed of 178.369mph. Bobby Labonte was the fastest in the #18 Pontiac at 179.118mph.
    8/5/1999 Practice 2: a little to late I guess, Ernie was the fastest in the late afternoon practice with a speed of 177.644mph but only ran two laps, not sure if that's good or bad. It was good, I am told Ernie went out, simulated a qualifying run, liked what he had and parked it
    8/6/1999 Practice 1: Ernie ran 24 laps and was 9th fastest with a speed of 176.073mph. Steve Park was the fastest at 178.066mph

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at INDY: 8/5/1999 - Ernie went out 34th of 55 cars and.....WHAT HAPPENED??? After winning the last two poles and was not even close. Ernie ran a lap of 175.121mph which was, yikes, 46th fastest. Ernie said the car was tight in turns one and two and loose in turns three and four, said the car, which was the same car that was on the pole last year was weird and something was wrong. Ernie said he plans to make a 2nd round attempt. From the Pontiac Pit Notes following Qualifying: "We’re not real sure what happened. It wasn’t good. It pushed real bad in one and got real loose in three. We don’t have an answer." 2nd Round: Ernie went out and didn't fare too well as he ran a lap of 175.538mph, just a little faster then 1st round and 40th over all, so Ernie will use a provisional and start 40th. Pole Winner: Jeff Gordon, #24 DuPont Chevy, 179.612mph

    Ernie Quote from Qualifying: (Did you make major changes since qualifying?): "We didn’t have a problem in qualifying. The problem was … evidently the 4 car was in front of us in the qualifying line. He blew up and dumped a bunch of oil on the track. The next seven cars didn’t run as well as they had in practice. But it’s not his fault."(Brickyard 400 site)(8-6-1999)

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at INDY: 8/6/1999 - not so good, Ernie was 36th fastest, running 26 laps for a fast lap of 169.402mph. Fastest was #12-Jeremy Mayfield with a speed of 172.957mph.

    ERNIE's RACE at INDY: 8/7/1999 - Ernie started 40th and slowly moved up into the top 25 and seem to hang there for most of the race. As far as I could tell there was nothing real eventful about Ernie's race, pit stops seemed normal and we didn't hear much about him or the car. Anyhow, Ernie still moved up a spot to 22nd in the Drivers Points. Ernie won $98,510 and goes over $1 million for the season. Winner: Dale Jarrett, #88 QC/Ford Credit Ford

    Ernie Quote from the race: “We just had a tough time here at Indy. We were tight in and loose off all day. We’re disappointed because we ran strong here last year and came here with the same aspirations this time around. We’ll get better(Pontiac Notes)(8-9-1999)

    PENNSYLVANIA 500
    ERNIE's BEST at POCONO: Ernie has started 21 races at Pocono with his best start being a pole in June 1990 and his best finish was a 4th in July 1996. Last year Ernie started the race 16th and finished 9th. These stats come from stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

    ERNIE's PRACTICE at POCONO:
    7/23/1999 Practice: Ernie was the 27th fastest in the practice with a speed of 167.438mph in 10 laps. #40-Sterling Marlin was the fastest at 169.788mph.
    7/24/1999 Practice: Ernie ran 25 laps in race trim with a fast lap of 165.086mph which was good for 27th fastest. David Green was fastest in the #41 Chevy at 167.267mph

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at POCONO: 7/23/1999 - whew...Ernie went out 23rd of 45 cars and ran a lap of 167.832mph which qualifies him 24th. So he made it in the first round, the team can concentrate on race setup Saturday. Pole Winner: Mike Skinner, #31 Lowes Chevy, 170.451mph

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at POCONO: 7/24/1999 - Ernie ran 26 lpas and was 14th fastest in Happy Hour with a speed of 164.248mph. Ward Burton was the fastest in the #22 pontiac at 165.502mph.

    ERNIE's RACE at POCONO: 7/25/1999 - Very exciting race, many lead changes. Ernie got mentioned many times and had quite a race going there with Tony Stewart. Ernie slowly moved into the top 20, then fell back to 34th. But as things played out Ernie was in the top 10 for much of the last 100 miles of the race, but fell to 11th at the end. Still a good run. Ernie won $47.215 and moved up to 23rd in drivers points. Next he goes to his best track, the Brickyard. Winner: Bobby Labonte, #18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac

    JIFFY LUBE 300
    ERNIE's BEST at LOUDON, NH: Ernie has started 7 races at Loudon with his best start being a pole in July 1994 and his best finish was a win in July 1999(his first of his comeback). Last year Ernie started the race 7th and finished 20th. These stats come from stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

    ERNIE's PRACTICE at LOUDON:
    7/9/1999 Practice 1: Ernie was 16th fastest of 47 cars with a speed of 129.484mph in 34 laps. Rusty Wallace was the fastest in the #2 Miller Lite/Harley Davidson Ford with a speed of 130.532mph.
    7/9/1999 Practice 2: Ernie ran the 17th fastest speed at 129.975mph. Fastest was #33-Ken Schrader with a speed of 131.189mph
    7/10/1999 Practice: Ernie ran 39 laps in race setup and was 21st fastest with a speed of 128.588mph. Ted Musgrave, in the #75 Ford was the fastest at 129.953mph.

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at LOUDON: 7/9/1999 - Ernie went out 3rd and ran a lap of 129.116mph, which was slower then both his practice speeds, but it's gets him in the race on the 1st round and he will start 20th, not great but not bad. Pole Winner: Jeff Gordon, #24 DuPont Chevy, 131.171mph

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at LOUDON: 7/10/1999 - Ernie ran 34 laps and was 17th fastest with a speed of 127.790mph. #20-Tony Stewart was the fastest at 128.958mph.

    ERNIE's RACE at LOUDON: 7/11/1999 - As an Ernie fan, that was a pretty uneventful race. Ernie pretty much hung around the top 20 all day, getting as high as 14th before finishing 21st. Ernie must have gotten passed on the last lap as the last I saw was that Ernie was 20th. Ernie lost a lap in the final third of the race. Ernie practiced, qualified and raced in that 16th thru 20th spot and that's just the way it goes. Better then a DNF that's for sure. The 21st place finish caused Ernie to fall back to 25th place in the drivers points. Ernie won $49,425. Winner: Jeff Burton, #99 Exide Ford

    PEPSI 400 at DAYTONA
    ERNIE's BEST at DAYTONA: Ernie has started 20 races at Daytona Point with his best start was the pole in July 1993 and his best finish were wins in February 1991 and July 1992. Last year Ernie started the Pepsi 400 39th and finished 8th. The race was run in October because of the Florida wildfires. Ernie had gotten hurt the week before at Talladega. Ricky Craven qualified the #36 Wildberry Skittles Pontiac 39th and Ernie started but had Craven relieve him on the first caution. Ernie sat out the rest of the 1998 season afterwards, see my 1998 Race Recaps for the whole breakdown. These stats come from stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

    ERNIE's PRACTICE at DAYTONA:
    7/1/1999 Practice: Ernie was 17th fastest in the #36 Crispy M&M's Pontiac. He ran 9 laps and his speed was 191.391mph. Joe Nemecheck was fastest at 193.665mph in the purple #42
    7/2/1999 Practice: Ernie was 42nd fastest of 47 cars with a speed of 186.428mph in 10 laps, kind of odd as Ernie usually runs very well at Daytona, lets hope he races better on Saturday night. Dale Earnhardt was the fastest at 189.989mph. With sppeds that slow, I doubt Ernie will make a 2nd round attempt

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at DAYTONA: 7/1/1999 - Ernie went out 17th of 48 cars and lost speed from practice. His first lap was 190.026mph and his second lap was 190.884mph, not much gain really. This is 32nd fastest and it's doubtful he will make a 2nd round attempt as it starts at 6pm/et and it'll be hotter and thus the speeds slower(but it was hotter during practice and Ernie was faster, so who knows). The #36 team is 28th in owners points, so unless something weird happens he'll be in the race. On the plus side the Crispy M&M's scheme looks cool, it's a darker blue then the diecast image I have on the site. 2nd Round: Ernie did not make a 2nd round attempt in Qualifying and will start 32nd in the Pepsi 400. Pole Winner: Joe Nemechek, #42 BellSouth Prepaid Phone Card Chevy, 194.860mph

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at DAYTONA: 7/2/1999 - Ernie was 19th fastest with a speed of 190.803mph, that's a little better. Mark Martin was the fastest at 192.702mph in the #6 Valovline Ford, but he wrecked at the end of Happy Hour and will have to go to a backup car for the race.

