Alan Kulwicki
Encyclopedia
Alan Dennis Kulwicki nicknamed "Special K" and the "Polish Prince", was an American
NASCAR
Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) racecar driver. He started racing at local short tracks in Wisconsin
before moving up to regional stock car
touring series. Kulwicki arrived at NASCAR, the highest and most expensive level of stock car racing
in the United States, with no sponsor, a limited budget, and only a racecar and a borrowed pickup truck. Despite starting with meager equipment and finances, he earned the 1986 NASCAR Rookie of the Year
award over drivers racing for well-funded teams.
After Kulwicki won his first race at Phoenix International Raceway
, he debuted what would become his trademark "Polish Victory Lap". Kulwicki won the 1992 Winston Cup championship by what was then the closest margin in NASCAR history. He died early in 1993 in a light aircraft accident, and therefore never defended his championship. He has been inducted into numerous racing halls of fame and was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers.
Kulwicki was known for being a perfectionist and doing things his own way. An engineer by trade, his scientific
approach to NASCAR racing inspires the way teams are now run. Despite lucrative offers from top car owners, he insisted on driving for his own race team, AK Racing
, during most of his NASCAR career. Described by his publicist as "a real hard type of person to get to know", he remained a bachelor throughout his life.
known for its Polish-American
neighborhoods, near the Milwaukee Mile
racetrack. After his mother died, his family moved in with his grandmother, who died when Kulwicki was in seventh grade
. A year later, his only brother died of a hemophilia
-related illness. Kulwicki attended Pius XI High School
, a Roman Catholic high school in Milwaukee, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1977. His knowledge of engineering has been cited as a contributing factor to his success as a driver, as it helped him better understand the physics of a racecar. He first raced on local racetracks as an amateur while in college before becoming a full-time professional racer in 1980. A devout Roman Catholic, Kulwicki always competed with a Saint Christopher
devotional medal
in his car.
racer. His father built engines as the crew chief for Norm Nelson
and Roger McCluskey
's United States Automobile Club
(USAC) racecars. Because his work involved travel, Kulwicki's father was unable to help his son at most kart races, so Kulwicki's resourcefulness was often tested trying to find someone to transport his kart to the track. Even when Kulwicki asked his father for advice, he typically ended up doing most of the work himself. "I showed him how", Gerry Kulwicki said. "And he said: 'Why don't you do it? You can do it better.' And I said, 'Well, if you do it for a while, you can do it better.'"
Many local-level American racetracks host their own season championships. In Wisconsin, numerous locations held dirt
and asphalt short track racing. Kulwicki started racing stock cars
at the local level at the Hales Corners Speedway and Cedarburg Speedway dirt
oval track
s. In 1973, he won the Rookie of the Year award at Hales Corners Speedway in the Milwaukee suburb of Franklin
, and the next year started racing late model
s – the fastest and most complicated type of stock cars raced on the local level – at the same track. That season, he won his first feature race at Leo's Speedway in Oshkosh
.
Kulwicki moved from dirt tracks to paved tracks in 1977. He also teamed up with racecar builder Greg Krieger to research, model, engineer, and construct an innovative car with far more torsional
stiffness than other late models. The increased stiffness allowed the car to handle better in the corners, which increased its speed. Racing at Slinger Super Speedway
, he won the track championship in 1977. In 1978, Kulwicki returned to Slinger; that same year he started racing a late model at Wisconsin International Raceway
(WIR), finishing third in points in his rookie season at the track. In 1979 and 1980, he won the WIR late model track championships.
In 1979, Kulwicki began competing in regional to national level events sanctioned by the USAC Stock Car
series and the American Speed Association
(ASA), while remaining an amateur racer through 1980. When Kulwicki raced against future NASCAR champion Rusty Wallace
in the ASA series, the two became friends. Kulwicki's highest finish in the ASA season points championship was third place, which he accomplished in both 1982 and 1985, with five career victories and twelve pole position
s.
's relationship with Formula 2/Formula 3000
/GP2 Series
. Kulwicki qualified second fastest and finished in second place at his first career NASCAR race, which took place at the Milwaukee Mile
, several city blocks from where he grew up. Later that year, he finished seventh at Charlotte
and fifth at Bristol
. The following year, Kulwicki placed sixteenth in the season-opening Busch Series race at Daytona
. Although he won the pole position at that year's event in Milwaukee, he finished fourteenth because of engine problems. Kulwicki's Busch Series successes caught car owner Bill Terry's
eye and he offered Kulwicki a chance to race for him in a few Winston Cup events.
