Jared Irvan was merely an infant when his father, Ernie, retired as a NASCAR driver in 1999, but that never affected his enthusiasm for racing. Ever since he was 4, the younger Irvan has piloted some type of race car. First it was go-karts on the familys dirt track in Mooresville, then quarter midgets at the North Carolina Quarter Midget Association Speedway in Salisbury. The family briefly moved to Charleston, S.C., but upon their return to Midland in Cabarrus County, Irvan began competing in a Ford Focus Midget. He won the championship two consecutive years in that series, while also competing in Legends Cars in Charlotte Motor Speedways Summer Shootout. Last year, he made his debut in a super late model, with a seventh-place finish at Hickory Motor Speedway. In 2014, with sponsorship from Auramist, the now-15-year-old Irvan will compete full time in the PASS Super Late Model Series. Then, when June arrives, he will split his time between PASS and the CMS Summer Shootout Series. ‘Theres been a lot of good guys run the PASS Super Late Model Series’ the older Irvan said when asked how he determined his sons racing route. ‘Weve followed in Ryan Blaneys footsteps. Weve been racing quarter midgets, and now were running a super late model. Hopefully, we can be on the same page with Ryan. Kyle Busch ran that series a lot, and Ross Kenseth, Matts son, runs that series a lot. So were really excited about going that path. Hopefully, in the next year or two we can go into the NASCAR K&N Series.” Ernie Irvan said the super late model team was a family-owned operation, and ‘because of funding we have to make sure we do it all ourselves.” He has employed a crew chief to take care of the car, but he plans to be available whenever needed. Meanwhile, Jared has acquired his knowledge of his fathers racing career primarily through watching YouTube videos and the ‘Miracles Happen” movie. He also listens to his fathers stories of his racing days and has learned from them that ‘you cant take anything for granted. You have to make the best of what you have when you have it’ he said. Eventually, Jared Irvan would like to compete in NASCARs Sprint Cup Series, but hes focused on learning ‘as much as I can in every series that Im in and take away as much as I can from every race that Im in’ he said, ‘and then try and use that to my advantage in every other race.” Irvans 2014 PASS Super Late Model season begins Feb. 8 in New Smyrna Beach, FL.( Cabarrus News )
