Two Minutes with Ernie Irvan

Ernie Irvan’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career that spanned 12 years with 313 starts, 15 wins, 124 top-10 finishes with 22 poles. Irvan’s 1991 win in the Daytona 500 was his greatest achievement of his career becoming the first driver born west of the Mississippi to win the Great American Race.

Irvan’s career was cut short after a life-threatening crash at Michigan Speedway in 1994. Diagnosed with critical injuries to his brain and lungs, Irvan would survive the near tragedy to drive again in several races. Though he failed in his bid to win races and championships, Irvan has become a champion away from the racetrack as one of the nation’s leading advocates in research and prevention of closed head injuries. Irvan’s tireless efforts to save lives of potential crash victims through the use of helmets have won him the 1995 Arete Award for Courage in Sports, the 1996 Babe Didrikson Zaharias Courage award. In 2002, Irvan was voted by MSNBC as one of the Top 10 Greatest Sport Comebacks. Irvan was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.

During the 50th running of the Daytona 500 Media Day, Irvan talks with Daytona International Speedway for "Two Minutes With." He answers racing related questions such as how much money he made in his first race, his most memorable Daytona 500 moment and his racing idol. But he also talks about his first-ever job he had, what he is doing today, his ideal vacation and what he watches on television.