    ERNIE's RACE at DAYTONA: 7/3/1999 - Ernie started 32nd. And quickly moved up into the top 25. Ernie slowly picked up spot by spot and was in the top 20 by lap 16. He moved up to 14th by lap 50. Ernie pitted on lap 53 and after all the pit stops cycled thru, he was 15th. Ernie slowly moved up to 11th when John Andretti scraped the wall on lap 106, Ernie went to the inside and shot up to 2nd where he stayed for a lap or two, but fell back to 17th by lap 114. On lap 141 Ernie made a green pit stop after moving up to 14th. Not sure what happened but Ernie ended up 20th after the stops cycled through. When caution fell on lap 148 for debris, Ernie stayed out on the track and moved up to 15th. On lap 154 Ernie moved into the top 10. The caution came out on lap 158 and Ernie was able to hold on and finish 9th and get his 5th top 10 of the year. The 9th place finish allowed Ernie to move up to 22nd in Drivers Points. Winner: Dale Jarrett, #88 Quality Care/Ford Credit Ford

    THE SAVE MART/KRAGEN 350
    ERNIE's BEST at SEARS POINT: Ernie has started 9 races at Sears Point with his best start was the pole in May 1994 and his best finish was wins in June 1992 and May 1994. Last year Ernie started the Save-Mart/Kragen 350k 32nd and finished 36th. These stats come from stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

    ERNIE's PRACTICE at SEARS POINT:
    6/25/1999 Practice: Ernie ran three laps, had a gas pedal stick and ended up in the tires, damaging the promary car, he brought out the back-up and finished up with 16 more laps. He ran the 43rd fastest time at 143.828mph which is incorrect, not sure where NOL got those speeds, my calcualtions show it to be: 95.056mph. Bobby Labonte was the fastest and listed on NOL at 148.139mph but my calculations show 97.918mph
    6/26/1999 Practice: Ernie's backup car doesn't seem too fast, it was only 40th of 51 cars in the morning practice with a speed of 95.392mph in 15 laps. On the plus side Boris Said was the fastes(see below)

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at SEARS POINT: 6/25/1999 - Ernie went out 38th in his backup car and only ran the 43rd fastest lap of 94.589mph(he did not run off course as I reported earlier, got my info mixed up). Not sure if Ernie will make a 2nd round attempt. 2nd Round: Ernie made a 2nd round round attempt and while it was faster then 1st round at 95.728mph, it was not fast enough to make the top 36 and Ernie will take a provisional and start 40th. Ernie also is handicapped as he will pit in 'Gilligan's Island', the nickname for the final nine pit stalls, which are marooned in the center of Turn 11. Teams cannot get back across the track from the location. If a driver crashes, his car has to be repaired there. If a driver falls out, his team must stay until the race is over(Times-Dispatch), also hear drivers are held 20 seconds to 'even' things out. Pole Winner: Jeff Gordon, #24 DuPont Chevy, 98.519mph

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at SEARS POINT: 6/26/1999 - Looks like a tough weekend. Ernie was 42nd fastest(?) of 43 cars with a speed of 93.251mph. Ricky Rudd was the fastest at 96.049mph

    ERNIE's RACE at SEARS POINT: 6/27/1999 - well it was an uneventful day for Ernie and the M&M's team from a fans standpoint, I don't think he was ever mentioned during the broadcast, it would had been nice to see the 'Gilligan's Island' pits. But Ernie was able to pull off a 30th place finish in a backup car after starting 40th. That was the highest I saw him place all day. He stayed in the lead lap until around lap 75. Pitting on 'Gilligan's Island' sure didn't help, anyhow, tough weekend for the team but they got thru it. Ernie dropped two spots to 27th in the points. Winner: Jeff Gordon, #24 DuPont Chevy(4th of year)

    IRVAN-SIMO

    Boris Said will be running the #14 Federated Auto Parts Ford at Sears Point in the Cup race

    BORIS's PRACTICE at SEARS POINT:
    6/25/1999 Practice: Not too bad, 5th fastest with a lap of 147.542mph which is incorrect, not sure where NOL got those speeds, my calcualtions show it to be: 97.511mph.
    6/26/1999 Practice: Boris was the fastest in the morning pracrice with a speed of 97.667mph in 16 laps, you can bet he'll make a 2nd round attempt

    BORIS's QUALIFYING at SEARS POINT: 6/25/1999 - Boris went out 31st and blew an engine just as he finished the lap, he ended with a speed of 95.799mph which was 36th fastest. 2nd Round: Not sure what happened yet, Boris went out in 2nd round and had a speed of 92.534mph after breaking a transmission during the run. Not fast enough to make the top 36 and the team is too deep in owners points, 50th, to use a provisional, so Boris is a DNQ.

    BORIS's HAPPY HOUR at SEARS POINT: 6/26/1999 - Didn't make race

    BORIS's RACE at SEARS POINT: 6/27/1999 - Didn't make race

    THE POCONO 500
    ERNIE's BEST at POCONO: Ernie has started 20 races at Pocono with his best start was the pole in June 1990 and his best finish was a 4th in July 1996. Last year Ernie started the Pocono 500 31st and finished 34th. These stats come from stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

    ERNIE's PRACTICE at POCONO:
    6/18/1999 Practice: not so good, Ernie ran 17 laps and was 36th fastest of 46 cars. He ran a fast lap of 167.628mph. Steve Park was the fastest at 170.735mph
    6/18/1999 Practice: hey...much better, Ernie was the fastest in Saturday AM practice with a speed of 168.013mph(would had been 30th in 1st round qualifying) in 10 laps. No idea if he will attempt 2nd round, he is safely in the field

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at POCONO: 6/18/1999 - Ernie ran a lap of 167.261mph, almost the same as practice, but still not good. That's 37th of 46 cars. 2nd Round: Ernie made a 2nd round attempt and was the 2nd 2nd round qualifer with a speed of 167.838mph. Terry Labonte was a tick faster at 167.885mph. So Ernie raced into the field and will start 34th. Pole Winner: Sterling Marlin, #40 Coors Light, 170.506mph(track record)

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at POCONO: 6/19/1999 - Ernie ran 22 laps and was 21st fastest with a fast lap of 164.347mph. Mark Martin was the fastest at 165.935mph.

