GRAZI

Kenny Irwin Jr. Memorial Foundation

Kenny Irwin Jr. Dare to dream.

AUG 5, 1969 — JUL 7, 2000 · INDIANAPOLIS

A USAC champion and NASCAR Rookie of the Year who visited children’s hospitals wherever he raced — and who, we learned only after his death, had quietly paid hospital bills for children we didn’t even know. Our foundation carries that on, helping kids chase their dreams.

Donate His storyThe camp
Kenny Irwin Jr. in 1998

His story

From quarter-midgets to the No. 28.

Kenny grew up in Indianapolis and started racing quarter-midgets at five. After road-racing with his dad as a teenager, he went open-wheel racing in USAC in 1991 — midgets, sprint cars and Silver Crown — and won in all three, trading wins with a young Tony Stewart for years.

In 1996 he was the USAC National Midget champion. A year later he was in NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series in the No. 98 Raybestos Ford, winning at Homestead and Texas and taking Rookie of the Year. In 1998 he stepped into the No. 28 Texaco Havoline Ford for Robert Yates Racing and was Winston Cup Rookie of the Year. In 1999 he finished third in the Daytona 500 after starting 41st.

He moved to Team SABCO’s No. 42 Chevrolet for 2000. On July 7 that year, in practice at New Hampshire, his car hit the wall. Kenny was 30.

Away from the track, he made a point of visiting children’s hospitals and classrooms in the cities where he raced, and gave to programs for children across the country — never wanting attention for it.

Kenny Irwin Jr. drives the No. 27 Ford for David Blair Motorsports at Richmond, 1997
Richmond, September 1997 — his Cup debut, from the outside pole.
Kenny Irwin Jr. in the No. 28 races Matt Kenseth at Dover, 1998
Dover, 1998 — the No. 28 alongside Matt Kenseth.
Kenny Irwin Jr.'s damaged No. 98 Ford truck at Nazareth Speedway, June 1997
Nazareth, June 1997 — the No. 98 truck, battered but running.
The No. 98 Raybestos Ford truck
The No. 98 Raybestos Ford. Liberty Racing gave the truck to Kenny’s parents in 2002 for permanent display at the camp.
Kenny Irwin Jr. with a FEMA Project Impact logo on his car, Charlotte, May 2000
Charlotte, May 2000 — the Project Impact logo goes on the No. 42.

Timeline

Thirty years, and what came after.

Open wheel

  1. Aug 5, 1969Born Kenneth Dale Irwin Jr. in Indianapolis, Indiana.
  2. Age 5Starts racing quarter-midgets in Indianapolis.
  3. 1988–1991Graduates from Lawrence North High School, then road-races with his father in SCCA and the IMSA American Challenge series.
  4. 1991Debuts in USAC midgets — the start of a fierce, respectful rivalry with Tony Stewart.
  5. 1993USAC Sprint Car Series Rookie of the Year.
  6. 1994USAC Silver Crown Series Rookie of the Year.
  7. Aug 1995Wins the Silver Crown and midget races on the same day at the Springfield, Illinois mile.
  8. 1996USAC National Midget Series champion, driving for Steve Lewis’ Nine Racing.

NASCAR

  1. 1996Craftsman Truck Series debut at Phoenix; wins the pole in only his second start, at Richmond.
  2. Mar 16, 1997Wins at Homestead in the No. 98 Raybestos Ford — the first Rookie of the Year contender ever to win a Truck Series race.
  3. Jun 6, 1997Wins again, at Texas, on the way to Truck Series Rookie of the Year and 10th in points.
  4. Sep 1997Cup debut at Richmond: starts on the outside pole, leads 12 laps and finishes 8th.
  5. Feb 1998Wins the ARCA race at Daytona, leading 41 of 80 laps.
  6. 1998NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year in the No. 28 Texaco Havoline Ford for Robert Yates Racing.
  7. Feb 14, 1999Finishes 3rd in the Daytona 500 from 41st on the grid, behind Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt — his best Cup finish.
  8. 1999Two poles, six top-10s and 19th in the final Cup standings.
  9. 2000Joins Team SABCO in the No. 42 Chevrolet; finishes 4th at Talladega.

Legacy

  1. Jul 7, 2000Killed at 30 in a practice crash at New Hampshire International Speedway.
  2. Jul 9, 2000Every car in the field carries an “In Memory of Kenny Irwin” decal. Tony Stewart wins, dedicates the victory to Kenny, and later presents the trophy to his parents.
  3. Aug 5, 2000The Brickyard 400, run on what would have been his 31st birthday, is dedicated to his memory.
  4. 2002Kenny Sr. and Reva Irwin found the Kenny Irwin Jr. Memorial Foundation and begin building the Dare to Dream Camp.
  5. May 2003After 19 months of work, seven days a week, the camp’s grand opening and dedication is set for May 24.
  6. 2018Inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

Career

By the numbers.

Rookie of the Year titles
4
USAC national wins
21
Truck Series wins
2
Cup starts
87
Cup top 10s
12
Cup poles
3

Rookie of the Year: USAC Sprint Cars (1993), USAC Silver Crown (1994), NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (1997) and NASCAR Winston Cup (1998).

