|| *Comments on the 1997 Miller 400:* View the most recent comment <#42> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Dave posted: 01.05.2005 - 5:43 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Ernie Irvan wins at the track that nearly took his life less than 3 years earlier. 2. Brett posted: 02.25.2005 - 11:13 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Irvan's final Cup triumph, as well. 3. Mr. Etc posted: 07.14.2005 - 8:08 am Rate this comment: (2) (1) Ernie's last Cup win...long live greatness. 4. Matt posted: 01.01.2006 - 11:52 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Jerry Nadeau's first Cup start. 5. Kevin posted: 08.14.2006 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Ernie gets the last laugh at Michigan! I have to say Ernie biggest win!!! 6. nascarcrazy24 posted: 09.06.2006 - 10:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Skinner had a firey wreck in this race. 7. myself posted: 02.19.2007 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Ernie did win a lil' race called the Daytona 500. I'd say that was his biggest win. 8. MGD2Wallace posted: 03.13.2007 - 8:13 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Oh, if you ask Ernie, I bet he'd say that the 500 was his biggest. Although this was definitely more meaningful for any NASCAR fan who watched it. 9. myself posted: 03.16.2007 - 2:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (14) Pi$$ on Ernie Irvan! The guy basically ended Neil Bonnett's career, cost Davey Allison a championship (among other things) & then got his ride after his unfortunate death (blasphemy), & basically was a jerk! 10. Chris posted: 03.31.2007 - 4:26 am Rate this comment: (1) (7) After the summer Pocono race in 1991, DW said about Ernie Irvan, "... this looks like the kind of guy that can hurt you." He was exactly right. Not only did One-Eye do everything listed above, he was the one who got into Sterling Marlin, who turned Dale Earnhardt head on into the wall in the 1996 Diehard 500. That wreck ended Earnhardt's chances for the 96 championship. One-eye had no business coming back after his terrible Michigan wreck. 11. Anonymous posted: 05.05.2007 - 5:15 am Rate this comment: (1) (8) I'm surprised that any owner was interested in Ernie "I'll wreck my car for 15th place" Irvan! 12. FHgrad99 posted: 08.29.2007 - 8:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) This is one of the more emotional wins I've seen in NASCAR considering that he was given such a slim chance of surviving the accident in 1994. He was back in a race car 14 months later. Say what you will about Ernie but it was a great triumph for him because it came on a track that nearly killed him. You couldn't help to be happy for him for getting a win as setimental as this one was. 13. Mike posted: 09.16.2007 - 12:45 am Rate this comment: (3) (0) How did Ernie cost Davey a championship? If you're babbling about the crash at Atlanta in '92, well, it's not like Ernie just turned into Davey. Ernie cut a tire. It's happened to many drivers, many times. Playing the other side of the fence, Ernie also broke Kyle Petty's leg at Talladega in '91 and took Richard Petty out of his last Daytona 500 (along with quite a few others) in 1992. 14. most posted: 10.22.2007 - 2:25 am Rate this comment: (2) (2) yeah, Ernie had some issues but no more than some other drivers, I mean, at least he isn't Paul Menard!!!! 15. Steve posted: 12.08.2007 - 6:18 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Ernie was given a 10% chance of simply LIVING THROUGH THE NIGHT when he went to the medical center in August 1994. And even if he did live, the doctors said he would have difficulty doing simple household tasks (such as doing dishes or cleaning windows). But 13 months after his accident, he showed up at Martinsville to compete in NASCAR's new truck series. In 1996 he returned in the #28 Texaco Ford and won at New Hampshire and Richmond. And in 1997, he conquered the track that nearly killed him. It was his only Michigan triumph. 16. RaceFanX posted: 12.31.2007 - 3:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rick Wilson makes his first Cup start since leaving Petty Enterprises at the end of the 1993 season, bringing home the Blair #27 Ford in 21st position, 1 lap down 17. Clayton Caldwell posted: 02.24.2008 - 4:20 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Ernie was incredible for comming back! That's one of the most incredible things I've ever seen! My boy AWESOME BILL finished 2nd though! :(! Wanted Bill to win this one! I felt really happy for Ernie though! 18. myself posted: 02.26.2008 - 11:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) Careful there, Chris! "Ole' One-Eye" has different meaning in different context! 19. RLB posted: 06.21.2008 - 4:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Ernie Irvan is the only man to come back from the dead and win in Nascar Cup competition. 20. Chris posted: 12.14.2008 - 2:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) ""Ole' One-Eye" has different meaning in different context! " *snerk* Ha! :) 21. 18fan posted: 01.09.2010 - 10:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bill Elliott's best finish in his six years driving his own #94 Ford. 22. Josh posted: 06.15.2010 - 12:15 am Rate this comment: (1) (2) they dont call him swervin ervin for nothing 23. Schroeder51 posted: 03.24.2011 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Skinner had a fiery crash early in the race. 24. 