    ERNIE's RACE at POCONO: 6/20/1999 - Ernie started 34th and promptly and slowly moved up to the field where he moved into the top 10 around lap 70. No fluke or anything, just a solid car and good racing. By lap 125 Ernie had moved into 7th place. On lap 130, Kenny Irwin wrecked(!) and Ernie pitted 7th and came out 5th, the crew having a great day! When David Green stopped on the track and caution fell on lap 147, Ernie came in 5th and came out 8th, I think a few cars ahead of him only took two or no tires, like the #22 and the #1. Ernie was 8th when the next restart occurred around lap 155 and Ernie did pit and came out 18th, not sure what happened, but in one lap Ernie got up to 12th. When DW hit the wall on lap 167, Ernie came in with some others, not sure if he just got gas or gas and tires too. Doing so dropped Ernie back to 15th on the restart, so he didn't lose much. But after Jimmy Spencer tapped the wall after getting in Elliott's oil, causing a caution, Ernie must have pitted, because he dropped back down to 20th on the restart. On lap 193, a multi car accident allowed Ernie to climb into the top 10, he restarted lap 196 9th. Ernie was able to pick up a spot and finished 8th, a nice top 10 considering he started 34th. The finish moves Ernie back into the top 25 in Drivers Points. Ernie's winnings at Pocono were $54,415. Winner: Bobby Labonte, #18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac(2nd of year)

    IRVAN-SIMO

    Boris Said will be running the #44 Federated Auto Parts Ford Truck at Portland for the Grainger 225K road course race, June 18th. Will be on ESPN at 9pm/et

    BORIS's PRACTICE at PORTLAND:
    6/17/1999 Practice: Boris was 4th with a speed of 89.987mph. Mike Wallace was the fastest at 90.065mph in the #2 Ford
    6/18/1999 Practice: Boris was 3rd fastest at 88.944mph, Ron Fellows in the #87 Chevy was the fastest at 91.125mph

    BORIS's QUALIFYING at PORTLAND: 6/17/1999 - wow, Boris won the pole with a speed of 91.144mph.

    BORIS's RACE at PORTLAND: 6/18/1999 - Boris started on the pole and lead the first 13 laps, but had battery problems. He was able to recover and finish a nice 5th. Winner: Greg Biffle, #50 Grangier Ford

    THE KMART 400 at MICHIGAN
    ERNIE's PRACTICE at MICHIGAN:
    6/11/1999 Practice 1: Ernie was 14th fastest in 8 laps with a speed of 184.828mph. Rusty Wallace was fastest at 186.547mph.
    6/11/1999 Practice 2: Ernie moved up to 8th with a speed of 185.936mph in 6 laps. Jeff Burton was the fastest with a speed of 187.066mph
    6/11/1999 Practice 2: Ernie hopefully was working on his race setup as he ran 20 laps with a top speed of 180..356mph which was 39th fastest. Ricky Rudd was fastest at 185.175mph

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at MICHIGAN: 6/11/1999 - Well how about that! Ernie went out 14th of 46 drivers and ripped off a lap of 186.712mph for a new track record! Then Jeff Gordon went out two cars later and beat Ernie by .233mph, bummer BUT he'll start on the second row and that is a welcome change and his best starting spot of the year......so far. Pole Winner: Jeff Gordon, #24 DuPont Chevy, 186.945mph(track record)

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at MICHIGAN: 6/12/1999 - Ernie ran 29 laps and was 40th fastest of 43 drivers. Not sure why so slow. The fast lap was 176.483mph. Bobby Labonte was the fastest at 181.059mph.

    ERNIE's RACE at MICHIGAN: 6/13/1999 - Well it, wasn't what I hoped for, but Ernie ran a consistent race and was able to turn his great 2nd place starting spot to a 7th place finish, a lap down. The race started with Ernie leading the first four laps, which was great to see, but he was never able to gewt back to the point. The #36 Pedigree Pontiac got tight early in the race and Ernie was not able to get back up front. A little after the 2nd pit stop Ernie fell a lap down to the very strong #88 and Dale Jarrett. I was afraid they would need to come in for a splash of fuel and cost Ernie a top ten, but Ryan must have had things figured out and they didn't have to stop. Ernie's winnings was $47,725 and he moved up 4 spots in the points standings to 27th. A top 10 is just what Ernie needed. Next up is Pocono. Winner: Dale Jarrett, #88 Quality Care/Ford Credit Ford(2nd of year, 20th career)

    ERNIE's BEST at MICHIGAN: Ernie has started 19 races at Michigan with his best start was the pole in August 1998 and his best finish was a WIN in June 1997(his last win). Last year Ernie started the Kmart 400 34th and finished 14th. These ../stats come from ../stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

    THE MBNA PLATINUM 400
    ERNIE's PRACTICE at DOVER:
    6/4/1999 Practice 1: Ernie ran 21 laps and was 25th with a speed of 156.480mph. Kenny Wallace was fastest with a speed of 158.744. 31 drivers were faster then the track record of 155.966mph.
    6/4/1999 Practice 2: Ernie ran 15 laps and was 30th fastest with a speed of 156.182. Mark Martin was the fastest at 158.751mph
    6/5/1999 Practice: Ernie ran a bunch of laps, 53 and was 34th fastest with a speed of 151.905mph. Dick Trickle was the fastest at 155.844mph. I doubt Ernie will make a 2nd round attempt, all the speeds were slower then what he qualified on Friday.

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at DOVER: 6/4/1999 - Ernie went out 19th of 46 drivers and ran a lap of 156.372mph. Ernie broke the track record! But so did 32 other drivers and he qualified 27th. Not sure if he will make a 2nd round attempt, but it is supposed to be hotter on saturday here in the Northeast, so Ernie, even though he is 32nd in owners points, is pretty safe at making the show. Ernie did not make a 2nd round attempt, but got bumped two spots and will start 29th. Pole Winner: Bobby Labonte, #18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac, 159.320mph(track record)

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at DOVER: 6/5/1999 - It wasn't too Happy. Ernie started off with a hot lap of 153.544mph which ended up being 6th fastest in Happy Hour. But after 3 laps Ernie crashed hard but fortunately wasn't injured. The team did have to unload the back up car so he will be starting 43rd. He was able to get in 12 laps in the backup car, no idea what the fast speed in that car was. I didn't see Happy Hour and found this out after I posted my earlier report. Jeremy Mayfield was the fastest at 154.552mph

    ERNIE's RACE at DOVER: 6/6/1999 - Well Ernie was to start 29th but wrecked in Happy Hour practice and had to start 43rd. Ernie moved up a little but not much, had clutch problems early and lost 5 laps as the crew fixed it. Ernie kept plugging all day and wound up 35th, 9 laps down. Ernie maintains 31st in driver points and at least didn't wreck or have an DNF. On to Michigan, scene of Ernie's last win. Winner: Bobby Labonte, #18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac

    ERNIE's BEST at DOVER: Ernie has started 19 races at Dover with his best start was the pole twice in June 1993 and 1994 and his best finish was 2nd in Sept 1994. Last year Ernie started the MBNA Platinum 400 8th and finished 9th. These ../stats come from ../stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

    #14 IRVAN-SIMO BGN Pontiac

    ERNIE's BGN PRACTICE at DOVER:
    6/4/1999 AM Practice: Ernie was 22nd fastest with a speed of 152.652mph. #37-Kevin Grubb was the fastest at 154.486mph.
    6/4/1999 PM Practice: Ernie was 28th fastest in 12 laps with a speed of 151.821mph. #5-Dick Trickle was fastest at 155.279
    6/5/1999 Practice: Ernie ran 42 laps and was 18th fastest with a speed of 149.167mph. Kevin Grubb was fastest with a speed of 150.539

    ERNIE's BGN QUALIFYING at DOVER: 6/4/1999 - Ernie went out 35th of 51 drivers and qualified 24th with a speed of 152.549mph. Pole Winner: Dick Trickle, #5 Schneider Trucking Chevy, 155.213mph

    ERNIE's BGN RACE at DOVER: 6/5/1999 - Ernie started 24th and never seemed to have a strong car but hung around the top twenty when he got involved in an accident he was trying to avoid. Got tagged in the right 1/4 panel, spun a bit and hit the wall lightly. Ernie ended up 34th. Winner: Dale Earnhardt, Jr, #3 AC Delco Chevy

    THE COCA-COLA 600
    ERNIE's PRACTICE at LOWES:
    5/26/1999 Practice: Ernie ran 12 laps and was a respectible 183.081mph. Fastest was Steve Park in the #1 Pennzoil Chevy at 184.722mph
    5/27/1999 Practice 1: Ernie was only 25th fastest in 26 laps with a speed of 176.268 early in the session, but it was during the heat of the day, maybe going for a race setup. The true practice will come tonight after 2nd round qualifying when it'll be more like race conditions on Sunday. Fastest was the #50 of Dan Pardus with a speed of 179.539mph.
    5/27/1999 Practice 2: Ernie is listed as the 25th fastest again in the late afternoon practice with the same speed of 176.268mph. This time Joe Nemechek was fastest at 179.455mph. I thought maybe they combined it, but Pardus is listed at 177+ in the 2nd practice.
    5/27/1999 Practice 3: Ernie was 32nd fastest with a speed of 175.358mph in 37 laps. Elliott Sadler was the fastest at 179.946mph. Friday is an off day for the Cup teams, no practice.
    5/29/1999 AM Practice: Ernie was the 13th fastest with a speed of 178.606mph. Jeff Burton was the fastest at 180.048mph.