USAC open-wheel wins
SeriesWinsHonors
USAC National Midget81996 champion
USAC National Sprint Car71993 Rookie of the Year
USAC Silver Crown61994 Rookie of the Year
NASCAR and ARCA career totals
SeriesYearsStartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps led
NASCAR Cup Series1997–20008704123179
Craftsman Truck Series1996–1998322811173
Busch (now O’Reilly Auto Parts) Series1999–20001402400
ARCA19981111041
NASCAR Cup Series, season by season
YearTeamStartsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps ledPoints
1997David Blair Motorsports · No. 27 Ford40101249th
1998Robert Yates Racing · No. 28 Ford3214113028th
1999Robert Yates Racing · No. 28 Ford342623519th
2000Team SABCO · No. 42 Chevrolet17110242nd

The Dare to Dream Camp

A week where nothing is impossible.

After Kenny died, hundreds of letters told us how he had touched people’s lives. In 2002 we set out to honor him the way he would have wanted: a racing-themed camp where underprivileged, at-risk, neglected and abused children aged 5 to 17 could spend a week just being kids.

We built it on 27 acres near New Castle, Indiana — about 25 miles east of Indianapolis on I-70 — working seven days a week for 19 months. Kenny’s No. 98 truck went on permanent display there, and fans bought engraved bricks for the Brickyard Memorial Park walkway.

The summer program ran one-week sessions for 60 to 100 children each, free for families who couldn’t meet the modest cost. Kids ate as much as they wanted — some had ice cream for the first time — swam, fished, played ball and sat around the bonfire. Over eight years the camp welcomed about 4,000 children.

In 2011, after Reva’s heart procedures, we made the hard decision to sell the camp; caring for it ourselves had become too much. The foundation kept going: sending children to one-week camps around the country, and later bringing sports equipment, school supplies, clothing and food to schools and families in need.

Near New Castle, Indiana, along I-70
27 acres
For fishing, canoes and paddle boats
6 acre lake
At least, at its height
300+ kids a year
Welcomed over eight years
~4,000 children
  • Swimming
  • Paddle boats
  • Canoeing
  • Fishing
  • Arts & crafts
  • Basketball
  • Miniature golf
  • Shuffleboard
  • Nature walks
  • Cookouts
  • Bonfires
  • Performing arts

Building it, 2001

  • The lake before the camp was built, 2001
    2001 — the lake, before the camp.
  • A newly framed wooden cabin beside a cornfield, 2001
    2001 — the first cabins go up.
  • Workers raising log walls, 2001
    2001 — raising the walls.
  • The camp entrance drive in New Castle, Indiana
    The entrance, off I-70 near New Castle.

The camp

  • Sign reading Kenny Irwin Jr. Memorial Campground — The Dare to Dream Camp
    The Kenny Irwin Jr. Memorial Campground — home of the Dare to Dream Camp.
  • The camp lake with its fountain
    The six-acre lake.
  • Paddle boats tied up at the dock on the camp lake
    Paddle boats at the dock.
  • A row of camper cabins under the trees
    Camper cabins.
  • The playground with cabins behind it
    The playground.
  • The camp swimming pool
    The pool.
  • A large camp building beside the trees
    One of the camp’s five buildings.
  • A two-storey camp building with a wraparound porch
    Camp buildings.
  • A long single-storey camp building with a green roof
    A lodge among the trees.
  • A wooden footbridge and dock
    Down by the water.
  • Horseshoe pits under shade trees
    Horseshoe pits in the shade.
  • A tree-lined drive through the campground
    The lake drive.
  • A motorhome wrapped in Kenny Irwin Jr. Memorial Foundation graphics
    On the road for the foundation.
Illustrated site map of the Dare to Dream Camp: lake, cabins, fields and buildings
The camp site map.

Remembering Kenny

In their words.

“It will always be difficult for us to deal with the loss of Kenny, but we knew if we created something that would honor his life and keep his memory alive for years to come, it would in some way help to ease our pain and would also provide a way for Kenny’s fans to help carry on his legacy.”

— Kenny and Reva Irwin, 2002

“He made me a better race car driver and probably got me ready to be a Winston Cup driver, to a certain degree. So I want to dedicate the win to him.”

— Tony Stewart, after winning at New Hampshire, July 9, 2000

“I’d race for free. That’s my passion.”

— Kenny, as remembered by the Rev. Peter Bosworth at his funeral

“Those young guys had a long future ahead of them and had accomplished a lot in a little time.”

— Kenny Wallace, a year later

“We could take a tragedy in our life and make something good of it.”

— Kenny Irwin Sr., on the Dare to Dream Camp

It was his determination that distinguished Kenny as a racer. And it was his compassion for children that distinguished his life.

Fans still share his story

Further reading

Give

Fuel a kid’s dream.

Every gift helps us put sports equipment, school supplies, clothing and food in the hands of children who need them. Our foundation accepts donations directly to its crypto wallet while card and bank giving is being set up.

Donate with cryptoOur foundation’s wallet
0x43dB74bc3604e6c998d8A342B6400efF7aB001e5

Send ETH, USDC or other tokens on Ethereum or supported EVM networks (Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon). Double-check the address before sending; crypto transactions can’t be reversed.

For a donation receipt, contact us through the site.

Card and bank donations via Every.org are coming soon.

Verify us: IRS record, checked October 27, 2026. Also on Charity Navigator and ProPublica, or search the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.
Legal nameKenny Irwin Jr Memorial Foundation Inc
EIN35-2156555
Type501(c)(3) · Public charity (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))
StatusUnconditional exemption · Contributions are deductible
Exempt sinceOctober 2002
CategoryO50 — Youth development programs
LocationWestfield, Indiana