Irvan Roars In Return

Ernie Irvan stole the spotlight from pole-winner Ted Musgrave at the North Wilkesboro Speedway as he officially began his Winston Cup comeback.

Irvan, who sustained near-fatal injuries in a crash on Aug. 20, 1994, during a practice session at Michigan International Speedway, qualified seventh for Sunday’s Tyson Holly Farms 400 on the .625-mile oval.

Meanwhile, teammates Musgrave and Mark Martin, both driving Ford Thunderbirds for Roush Racing, swept the front row for the 400-lap Winston Cup event.

Martin set the target at 118.353 and Musgrave rose to the challenge, taking the pole away with a lap of 118.396. The time differential between the laps was 0.007 seconds.

Also, series point leader Mike Skinner barely beat Irvan in qualifying for the pole for today’s Home Improvement 150 NASCAR SuperTruck race.

Skinner turned a lap of 116.315 and had to wait until Irvan, the last of 41 drivers to making a qualifying attempt on the .625-mile oval, came up short at 116.135.

Spokane’s Chad Little failed to qualify for the SuperTruck race.