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at LOWES: 5/26/1999 - Ernie went out 29th of 52 cars and was able to scrap up the 20th fastest time with a speed of 183.206mph. They didn't show the attempt on TBS but I listened to it on PRN and Ernie wiggled a bit but saved the car. Pole Winner: Bobby Labonte, #18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac, 185.230mph(event record)

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at LOWES: 5/29/1999 - Ernie ran 17th fastest in 35 laps with a speed of 174.768mph. Tony Stewart was the fastest with a speed of 176.528mph.

    ERNIE's RACE at LOWES: 5/30/1999 - Ernie started 20th and for the most part all night stayed in the 16-25th place range. Was three laps down, but running steady and looked to get the car home in one piece with a chance of a top 15. But it wasn't meant to be as the engine expired on lap 375 and Ernie finished 36th. The poor finish dropped Ernie 4 spots to 31st i Drivers Points for the season. Ernie, the team and the fans are due some good luck very soon! Winner: Jeff Burton, #99 Exide Ford(3rd)

    IRVAN-SIMO/CUP

    RANDY LAJOIE's PRACTICE at LOWES:
    5/26/1999 Practice: not sure what is up here, but Randy was 52nd of 52 cars with a fast lap of 176.039mph in 11 laps
    5/27/1999 Practice 1: Not looking too good. Randy was 40th fastest of 52 cars with a fast speed of 174.887 in 15 laps, not sure what the problem is, but LaJoie did much better at Texas on a similar track
    5/27/1999 Practice 2: LaJoie picked it up a bit to 26th with a fast run of 175.655mph in 7 laps.
    5/27/1999 Practice 3: none missed the race

    RANDY's QUALIFYING at LOWES: 5/26/1999 - The #14 went out 46th of 52 cars and could only muster up a speed of 177.713mph, which is the slowest. NOL kept listing Randy LaJoie in the car and not Boris Said as originally planned, but on the TBS Qualifying show, they said it was LaJoie. Not sure why Boris was not in the car. Anyhow, LaJoie will have to pick it up quite a bit to make the race. 2nd round qualifying: Randy ran slower at 176.974mph and was the slowest qualifier, with no provisionals, the #14 team missed the race.

    RANDY's HAPPY HOUR at LOWES: 5/29/1999 - missed the race

    RANDY's RACE at LOWES: 5/30/1999 - missed the race

    ERNIE's BEST at the Coca Cola 600: Ernie has started 19 races at Charlotte with his best start was 2nd in Oct 1993 and his best finish a win in Oct 1993. Last year Ernie started the Coca-Cola 600 18th and finished 11th. These ../stats come from ../stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

    THE WINSTON
    ERNIE's PRACTICE at THE WINSTON:
    5/21/1999 AM Practice: Ernie was 11th fastest of 20 cars with a speed of 179.987mph, Mark Martin was fastest at 182.352
    5/21/1999 PM Practice: Ernie was 7th fastest of 19 cars with a speed of 180.595mph in 9 laps. Jeff Gordon was fastest at 182.167
    5/21/1999 PM-2 Practice: Ernie ran 30 laps and was 5th fastest of 20 cars. Bobby Labonte was the fastest with a speed of 177.113mph
    5/22/1999 Practice 1: Ernie was 13th fastest of 19 cars(Earnhardt didn't practice) with a speed of 175.661mph. #22-Ward Burton was the fastest at 177.707

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at THE WINSTON: 5/21/1999 - Ernie went out 1st and his speed was 141.866mph after running 3 laps and running a two tire pitstop. He will start at The Winston in 12th starting spot. Pole Winner: Bobby Labonte, #18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac, 146.830mph

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at THE WINSTON: 5/22/1999 - Ernie ran 19 laps and was 13th fastest with a speed of 175.012mph. Jeff Gordon was the fastest at 177.766

    ERNIE's RACE at THE WINSTON: 5/22/1999 - Ernie started 12th and after 10 laps and a caution was around 10th. On a restart after an accident involving Jeff Burton, Ricky Rudd and Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte had an engine problem and slowed on the restart bunching up the field. Mark Martin tapped Labonte who got a little out of shape and forced Ernie and a few others up into the top groove and the speed dry from the 1st accident. Ernie wiggled then lost it, hit the wall, spun and was collected by Rusty Wallace and others. The car was basically destroyed and Ernie was relegated to 18th in the finishing order. Ernie is ok and will be ready to go for the Coca-Cola 600 on the 30th. I decided to leave my #36 Flag hanging outside in the rain in an attempt to wash out the bad luck of the last two months. Winner: Terry Labonte, #5 Kelloggs K-Sentials Chevy

    IRVAN-SIMO/BGN

  • Boris Said will run the #14 Federated Auto Parts Ford at the Coca-Cola 600, Said ran the Winston Open and started 25th and finished 21st but got some much needed track time under race conditions

    ERNIE's BEST at the Winston: Ernie has started seven The Winston's with his best start on the pole in 1993 and his best finish 3rd in 1993. Last year Ernie started 15th and finished 20th after only completing two laps.

    RICHMOND
    ERNIE's PRACTICE at Richmond for the Pontiac Excitement 400:
    5/14/1999 Practice: Rain is delayed practice until 5pm or so. Ernie was 7th fastest with a speed of 125.418mph in 18 laps. Rusty Wallace was the fastest with a speed of 126.292mph
    5/15/1999 AM Practice: Ernie was 12th fastest with a speed of 125.756mph. Bobby Labonte was the fastest at 126.730mph

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at Richmond: 5/15/1999 - was rained out and postponed until Saturday. Ernie went out 24th of 46 cars and ran 124.723mph on his first lap and 123.113 on his 2nd lap. The first lap is good for the 25th starting spot. Real shame, Ernie practiced much better then his qualifying speed. Pole Winner: Jeff Gordon, #24 DuPont Chevy, 126.499mph

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at Richmond: 5/15/1999 - will be on TV-ESPN2 at 5:30pm/et. Ernie ran 45 laps and was 35th fastest with a speed of 121.929mph. Jeff Burton was the fastest at 123.807mph.

    ERNIE's RACE at Richmond: 5/15/1999 - Ernie started 25th and was up to 20th when he tangled a bit with Sterling Marlin, spun and hit the turn 4 wall with the drivers side rear. Ernie pitted and was able to stay on the lead lap until the next caution when he fell behind 4 laps and pitted a few times. At this point Ernie slowly moved up from 35th to 29th when he slowed for a spinning Mike Skinner, he got tapped in the rear by Kevin Lepage and hit the wall with the front end. Ernie was stopped on the track. He was taken back to the garage area where the crew took most of the sheet metal off the front and Ernie came back out and finished the race in 33rd spot. Winner: Dale Jarrett, #88 Quality Care Ford

    IRVAN-SIMO/BGN

    ERNIE's PRACTICE at Richmond for the Hardee's 250:
    5/13/1999 Practice: Ernie ran the #14 Federated Auto Parts Pontiac to the 22nd fasted practice speed of 122.677mph. The fastest was Mark Martin in the #60 at 124.924mph.