18fan posted: 01.07.2012 - 11:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ernie definitely was wild on the track, but he had an incredible amount of ability. His wildness prevented him from achieving even more in his career. 25. b4il3y posted: 10.19.2013 - 3:07 am Rate this comment: (1) (2) #9 and #22. I hope you get a head injury and try to come back and do what you do for a living. 26. b4il3y posted: 11.07.2013 - 2:52 am Rate this comment: (2) (2) And for the record.. If I was a car owner today, I'd take Ernie over anyone right now. He didn't take any crap, and in this age of aggressive driving, he'd be the man. Prove me wrong. Protip: You Cant. 27. We need more Onion posted: 12.28.2013 - 12:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "He didn't take any crap, and in this age of aggressive driving, he'd be the man. Prove me wrong." Juan Montoya says hi. And in the shadows of Ernie's awesome comeback, Cope rallies to a top 10 finish from the back of the pack. 28. b4il3y posted: 02.12.2014 - 4:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) LOL Onion..Montoya never figured out how to drive a stock car.. nice comparison :) Never won on an oval, and Ernie not only won on Juan's hollowed road races, but more. He drove like a man, just like you should. If he had not have gotten hurt in 94, he very well could have won Dale's 7th championship. Not saying it would've happened, but very well could've. 29. Mr.bronylikesnascar posted: 03.12.2015 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was born on this race, a pretty special moment here for me. 30. Anthony posted: 09.26.2016 - 10:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Ah, the days when you wouldn't be racing to the white flag and hoping there wasn't a green-white-checker 31. JSPorts posted: 09.26.2016 - 11:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I think Ernie Irvan's win in this race is an incredible comeback story. Also, this serves as a reminder of how good the Fords were at Michigan for so many years. 32. Ed posted: 03.05.2017 - 10:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @Mike, pretty sure the Pocono wreck ended Davey's championship hopes 33. Maverick19 posted: 03.05.2017 - 11:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "@Mike, pretty sure the Pocono wreck ended Davey's championship hopes" I don't think so. After the crash, Davey was only 9 points back from Bill Elliott (it was the first time he lost the points lead all season). But yes, from a physical standpoint, the crash definetly took a toll on him physically as his performances went down. However, everyone sputtered down the stretch that year and Davey was the points leader heading into Atlanta so I wouldn't say that the Pocono crash ended his hopes when they were still well alive heading into the final race. 34. Taylor posted: 09.04.2017 - 10:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To the rear: Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Dick Trickle and Ward Burton (all backup cars) 35. HD11 posted: 10.31.2017 - 7:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Future Cup crew chief Richard Slugger Labbe was clipped on pit road while servicing Terry Labonte's 5 car but was ok. 36. RaceFanX posted: 12.25.2017 - 10:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, and Dick Trickle were in backup cars for this one after a multi-car crash in practice that saw Gordon lose it and collect the other two. The hard impact ended with the smashed #24 DuPont Chevrolet on fire. Burton ended up taking a trip to the hospital, it turned out he did not have any broken bones as was feared, and he returned for the race after his team had Morgan Shepherd and Burton's teammate Mark Martin shake down the #99 Exide Ford in final practice for him. Gordon and his Rainbow Warriors still rallied back for a top-5 with their backup car. Jeff's brother Ward Burton also crashed in practice, in a separate single car incident, and ha to use a backup car. 37. CJ posted: 04.19.2018 - 1:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Final Cup series win for Ernie Irvan. Season best finish for Bill Elliott, Lake Speed, and Rick Wilson. First Cup series start for Jerry Nadeau. First Top 10 finish for the 36 team 38. Tarheel posted: 01.24.2019 - 4:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 26 lead changes without the aid of a bunch of caution flags. The racing sure as hell was better then. 39. SweetRich posted: 03.06.2020 - 9:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The commentators for the race were Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett and Buddy Baker with Dick Berggren, Mike Joy and Ralph Sheheen on pit road. 40. JG24Ever posted: 09.03.2020 - 7:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Most laps led by Ted Musgrave in a Cup race (68). 41. GGDC posted: 12.23.2020 - 6:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joe Nemechek qualifies a nice second place, 3 days after the birth of his son John Hunter Nemechek 42. Rich posted: 12.29.2020 - 8:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This day was famous for Ernie Irvan's final NASCAR cup series win but it is also remembered for being the last cup event on CBS that Ken Squier was the play by play announcer for as he had been the lead announcer for the network since 1979. Beginning with the October race at Talladega, Mike Joy, who was the lead pit road reporter for this race, would become the network's new play by play man while Squier went into the studio host role. Both moves would be permanent until 2000 when CBS and NASCAR's cup series parted ways. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: