Remembering Kenny Irwin on the 16th anniversary of his death
Thursday marks the 16th anniversary of the death of NASCAR Premier Series driver Kenny Irwin Jr., who perished in a crash at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Irwin died instantly when his No. 42 Team SABCO Chevrolet went head-on into the Turn 3 wall at New Hampshire in a wreck eerily similar to the one that claimed the life of 19-year-old Adam Petty at the track that May.
In both crashes, stuck throttles were believed to be the culprits.
A native of Indianapolis, Irwin was just 30 years old when he was fatally injured.
In his NASCAR career, Irwin made 87 starts with three poles, four top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. He was the 1998 NASCAR Premier Series Rookie of the Year.
His best finish was in the 1999 Daytona 500, where he wheeled the powerhouse No. 28 Robert Yates Racing Ford to a third-place finish behind race-winner Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt.
Like his friend and rival Tony Stewart, Irwin cut his teeth on the dirt tracks of their home state of Indiana. Irvin won seven USAC races and was the 1993 USAC Rookie of the Year and the 1996 USAC Midget Series champion.
Irwin also won a pair of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races in 1997.
A popular and respected racer, Irwin's career came and went much too quickly.