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at Richmond: 5/13/1999 - not too shabby, Ernie qualified 8th with a speed of 123.519mph. Jason Keller won the pole with a speed of 124.907mph

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at Richmond: 5/14/1999 - none, canceled

    ERNIE's RACE at Richmond: 5/14/1999 - Ernie started 8th and was hanging in the top 15 most of the night and was 14th when he got loose on lap 91, tapped the wall in turn 4 and ended up stuck in the wet grass. After a tow truck crew pushed him back on to the track, Ernie was two laps down in 37th. Next thing we were told, was that Ernie was out of the race because his brakes were locking up and he decided to park it instead of taking a chance on causing a wreck or being in the way. Since Ernie was going for the win not points, this made sense. He ended up finishing 39th running 106 laps and collecting $6,800 in winnings. Winner: Mark Martin, #60 Winn-Dixie Ford

    ERNIE's BEST at Richmond: Ernie's career average start at Richmond is 14.4 and his average finish is 19.6 in 19 starts. Ernie's best finish at there is WINS in 3/1994 and 9/1996, Ernie's best start is poles: 9/1990 and 9/1992. These ../stats come from ../stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

    CALIFORNIA
    ERNIE's PRACTICE at California for the California presented by NAPA:
    4/30/1999 Practice: canceled because of rain
    5/1/1999 Practice: Not so great. Ernie ran 38 laps and was 34th fastest of the 43 cars. His fast lap was 177.720mph. Jeff Gordon was fastest at 181.364

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at California: 4/30/1999 - canceled because of rain, will start 26th as that is Ernie's standings in the Owners Points. Pole Winner: Jeff Burton, #99 Exide Ford, awarded due to points

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at California: 5/1/1999 - Not bad, Ernie was 10th fastest in Happy Hour. He ran 32 laps and had a fast speed of 177.392mph. Jeff Gordon was fastest at 177.392mph.

    ERNIE's RACE at California: 5/2/1999 - Ernie started 26th as qualifying was rained out and the filed was set per owners points, in which the MB2 Motorsports team was 26th. Ernie charged up thru the pack to 11th when caution came out. Ernie and the rest of the filed pitted. Ernie came out 25th on lap 31. By lap 55, Ernie got back up to 11th. Around lap 79, Ernie made a green flag pit stop and after all teams pitted, Ernie was 15th. At halfway, lap 125, Ernie was in 9th place. He fell back to 12th and pitted during the green flag on lap 127. The caution came out when Ricky Rudd blew a motor on lap 129. Ernie got in the oil and side swiped the wall. ABC showed Ernie drive to the garage area, you could see the car was pancaked but they didn't mention him afterward. Ernie came back out during the 5th caution on lap 157. Ernie gutted it out and passed a few of the cars that DNF'd and was able to move up from 40th to 35th. Ernie dropped to 27th in the Winston Cup drivers Points. Winner: Jeff Gordon, #24 DuPont Chevy

    IRVAN-SIMO

    BORIS SAID's PRACTICE at California for the California presented by NAPA:
    4/30/1999 Practice: canceled because of rain.

    BORIS SAID's QUALIFYING at California: 4/30/1999 - canceled because of rain. Missed race as the team is not high enough in Owners Points

    BORIS SAID's HAPPY HOUR at California: 5/1/1999 - missed race

    BORIS SAID's RACE at California: 5/2/1999 - missed race

    ERNIE's BEST at California: Ernie's career average start at California is 12.0 and his average finish is 25.0 in 2 starts. Ernie's best finish at there is a 13th in 5/1998, Ernie's best start was a 2nd: 6/1997. These ../stats come from ../stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

    TALLADEGA
    ERNIE's PRACTICE at Talladega for the Diehard:
    4/23/1999 Practice: Ernie ran 8 laps and was 28th fastest(from NOL, Speedworld says 25th) with a speed of 193.881mph. Joe Nemechek was the fastest at 196.777mph.
    4/23/1999 Practice: Ernie ran 40 laps, wow! and had a fast lap of 193.321mph which was 22nd fastest. Rich Bickle in the #45 10-10-345 Pontiac was the fastest

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at Talladega: 4/23/1999 - Ernie went out 2nd of 48 cars and while it wasn't a great run, he got in the top 25 and will start 19th. His first lap was 194.259mph, his 2nd was 195.297mph. Pole Winner: Ken Schrader, #33 Skoal Chevy, 197.765mph

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at Talladega: 4/24/1999 - Ernie ran 30 laps and was 21st fastest with a fast speed of 193.901mph. Steve Park was fastest at 196.814mph, which he did on his opening laps of the session.

    ERNIE's RACE at Talladega: 4/25/1999 - Ernie started 19th, was up to 12th on lap 9, then fell back as far as 34th on lap 40. He fought his way back up to 24th when Mike Skinner and Tony Stewart got together and caused The Wreck. Ernie was almost by the it when Jeff Gordon, who got tagged by Skinner, came across in front of Rusty Wallace and Ernie. Ernie's front end was smushed. Ernie brought the car back out during a lengthy caution on lap 134 and was able to run 5 laps and pick up 2 spots. He then retired the #36 for the day as there were no more positions to gain. 3rd DNF of the season and Ernie fell out of the top 20 in points and dropped 7 spots to 26th. Winner: Dale Earnhardt, #3 GM Goodwrench Chevy

    ERNIE's BEST at Talladega: Ernie's career average start at Talladega is 12.5 and his average finish is 14.6 in 20 starts. Ernie's best finish at there is a WINs in 7/1992 and 5/1993, Ernie's best start was five POLEs: 5/1991, 5/1992, 5/1994, 4/1996 and 10/1997. These ../stats come from ../stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

    MARTINSVILLE

    TRUCK

    ERNIE's TRUCK PRACTICE at Martinsville:
    4/16/1999 AM Practice: Ernie was the 3rd fastest in the AM session at 92.878mph. Dennis Setzer was the fastest at 93.400mph.(see story above, Ernie and his truck were parked for the final 30 minutes of practice)
    4/16/1999 PM Practice: Ernie was the 7th fastest at 92.007mph. Mike Wallace in the #2 Ford was fastest at 82.714mph.

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at Martinsville: 4/16/1999 - Ernie went out 1st of 44 trucks and ran one lap of 93.006mph which was 11th fastest. (see story above, he was penatlized) Pole Winner: Mike Bliss, #99 Exide Ford, 94.275mph

    ERNIE's TRUCK RACE at Martinsville: 4/17/1999 - Ernie finished up 8th after falling back deep in the field. Winner: Jimmy Hensley, #43 Dodge Motorsports Dodge

    CUP

    ERNIE's PRACTICE at Martinsville for the Goodys Body Pain 500:
    4/16/1999 Practice: Not sure what happened, looks like the practice times were combined. Anyhow, Ernie was 8th fastest at 94.685mph. Jeff Gordon ended up being the fastest 95.075mph. Was getting all kinds of reports on speeds, these seem to be correct.
    4/17/1999 Practice: Ernie ran approx 80 laps and was 41st fastest with a speed of 92.718mph. Dick Trickle was fastest at 93.835mph

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at Martinsville: 4/16/1999 - YES JOHNNY! Ernie went out 15th and ran a fast lap of 94.894mph. This will allow Ernie to start 7th on the grid. It's nice see a good qualifying lap for the team! Pole Winner: Tony Stewart, #20 Home Depot Pontiac, 95.275mph

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at Martinsville: 4/17/1999 - Ernie ran mid pack most of the session and was 34th in Happy Hour with a fast lap of 92.447mph in 93 laps. Mark Martin had the fastest speed of 93.464mph.

    ERNIE's RACE at Martinsville: 4/18/1999 - Ernie started 7th and worked up to 6th. On lap 63 during a caution Ernie pitted and came out 7th. On lap 135 came in the pits and left 7th, and stayed there quite a while then slowly faded back to 14th when he got tapped by Geoffrey Bodine and spun, damaging Ernie's Pontiac on the left side of the car. He lost two lpas during the spin. After the pit stops, he was 32nd and fell back as far as 33rd. He worked the rest of the race to gain one lap back and got as high as 17th on lap 385. But slowly faded to finish 22nd, two laps down. Not the day any of us expected at Martinsville. On the plus side Ernie moved up to 19th in drivers points. His 1998 and 1999 seasons are pretty much a mirror so far. Ernie has a great history at Talladega, the next stop, he has 2 wins and 5 poles there. Winner: John Andretti, #43 STP Pontiac

    ERNIE's BEST at Martinsville: Ernie's career average start at Martinsville is 16.1 and his average finish is 13.5 in 19 starts. Ernie's best finish at there is a WIN in 9/1993, Ernie's best start was a POLE in 9/1993 and 9/1997. These ../stats come from ../stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

    BRISTOL
    ERNIE's PRACTICE at Bristol for the Food City 500:
    4/9/1999 AM Practice: Ernie was the 27th fastest in the AM session which started late because of rain. Bobby Hamilton was fastest at 124.549mph.
    4/9/1999 PM Practice: Ernie ran 14 laps and was 24th fastest with a speed of 123.055mph. Rusty Wallace was the fastest at 125.092, not sure if there was an AM practice or not.
    4/10/1999 AM Practice: Ernie ran 59 laps and was 34th fastest at 120.097mph. Looks like he was concentrating on a race setup. Joe Nemechek was fastest at 123.284mph

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at Bristol: 4/9/1999 - Ernie went out 44th of 47 cars and ended up being 32nd fastest with a fast lap of 122.961mph. This means Ernie will have to pit on the back stretch and not much of a shot at winning. What happened? During qualifing, Ernie got loose in turn four, which messed up both laps. Ernie did not make an attempt during 2nd round and fell back to 37th and into a provisional spot, his third of 1999. Ernie will start 41st. Pole Winner: Rusty Wallace, #2 Miller Lite Ford, 125.142mph

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at Bristol: 4/10/1999 - Ernie ran 65 laps and was 30th fastest with a speed of 118.254mph. Bobby Labonte was fastest at 120.255mph. Dale Earnhardt crashed and will have to go to a backup car, he is fine.

    ERNIE's RACE at Bristol: 4/11/1999 - Well that was short, 9 laps in Ernie spun after he got into the back of the #1 Steve Park chevy when Park checked up to avoid Kenny Irwin's slowing car when an oil line came off. The car spun and nosed into the inside backstretch wall. The team repaired the battered #36 M&M's Pontiac(took them 187 laps to fix) and Ernie came back out on lap 197, he had no front end sheet metal. Ernie stayed out for quite a few laps but after running 144 total, gave up, when it was evident that he would not pick up any spots and finished dead last. Why go out at all? In a normal Bristol race, there would be many cars in accidents and dropping out, but yesterday was no normal day, only two DNF's. The 43rd place finish really dropped Ernie back in Winston Cup drivers points to 23rd, Ernie has lost 13 spots in the last two races. Winner: Rusty Wallace, #2 Miller Lite Ford

    ERNIE's BEST at Bristol: Ernie's career average start at Bristol is 17.7 and his average finish is 22.8 in 19 starts. Ernie's best finish at there is TWO WINS in 4/1990 and 8/1992, Ernie's best start was a POLE in 8/1990. These ../stats come from ../stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

    TEXAS
    ERNIE's PRACTICE at Texas for the Primestar 500:
    3/26/1999 AM Practice: Hey not bad, Ernie was 17th fastest of 48 cars with a speed of 187.097mph in 12 laps. Randy LaJoie was 33rd fastest in the #14 Federated Auto Parts Ford of Ernie's with a speed of 185.484mph in 12 laps. Fatest was Mark Martin at 190.127mph.
    3/26/1999 PM Practice: A little worse but not bad. Ernie was 24tyh fastest with a spped of 187.558mph in 11 laps. Randy was 32nd fastest in the #14 at 187.136mph in 13 laps. Geoffrey Bodine was fastest at 190.100mph.
    3/27/1999 AM Practice: Ernie ran 32 laps and was 36th fastest at 183.325mph, maybe a race setup? Randy LaJoie was 41st fastest at 183.137. Geoffrey Bodine was fastest in the #60 Chevy at 190.496mph.

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at Texas: 3/26/1999 - Ernie went out 31st of 48 cars and was able to get the 22nd starting spot for the race with a speed of 187.130mph. And how about Randy LaJoie in the Irvan-Simo #14 Ford! He will start 14th and ran a speed of 188.173mph. Shame Ernie could not have swapped qualifying spots, LaJoie went out 46th of 48 and the shadows made it cooler. Pole Winner: Kenny Irwin, #28 Texaco Ford, 190.154mph

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at Texas: 3/27/1999 - rained out

    ERNIE's RACE at Texas: 3/28/1999 - Ernie started 22nd and must have got shuffled back quickly as he was 30th on lap 2. NASCAR threw a competition yellow to check tires and CBS's Mike Joy mentioned Ernie was in for a while making repairs, I understand they changed ignition boxes, and Ernie came out 40th, but he fought back up to 28th when Jeff Gordon wacked the wall on lap 68. Ernie pitted and came out 25th. Ernie got up to 19th when on lap 124, Mike Skinner hit the wall. Ernie pitted and came out 15th. The green flew at lap 130 and 4 laps later a big wreck caused another yellow. Randy LaJoie was up to 21st at lap 134. Green came back out on lap 141 but on lap 153 Randy LaJoie blew an engine in the #14 Federated Auto Parts Ford. Ernie had charged up to 13th at that point, he pitted and came out 20th, many teams only took two tires and that is why Ernie lost so many spots. Restart on lap 160, yellow back out on 162 for Joe Nemechek's wreck. Ernie moved up to 17th in the 2 laps, not bad. After the green came out Ernie worked up to 14th by lap 174 and finally CBS showed the #36 car (they were talking about M Waltrip, but M&M's finally got some exposure). On lap 190, Ernie got into the top 10 for the first time all day, still not mentioned yet on the broadcast. Ernie got mentioned when he was the first car of the lead lappers to pit on lap 209. Ernie came out 29th a lap down, but lost another lap when Mark Martin hit the wall on lap 215 before the leaders pitted, great luck. Great, more great luck, reported on lap 235, Ernie is running on 7 cylinders. Ernie is now falling back, five laps back as of lap 247 and back to 30th. They didn't say but Ernie must have brought the car in as it is being shown at lap 241 for a while, the engine must have blown for good. Ernie finished 37th and dropped out of the top 10 in drivers points. ../stats updated. Winner: Terry Labonte, #5 Kelloggs Chevy

    ERNIE's BEST at Texas: Ernie's career average start at Texas is 14.5 and his average finish is 39.5 in 2 starts. Ernie's best finish at there is 36th in 4/1997, Ernie's best start was 10th in 4/1997. Last year Ernie got taken out in that first lap wreck and finished last. These ../stats come from ../stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

