Kenneth Dale Irwin Jr. (August 5, 1969 – July 7, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver.

He died as a result of injuries suffered in a crash during a practice session at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

He graduated from Lawrence North High School in 1988 where he played varsity soccer, while continuing his career as a driver.

After his successful run in USAC, many open-wheel enthusiasts began comparing him to NASCAR star Jeff Gordon.

[citation needed] Irwin began his major-league NASCAR career in the Craftsman Truck Series.

"Irwin won the 1998 Rookie of the Year award in the Cup Series driving the Robert Yates Racing No.

11 Ford Taurus owned by his teammate, Dale Jarrett, and then-Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre.

He is also known for one incident where he bumped the car of Tony Stewart, a former rival of his in USAC open-wheel competition, into the wall in the NAPA Autocare 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

For the 2000 season Irwin was tabbed by Felix Sabates to replace Joe Nemechek in Team SABCO's No.

[1] During practice for the thatlook.com 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 7, 2000, Irwin slammed head on into the wall, causing his car to flip onto its side.

According to fellow driver Brett Bodine speaking to CNN, the car slid along its side for a long time before rolling on its roof.

Fellow Indiana native (and rival) Tony Stewart would win the race that Sunday, and donate the trophy to Irwin's parents.