A TUMS’ “FIGHTS BACK FAST”MOMENT
(For each of the 36 races during the 2011 Sprint Cup season, TUMS will provide a brief historical recap of a moment when a team fought back to overcome an obstacle, one that can easily be described as a TUMS “Fights Back Fast” Moment. This week, the focus is on Infineon Raceway).
ERNIE IRVAN FOUGHT BACK FROM THE REAR OF THE FIELD TO EARN SECOND WIN OF SEASON
The date was June 7, 1992. Ernie Irvan, driver of the Morgan-McClure Racing Chevrolet, began the 1992 Save Mart 300k on the road course named Sears Point from the second position, but was dealt a setback immediately.
NOTE: TUMS is the sponsor of the TUMS Fast Relief 500, the seventh race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, at Martinsville Speedway on October 30.
NASCAR officials determined Irvan jumped the start over pole-sitter Ricky Rudd, in the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, and was forced to drop to the rear of the field. For the entire 74-lap event, Irvan fought back gaining positions on the track and on pit road with flawless pit stops. He was fifth by lap 35 and had moved up to second with 12 laps remaining. Five laps later, he drove past Terry Labonte in Billy Hagan’s Oldsmobile for the lead en route to victory.
“I didn’t know I did anything wrong,” Irvan said in post-race interviews. “After I got black-flagged, I never really got excited. I just drove my race. I pushed my car as hard as I could go without making a mistake. I still thought we could win.”
Irwin fought back to post his second of three wins during the 1992 season.