    DARLINGTON
    ERNIE's PRACTICE at Darlington for the TranSouth 400:
    3/19/1999 AM Practice: Ernie ran seven laps and was only able to muster up 33rd fastest of 46 cars with a speed of 166.314mph. Bill Elliott was fastest at 170.850mph.
    3/19/1999 PM Practice: Yikes: Ernie was 43rd of 46 driver with a speed of 166.517mph in six laps. Jeff Gordon was fastest at 171.416mph
    3/20/1999 AM Practice: While Ernie was 7th fastest at 165.153mph running 43 laps, that wouldn't even crack the 46th spot.et a lone the top 28 to get that pit stall on the front stretch. The fastest was #45 Rich Bickle at 166.918mph.
    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at Darlington: 3/19/1999 - Ernie went out 37th of 46 cars, and ended up qualifying um....36th. He ran a lap of 169.695mph. That means he will have a backstetch pit stall, UNLESS he can pick it up during 2nd round qualifying, he would need to get up to 26th, 27th or 28th to get on the front stretch. Ernie, being safely in the field since he is 8th in owners points. Ernie did not go out in second round and will start in the 37th spot or the 1st provisional. Pole Winner: Jeff Gordon, #24 DuPont Chevy, 173.167mph(2nd of year)

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at Darlington: 3/20/1999 - Ernie ran 27 laps with a fast speed of 162.104mph, which was 30th fastest. Mark Martin was the fastest at 164.903mph.

    ERNIE's RACE at Darlington: 3/21/1999 - Wow, what a weird day. Anyhow, Ernie started 37th and had a great car and with great pit stops and Ernie's hard charging style, he got to 9th on lap 133. Then as news mentioned rain was on the way, Ernie spun, and did a 180 and wacked the wall, but he was able to get the car going, a lap later the red came out. Mentioned by ESPN before they left was that Ernie thought he slid in something on the track. Kenny Irwin who was involved in a resulting crash with Ricky Craven, said it wasn't raining at the time and he blamed it on old tires. The 24th place finish dropped Ernie to 10th in the Winston Cup drivers points. Winner: Jeff Burton, #99 Exide Ford, 2nd of 1999

    ATLANTA
    ERNIE's PRACTICE at Atlanta for the Cracker Barrel 500:
    3/12/1999 AM Practice: Much more promising this week. Ernie only ran seven laps and went out three times and improved each time. He was 20th fastest of 47 cars with a speed of 191.152mph. Jeremy Mayfield was fastest in the #12 Ford at 193.825mph.
    3/12/1999 AM Practice: Ernie was a tad slower but many picked up over a mile an hour during the PM practice. Ernie was 36th fastest(an omen?) with a speed of 190.915 in 6 laps. Joe Nemechek was fastest at 194.703mph in the #42 BellSouth Chevy
    3/13/1999 Practice: Looks like(I hope) Ernie and the team were doing a race day setup. Ernie was 39th fastest in Saturday AM practice with a speed of 185.907mph in 17 laps. Derrike Cope was the fastest at 190.397mph and was the only driver who ran a speed that would get him in the top 36, otherwise he goes home.

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at Atlanta: 3/12/1999 - Ernie went out 16th of 47 cars and did ok, he was 21st fastest with a speed of 191.748mph which was faster than any practice times he ran. So we can relax on Saturday and Ernie and Ryan can set up for the race. Pole Winner: Bobby Labonte, #18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac, 194.957mph(2nd of year)

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at Atlanta: 3/13/1999 - Ernie was 30th fastest with a fast lap of 188.834mph in 36 laps. Jeff Gordon was the fastest at 188.834mph

    ERNIE's RACE at Atlanta: 3/14/1999 - Well the race didn't start until a little after 2pm. Ernie started 21st. After Dale Earnhardt crashed on lap 21, Ernie pitted and came out 17th. Ernie moved up to 15th then pitted around lap 87 and after all pitstops were done, Ernie was 20th. Ernie lost a lap just before the caution came out on lap 118 for light rain and could not get it back. Ernie came in for his pitstop on lap 121 and came out 19th. At the green Ernie charged ahead and got his lap back for a lap or so, then lost it again. Caution came out on lap 153 for Copes accident and Ernie got his lap back, good job. Ernie pitted with the leaders, came in 18th and went out 16th. Caution came out for rain again on lap 184, Ernie was 16th at the time. Ernie came in to pit, I was hoping that they would leave him out there there in case the rain didn't stop since the race was past halfway. But he came in and went out 17th. Green came back out on lap 196. Ernie was running 14th when Geoffrey Bodine wrecked on lap 234. Ernie came in 13th to pit and came out 12th. Green came out out lap 246 but Jeremy Mayfield wrecked on lap 249 and brought out a caution. Green came out on lap 253, Ernie was 6th after gunning it and racing to the finish line he passed a batch of cars. Ernie came in for his final pit stop around lap 297 under green, took two tires and got got gas, Ernie came out in 15th. After pit stops cycled Ernie was 10th and was able to pick up a few spots and finish 7th, thanks to those two tires. Ernie just missed that elusive top 5 again. Ernie was able to climb up to 8th in the drivers points, his highest with the #36 team since after the 1998 Daytona 500(6th). Winner: Jeff Gordon, #24 DuPont Chevy, 2nd of 1999

    LAS VEGAS
    ERNIE's PRACTICE at Las Vegas. NV for the Las Vegas 400:
    3/5/1999 Practice: Yikes! Ernie was 39th fastest in the 2 hour practice at Vegas. He ran 23 laps with a fast(?) speed of 166.021mph. Mike Skinner was fastest in the #31 Lowes Chevy, over three mph faster than Ernie at 169.661mph.
    3/6/1999 Practice: Well, Ernie ran 18 laps and was 35th fastest at 161.768mph. Ward Burton was fastest at 166.507mph. Speeds are much slower than Friday, not sure if Ernie will make a 2nd round attempt.

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at Las Vegas: 3/5/1999 - Ugh! Ernie went out 25th and was 41st fastest in first round, with a speed of 166.667mph. Not sure if he will attempt 2nd round qualifying. Ernie is guaranteed to get a provisional for the race as he is 15th in owners points from 1998. 2nd Round 3/6/1999: Ernie did not make an attempt and will use a provisional to get in the starting lineup. He gets the 4th provisional which is 40th starting spot. Pole Winner: Bobby Labonte, #18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac, 170.643mph(new track record)

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at Las Vegas: 3/6/1999 - While not great, it looks like the team and Ernie made a few strides. Ernie was slow most of HH then picked it up some to finish 29th fastest in 42 laps with a speed of 161.280mph. Jeff Burton was fastest at 163.924mph, done very earaly in HH.

    ERNIE's RACE at Las Vegas: 3/7/1999 - Move of the early part of the race had to be Ryan and the boys bringing Ernie in at lap 8 when Johnny Benson spun and collected Tony Stewart which led to a caution. They put on new tires and Ernie took the #36 to the LEAD. Ernie then pitted on lap 68 and pulled a 18.4 seconds(not bad). Ernie came out 14th on lap 69. Ernie climbed to 8th and a caution for debris came out on lap 102. They didn't highlight Ernie, but he came out in 9th, so they didn't do too bad, made an air pressure adjustment and a change to the rear suspension. Ernie stayed in 9th when a multicar wreck caused a caution on lap 118 and Ernie pitted again and the team got him out 7th. ABC reported that the pitcrew had some trouble getting all the full in on the lap 118 stop and it cost them 3 or so seconds. Huge accident on lap 130 invloving at least seven cars, luckily Ernie was not involved, Ernie came out 15th after pitting. A little scary on lap 168 where Mike Skinner and Ernie were fighting for 11th place and they touched. Not sure what happened, Ernie pitted, took new tires and took a tad longer but lost a lap, but got it back when others started making pit stops. On lap 232 all the pit straegy the team figured out went out the window when Geoffrey Bodine blew an engine. Ernie came in a pitted and came out 9th after coming in 6th. He was able to make up a few spots and get the 6th spot, still chasing that elusive first top 5 for the team and missed out on the No Bull 5 at Charlotte. But it was a great run by Ernie to pull it off, he ran a great race! This should pull Ernie back up to the top 15 in points. Us fans needed some hope and this really helps, now it's oof to Atlanta.Winner: Jeff Burton, #99 Exide Ford

    ROCKINGHAM
    ERNIE's PRACTICE at Rockingham, NC for the DuraLube/BigK 400:
    2/19/1999 Practice 1: - Yikes, Ernie was 41st out of 47 cars in the AM practice with a speed 0f 152.289mph in 10 laps. Jeremy Mayfield was fastest at 156.401mph ot 4mph faster than Ernie
    2/19/1999 Practice 2: Ernie fared a bit better, he ran 6 laps for the 30th fastest speed of 154.097mph. Jeremy Mayfield was the fatsest at 156.964mph. The 2nd practice got cut short, maybe because of the supposed rain that is moving in
    2/20/1999 Practice: Well Ernie moved up to 26th fastest on the green, freshly rain cleaned track. He ran 5 laps with a fast speed of 154.487mph, a tad better than Friday. Mark Martin was the fastest with a lap of 157.912mph.

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at Rockingham: 2/19/1999 - Whoops, wrong about the rain. Rain has postponed Cup qualifying at the Rock. One round of qualifying will take place at 10:45am/et with 45 minutes of practice at 9am/et. Positions 1-36 will be determined and each driver will get one lap. 2nd round has been canceled. Ernie will go out 30th of 47 cars. The key is to get better than 31st and stay on those front stretch pits. 2/20/1999 BUMMER: Ernie picked up speed, but so did just about everyone else. Ernie ran a qualifying lap of 155.300mph which is good for 34th starting spot and a back stretch pit stall, which means winning will be extremely tough if not impossible. Pole Winner: Ricky Rudd, #10 Tide Ford, 157.241mph

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at Rockingham: 2/20/1999 - Ernie did a bit better in this practice and was 16th fastest at 149.577mph in 54 laps. Jeff Gordon was the fastest at 150.971mph. Most of the fast laps were done early in the practice.

    ERNIE's RACE at Rockingham: 2/21/1999 - Well, that sucked. Ernie just had a bad weekend and no luck at all. The car was slow all weekend, qualified poorly, got stuck on the back pits and had no luck in the race. Hey, and he still did better than Jeff Gordon, so what the heck. Ernie lost as lap around lap 100. then lost it, spun and backed into the wall on lap 208 and not sure what happened on lap 379, but backed into the wall again, maybe some help maybe not. While not charging thru the field like usual, each time Ernie was slowly moving up to at least a top 25 finish. As it was Ernie finished 29th, and let's hope Vegas is better in two weeks. Winner: Mark Martin, #6 Valvoline Ford

    ERNIE's BEST at Las Vegas: Ernie career average start here is 17.8 and his average finish at the Rock is 14.2. He has qualified 2nd twice, in Oct 1991 and Feb 1993. Ernie best finish was 2nd in Oct 1992. These ../stats come from ../stats I compiled at my Ernie Irvan Race Averages page

    THE DAYTONA 500
    ERNIE's PRACTICE at Daytona for the Daytona 500:
    2/5/1999 Practice 1 - Oh yeah! Ernie is back for 1999. He ran 2nd fastest of 55 cars with a speed of 192.736mph. No idea if he was with a pack or by himself. Rusty Wallace was once again the fastest with a speed of 193.877mph.
    2/5/1999 Practice 2 - Ernie slowed a tad but was still 11th fastest of 54 cars with a speed of 192.455mph. Sterling Marlin was fastest at 193.994mph.
    2/5/1999 Bud Shootout Practice: Ernie slowed down at the Shootout Practice but with a dufferent car, he was 18th of 27th with a speed of 188.406mph. Rusty Wallace was fastest again at 190.126
    2/6/1999 Final Bud Shootout Practice: Ernie didn't practice for the Bud Shootout, I know he mentioned during an interview that he was feeling the effects of a cold or flu. Either that or the team decided the Shootout car was fine. 23 of the 29 teams practiced, fastest was the #18 of Bobby Labonte with a speed of 190.924mph.
    2/8/1999 Practice: What? Ernie slowed down quite a bit, to 188.825mph, which was 36th or 51 cars practicing. Hope they were trying race setups. Fastest was Steve Park in the #1 Pennzoil Chevy at 193.456mph with Dale Earnhardt's qualifying engine in the car.
    2/9/1999 Practice: Ernie was 32nd fastest at 190.013mph of 58 cars out there this morning. Tony Stewart was the fastest at 191.734mph. By the way Ernie and Jeff Gordon had the same speed.
    2/10/1999 Practice 1: Looks like the team is getting that race setup better, Ernie was 8th fastest today with a speed of 191.766mph. Jerry Nadeau in the #9 Cartoon Network Ford was fastest at 192.102mph. 57 cars practiced.
    2/10/1999 Practice 2: Ernie was 10th fastest, with a speed of 190.597mph. Rich Bickle in the #45 Lucky Dog Pontiac was fastest at 191.550
    2/12/1999 Practice: not so great, Ernie was 37th of 39 drivers with a speed of 187.664mph. Sterling Marlin was fastest at 191.099mph

    ERNIE's QUALIFYING at Daytona: 2/6/1999 - Well Ernie went out 4th of 58 cars and cut off a great lap a speed of 193.978mph. At the time that was the outside pole and hope was that it would hold up. But alas, it did not and Ernie got bumped back to 8th fastest. He will start 4th in the 2nd Twin 125 on Thursday. With his speed he is guaranteed to start no farther back then 36th in the Daytona 500. The 1st two qualfiers will start one and two and if Ernie does well in the 125 he should be in the top 10 someplace. Pole Winner: Jeff Gordon, #24 DuPont Chevy, 195.067mph

    ERNIE's RACE in the Bud Shootout at Daytona: 2/7/1999 - They drew for positions on Thursday the 4th and Ernie will start 12th of 15 drivers. Ernie was never really a factor in the race and stayed in the mid-pack until the pit stop when they took a long time to complete th stop and Ernei never recovered and finished 14th, ahead of only Jeff Gordon, who left the race early. Just didn't seem the Shootout car was all that fast. Anyhow, Mark Martin won the race. For more info on the Bud Shootout and the 500 see my The Next Race Page

    ERNIE's RACE in the Twin 125's at Daytona: 2/11/1999 - Ernie started 4th in the 2nd Twin 125. Not sure what happened as I could not listen to the race but Ernie fell back and finished 17th. He is the fastest non-Twin 125 qualifier and will start the Daytona 500 31st. Winners: Dale Earnhardt, #3 GM Goodwrench Chevy and Bobby Labonte, #18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac

    ERNIE's HAPPY HOUR at Daytona: 2/13/1999 - after the BGN race, on TV Saturday, tape delayed at 10:30pm on ESPN2. Ernie was 35th fastest with a speed of 190.029mph in 36 laps run, but he seem to pick it up towards the end of the practice. Chad Little was the fastest in the #97 John Deere Ford with a speed of 192.352mph, done very early in the session.

    ERNIE's RACE at Daytona: 2/14/1999 - BUMMER! Ernie slowly charged up through the field and had a top five going with around 10 laps to go, then just seemed to fade back. He ended up finishing 14th. It looked like he had good pit stops all day, got a little rear end damage from a loose tire on pit road, but it didn't seem to hurt the car. Winner: Jeff Gordon, #24 DuPont Chevy

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