Kenny Irwin Jr
American open wheel and stock car racing driver who hailed from Indianapolis, Indiana. He was one of legendary NASCAR driver Tony Stewart's (a fellow Indiana native) fiercest rivals from his USAC racing days. During his short career, he had won the 1997 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year honors-winning 2 races that season, as well as winning the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year honors driving the # 28 Texaco Ford. No one will know what kind of career he might have had as he lost his life in a crash while practicing for a Winston Cup race that was run at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on the weekend of July 7-9, 2000. He was 30 years old, dying a month shy of what could have been his 31st birthday.
Tony Stewart donating the race trophy he won at New Hampshire to Kenny Irwin Jr's parents is a nice and touching gesture and a tribute to one of his fierce rivals that weekend in July of 2000.