In 1985, Kulwicki sold most of his belongings, including his short track racing equipment, to move approximately 860 miles (1,384 km) to the Charlotte
area in North Carolina
. He kept only a few things; his pickup truck was loaded to tow a trailer full of furniture and tools. An electrical fire two days before he left destroyed his truck, so Kulwicki had to borrow one to pull the trailer. After arriving in the Charlotte area, he showed up unannounced at Terry's shop ready to race. Veteran NASCAR drivers were initially amused by Kulwicki's arrival on the national tour: He was a driver from the northern United States
when the series was primarily a southern
regional series, he had a mechanical engineering degree when few other drivers had completed college, and, with only six starts, had limited driving experience in the junior Busch series. Kulwicki was described as very studious, hard working, no-nonsense, and something of a loner. He frequently walked the garage area in his racing uniform carrying a briefcase. Kulwicki made his first career Winston Cup start at Richmond
on September 8, 1985, for Bill Terry's #32 Hardee's
Ford
team sponsored by Hardee's
. That season he competed in five races for Terry, with his highest finish being 13th.
Kulwicki started his rookie season in 1986 with Terry. After Terry decided to end support for his racing team mid-season, Kulwicki fielded his own team. He started out as essentially a one-man team in a time when other teams had dozens of people in supporting roles. Initially the driver, owner, crew chief
, and chief mechanic, Kulwicki had difficulty acquiring and keeping crew members because he found it difficult to trust them to do the job with the excellence that he demanded, and because he was hands on in the maintenance of racecars to the point of being a "control freak
". He sought out crew members who had owned their own racecars, believing they would understand what he was going through: working long hours and performing his own car maintenance with a very limited budget. Notable crew members included his crew chief, Paul Andrews
, and future Cup crew chiefs, Tony Gibson
and Brian Whitesell
. Future crew chief and owner, Ray Evernham
, lasted six weeks with Kulwicki in 1992. Evernham later said, "The man was a genius. There's no question. It's not a matter of people just feeling like he was a genius. That man was a genius. But his personality paid for that. He was very impatient, very straightforward, very cut-to-the-bone." With one car, two engines, and two full-time crew members, Kulwicki won the 1986 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year
award. He had competed in 23 of 29 events, with four Top 10 finishes, three Did Not Finishes (DNF), an average finish of 15.4, and had only one result below 30th place. Kulwicki finished 21st in the Winston Cup points standings for the season.
For the 1987 season
, Kulwicki secured primary sponsorship from Zerex Antifreeze and changed his car number to #7. He picked up his first career pole position
in the season's third race at Richmond. Later that season, he again qualified fastest at Richmond
and Dover. Kulwicki came close to winning his first Winston Cup race at Pocono
, finishing second after winner Dale Earnhardt
passed him on the last lap. With nine Top 10 finishes, eleven DNFs, and an average finish of 18.2 in 29 events; Kulwicki finished 15th in the Winston Cup points standings for the season.
In 1988, Kulwicki hired Paul Andrews as his crew chief after Andrews was recommended by Rusty Wallace at the 1987 NASCAR Awards banquet. That year Kulwicki won his first NASCAR Winston Cup race in the season's second-to-last race at Phoenix International Raceway
after race leader Ricky Rudd's
car had motor problems late in the race. Kulwicki led 41 laps and won by 18.5 seconds. After the race finished, he turned his car around and made a Polish Victory Lap by driving the opposite way (clockwise) on the track, with the driver's side of the car facing the fans. "This gave me the opportunity to wave to the crowd from the driver's side", Kulwicki explained. Andrew recalled, "He had wanted to do something special and something different for his first win and only his first." He finished the 1988 season with four pole positions in 29 events, nine Top 10 finishes including two second place finishes, twelve DNFs, and an average finish of 19.2. Kulwicki finished 14th in the Winston Cup points standings for the season.
Kulwicki started his own engine-building program for the 1989 season. He had four second place finishes that season and held the points lead after the fifth race of the season. The team dropped from fourth to fifteenth in points by suffering nine engine failures during a sixteen-race stretch in the middle of the season. In 29 races, he had six pole positions, nine Top 10 finishes, and finished 14th in season points. The team had a new workshop built during the season.
, owner of one of the top NASCAR teams, approached Kulwicki at the beginning of the 1990 season to ask Kulwicki to drive one of his cars. Kulwicki declined, stating that he was more interested in running his own team. He won his second Cup race at Rockingham
on October 21, 1990, and finished eighth in points that year, his first finish in the Top 10 points in a season. In 29 races, he had thirteen Top 10 finishes and one pole position.
Before the 1991 season, Zerex ended their sponsorship of Kulwicki's team. Johnson was expanding his operation to a two-car team and offered Kulwicki a ride in his second car. Kulwicki turned down Johnson's $
1 million offer, thinking that he had secured a sponsorship deal with Maxwell House
coffee. Instead, Johnson ended up securing that sponsorship for his second team, so Kulwicki began the season without a sponsor, paying expenses out of his own pocket. At the opening race of the season, the 1991 Daytona 500
, five cars raced with paint schemes
representing different branches of the United States military to show support for the American forces involved in the Gulf War
. It was the first use of special paint schemes in NASCAR history. Kulwicki's car was sponsored by the United States Army
in a one-race deal. After running the second and third races of the season in a plain white unsponsored car, Kulwicki was approached by Hooters
for a one-race sponsorship deal for the fourth race at Atlanta Motor Speedway
. Hooters had been sponsoring Mark Stahl's car, but Stahl did not qualify for the race. Kulwicki had qualified on the pole position for the upcoming race. Hooters and Kulwicki signed a one-race sponsorship agreement, followed by a long-term deal after Kulwicki finished eighth in the race. Later in the season, Kulwicki won the Bristol night race for his third career win. In 29 races, he had eleven Top 10 finishes, four poles, and finished 13th in the points.
Kulwicki passed Dale Jarrett
with 27 laps left at the Food City 500
race on April 5 at Bristol to take a narrow victory. It was his fourth Winston Cup victory. After that race, he never left the Top 5 in season points. Andrews attributed Kulwicki's consistently strong finishes to the steady performance of newly adopted radial tire
s throughout their lifespan. He said, "It was hard to control them, and the driver's ability to work with that car during practice in order to get the car set up meant so much more than it ever did." Kulwicki's only other victory in the season was at the first race at Pocono. Discounted as a contender for the season championship during the year, Kulwicki was expected to fade from contention. He qualified on the pole position for the Peak AntiFreeze 500 race on September 20 at Dover, but crashed early in the race and finished 34th.
Kulwicki was quite vocal that his 278-point deficit would probably be his undoing, and that the Dover race result would keep him from contending for the season title. He was quoted as saying, "This probably finishes us off in the championship deal." On October 11, Mark Martin had a narrow victory over Kulwicki at the Mello Yello 500 at Charlotte. For the second race in a row, points leader Bill Elliott
had problems, which left six drivers within reach of the title with three races left to go. Elliott had problems again at the second-to-last race, and his cracked cylinder head
allowed race winner Davey Allison
to take the points lead, with fourth place finisher Kulwicki second in season points and Elliott third.
The 1992 Hooters 500
, the final race of the 1992 season, is considered one of the most eventful races in NASCAR history. It was the final race for Richard Petty
and the first for Jeff Gordon
. Six drivers were close enough in the points standings to win the championship that day. Allison led second-place Kulwicki by 30 points, Bill Elliott by 40, Harry Gant by 97, and Kyle Petty
by 98 and needed to finish sixth or better to clinch the championship. Kulwicki received approval from NASCAR and Ford to change the "Thunderbird
" lettering on his bumper for the race to "Underbird" because he felt like the underdog in the contention for the championship. During Kulwicki's first pit stop
, the first gear in the car's transmission broke. Andrews said, "We had to leave pit road in fourth gear, because we had broken metal parts in there, and only by leaving it in fourth are you not going to move metal around as much. We could only hope that the loose piece of metal didn't get in there and break the gears in half. We had three or four pit stops after it broke. I held my breath all day long." Allison was racing in sixth place, closely behind Ernie Irvan
, when Irvan's tire blew with 73 (of 328) laps left in the event. As a result, Allison ran into the side of Irvan's spinning car and his car was too damaged to continue. Kulwicki and Elliott were left to duel for the title. While leading late in the race, Andrews calculated the exact lap for his final pit stop so that Kulwicki would be guaranteed to lead the most laps and would gain five bonus points. Kulwicki made his final pit stop only after leading enough laps to guarantee the bonus points. To save time, the pit crew did a fuel-only pit stop. Not changing tires allowed them to be available to push the car to prevent it from stalling, since the car had to start moving in a higher gear. Because the team's fuel man hurried to add the gasoline during the quick stop, he did not add the desired amount into the tank. As a result, Kulwicki had to conserve fuel to ensure that his car was still running at the end of the race. Elliott won the race and Kulwicki stretched his fuel to finish second. Kulwicki won the 1992 Winston Cup Championship by maintaining his 10-point lead over Elliott. He celebrated the championship with his second Polish Victory Lap. Always conscious of his appearance for potential sponsors, Kulwicki combed his hair, making a national television audience wait for him to emerge from his car.
Kulwicki had overcome the 278-point deficit in the final six races of the season by ending with a fifth, a fourth, and two second-place finishes. Kulwicki won the championship because of his consistent high finishes. It was the closest title win in NASCAR Cup Series history until the implementation of the Chase for the Cup format in 2004. The championship was noteworthy for other reasons: Kulwicki was the last owner/driver to win the title for nearly two decades, the first Cup champion with a college degree, and the first Cup champion born in a Northern state. The song that played during a short salute to Kulwicki at the year-end awards banquet was "My Way
".
In celebration of his championship, sponsor Hooters
made a special "Alan Tribute Card" that was used at all of the autograph sessions during the 1993 season. Kulwicki did not change his spending habits after winning the 1992 championship. "The only thing I really wanted to buy was a plane", he said, "but it turns out Hooters has a couple I can use."
Kulwicki died in an airplane crash on Thursday April 1, 1993. He was returning from an appearance at the Knoxville
Hooters in a Hooters corporate plane on a short flight across Tennessee
before the Sunday spring race at Bristol. The plane slowed and crashed just before final approach at Tri-Cities Regional Airport
near Blountville
. The National Transportation Safety Board
attributed the crash to the pilot's failure to use the airplane's anti-ice system to clear ice from the engine inlet system.
Kulwicki was buried at St. Adalbert's
Cemetery in Milwaukee; the funeral was attended by NASCAR President Bill France, Jr.
and numerous drivers. Kulwicki's racecar transporter
was driven from the rainy track later that Friday morning while other teams and the media watched it travel slowly around the track with a black wreath on its grille
. In 2008, Kyle Petty described the slow laps as "the saddest thing I've ever seen at a racetrack... We just sat and cried." Kulwicki had competed in five NASCAR races that season with two Top 5 finishes, and was ranked ninth in points at his death. In his career, he had won five NASCAR Winston Cup races, 24 pole positions, 75 Top 10 finishes, and one championship in 207 races.
His car was driven by road course specialist
Tommy Kendall
on road courses and by Jimmy Hensley
at the other tracks. It was raced for most of the 1993 season until the team was sold to Geoff Bodine
, who operated it as Geoff Bodine Racing
.
Kulwicki had been selected to compete in the 1993
International Race of Champions
(IROC) series as the reigning Winston Cup champion. He competed in two IROC races before his death, finishing ninth at Daytona and eleventh at Darlington. Dale Earnhardt raced for Kulwicki in the final two IROC races, and the prize money for those races and their fifth place combined points finish was given to the Winston Cup Racing Wives Auxiliary, Brenner Children's Hospital and St. Thomas Aquinas Church charities.
The USAR Hooters Pro Cup championship, the "Four Champions Challenge", is named in memory of the four victims of Kulwicki's plane crash. Established in 1997, the challenge is a four-race series, with each race named after one of the four who died in the crash: Kulwicki, Mark Brooks (son of Hooters owner Bob Brooks
), Dan Duncan, and pilot Charles Campbell.
Milwaukee County honored Kulwicki in 1996 by creating Alan Kulwicki Memorial Park
, located near the corner of Highway 100 and Cold Spring Road in Greenfield
(Area Map). Hooters chairman Robert Brooks donated $250,000 to build the 28 acre (0.11331208 km²) park, which features a Kulwicki museum inside the Brooks Pavilion.
Bristol Motor Speedway named its grandstand in Turns 1 and 2 in honor of Kulwicki, as well as a terrace above the grandstand. The 2004 Busch Series race at the Milwaukee Mile was named the "Alan Kulwicki 250
" in honor of Kulwicki. Wisconsinite Paul Menard
turned his car around after winning the 2006 Busch Series event and performed a Polish Victory lap to honor Kulwicki. Slinger Super Speedway
has held an annual Alan Kulwicki Memorial race since 1994.
Kulwicki was posthumously inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
in 2002. He was inducted in the Lowe's Motor Speedway Court of Legends in 1993, the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame
in 1993, Talladega-Texaco Hall of Fame in 1996, Bristol Motor Speedway Heroes of Bristol Hall of Fame in 1997, the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
in 2010.
Kulwicki's success as an owner/driver sparked a small trend among NASCAR veterans. Geoff Bodine, his younger brother Brett
, Ricky Rudd, Bill Elliott, and Joe Nemechek
all began racing teams shortly after Kulwicki's death. However, none were as successful as Kulwicki. NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers Robby Gordon
and Tony Stewart
are the only owner-drivers in NASCAR currently running the full schedule. Robby Gordon frequently mentions Alan as an inspiration for him as an owner/driver, and selected car #7 as a tribute to Kulwicki.
In 2010, the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee created the Alan Kulwicki Memorial Student Center in their Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Building. The center, along with a scholarship for engineering students, was made possible in part by a donation from Thelma H. Kulwicki, the late racer's stepmother, who also donated numerous items of memorabilia located in the center.
who had presided over Kulwicki's funeral, released a biography of his friend entitled Alan Kulwicki: NASCAR champion Against All Odds in 2009. The book was the basis for a low-budget feature film
, Dare to Dream: The Alan Kulwicki Story, released on April 1, 2005. The film chronicles Kulwicki's life from racing late models at Slinger Super Speedway, through his rise to NASCAR champion, and ends with his death. The movie was created by Kulwicki's Wisconsin fans for less than $100,000. The star of the film, Brad Weber, was a Kulwicki fan and credits the late driver with being his inspiration to become an actor.
* - Partial season due to Kulwicki's death
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) racecar driver. He started racing at local short tracks in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
before moving up to regional stock car
Stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...
touring series. Kulwicki arrived at NASCAR, the highest and most expensive level of stock car racing
Stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...
in the United States, with no sponsor, a limited budget, and only a racecar and a borrowed pickup truck. Despite starting with meager equipment and finances, he earned the 1986 NASCAR Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Rookie of the Year
The NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award is presented to the first-year driver that has the best season in a NASCAR season. Each of NASCAR's national and regional touring series selects a RotY winner each year....
award over drivers racing for well-funded teams.
After Kulwicki won his first race at Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix International Raceway, also known as PIR, is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. The track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the Indycar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series...
, he debuted what would become his trademark "Polish Victory Lap". Kulwicki won the 1992 Winston Cup championship by what was then the closest margin in NASCAR history. He died early in 1993 in a light aircraft accident, and therefore never defended his championship. He has been inducted into numerous racing halls of fame and was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers.
Kulwicki was known for being a perfectionist and doing things his own way. An engineer by trade, his scientific
Scientific method
Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
approach to NASCAR racing inspires the way teams are now run. Despite lucrative offers from top car owners, he insisted on driving for his own race team, AK Racing
AK Racing
AK Racing is a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series team. It was originally owned by Bill Terry before he sold it to rookie driver Alan Kulwicki, who controlled and raced for the team until his death in 1993. Kulwicki won five races as an owner-driver...
, during most of his NASCAR career. Described by his publicist as "a real hard type of person to get to know", he remained a bachelor throughout his life.
Early life
Kulwicki grew up in Greenfield, Wisconsin, a suburb of MilwaukeeMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
known for its Polish-American
Polish American
A Polish American , is a citizen of the United States of Polish descent. There are an estimated 10 million Polish Americans, representing about 3.2% of the population of the United States...
neighborhoods, near the Milwaukee Mile
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a -long oval race track in West Allis, Wisconsin that seats about 40,000 spectators. It operated as a dirt track until 1953. The track was paved in 1954....
racetrack. After his mother died, his family moved in with his grandmother, who died when Kulwicki was in seventh grade
Seventh grade
Seventh grade is a year of education in the United States and many other nations. The seventh grade is the seventh school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 12–13 years old. Traditionally, seventh grade was the next-to-last year of elementary school...
. A year later, his only brother died of a hemophilia
Haemophilia
Haemophilia is a group of hereditary genetic disorders that impair the body's ability to control blood clotting or coagulation, which is used to stop bleeding when a blood vessel is broken. Haemophilia A is the most common form of the disorder, present in about 1 in 5,000–10,000 male births...
-related illness. Kulwicki attended Pius XI High School
Pius XI High School
Pius XI High School is a private Catholic high school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Its enrollment is approximately 900.-History:...
, a Roman Catholic high school in Milwaukee, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1977. His knowledge of engineering has been cited as a contributing factor to his success as a driver, as it helped him better understand the physics of a racecar. He first raced on local racetracks as an amateur while in college before becoming a full-time professional racer in 1980. A devout Roman Catholic, Kulwicki always competed with a Saint Christopher
Saint Christopher
.Saint Christopher is a saint venerated by Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, listed as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd century Roman Emperor Decius or alternatively under the Roman Emperor Maximinus II Dacian...
devotional medal
Devotional medal
In the Roman Catholic Faith, a devotional medal is a medal issued for religious devotion. They are also sometimes used by adherents of the Orthodox and Anglican Churches....
in his car.
Early racing career
Kulwicki began his racing career as a 13-year-old kartKart racing
Kart racing or karting is a variant of open-wheel motorsport with small, open, four-wheeled vehicles called karts, go-karts, or gearbox/shifter karts depending on the design. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits...
racer. His father built engines as the crew chief for Norm Nelson
Norm Nelson
Norm Nelson was an American stock car racer. He competed in the United States Auto Club Stock Cars in the 1950s through 1970s. He won the season championship in 1960, 1965, and 1966 as a driver. Nelson also won five owner's championships. He competed in five NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup ...
and Roger McCluskey
Roger McCluskey
Roger McCluskey was an American race car driver. He was from Tucson, Arizona.He won championship titles in three divisions of USAC -Sprints, Stocks, and Champ Cars. He won the USAC Sprint Car title in 1963 and 1966, the USAC Stock car title in 1969 and 1970. The Champ Car title in 1973...
's United States Automobile Club
United States Automobile Club
The United States Auto Club is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, the USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500...
(USAC) racecars. Because his work involved travel, Kulwicki's father was unable to help his son at most kart races, so Kulwicki's resourcefulness was often tested trying to find someone to transport his kart to the track. Even when Kulwicki asked his father for advice, he typically ended up doing most of the work himself. "I showed him how", Gerry Kulwicki said. "And he said: 'Why don't you do it? You can do it better.' And I said, 'Well, if you do it for a while, you can do it better.'"
Many local-level American racetracks host their own season championships. In Wisconsin, numerous locations held dirt
Dirt track racing
Dirt track racing is a type of auto racing performed on oval tracks. It began in the United States before World War I and became widespread during the 1920s and 30s. Two different types of racecars predominated—open wheel racers in the Northeast and West and stock cars in the South...
and asphalt short track racing. Kulwicki started racing stock cars
Stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...
at the local level at the Hales Corners Speedway and Cedarburg Speedway dirt
Dirt track racing
Dirt track racing is a type of auto racing performed on oval tracks. It began in the United States before World War I and became widespread during the 1920s and 30s. Two different types of racecars predominated—open wheel racers in the Northeast and West and stock cars in the South...
oval track
Oval track
Oval track racing, also known as oval racing, is a form of closed-circuit automobile racing that is contested on an oval-shaped track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, almost universally left...
s. In 1973, he won the Rookie of the Year award at Hales Corners Speedway in the Milwaukee suburb of Franklin
Franklin, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Franklin is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Franklin is a suburb of Milwaukee with a population of 35,451 as of the 2010 census.-Transportation:...
, and the next year started racing late model
Late model
A "late model car" is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. The term is broadly used in car racing, and often appears in common use, as in "The officer was driving an unmarked, late model sedan."There is no precise...
s – the fastest and most complicated type of stock cars raced on the local level – at the same track. That season, he won his first feature race at Leo's Speedway in Oshkosh
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
As of the census of 2000, there were 62,916 people, 24,082 households, and 13,654 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,662.2 people per square mile . There were 25,420 housing units at an average density of 1,075.6 per square mile...
.
Kulwicki moved from dirt tracks to paved tracks in 1977. He also teamed up with racecar builder Greg Krieger to research, model, engineer, and construct an innovative car with far more torsional
Torsion (mechanics)
In solid mechanics, torsion is the twisting of an object due to an applied torque. In sections perpendicular to the torque axis, the resultant shear stress in this section is perpendicular to the radius....
stiffness than other late models. The increased stiffness allowed the car to handle better in the corners, which increased its speed. Racing at Slinger Super Speedway
Slinger Super Speedway
The Slinger Speedway is a quarter mile paved oval automobile race track with a 33-degree bank located in Slinger, Wisconsin....
, he won the track championship in 1977. In 1978, Kulwicki returned to Slinger; that same year he started racing a late model at Wisconsin International Raceway
Wisconsin International Raceway
The Wisconsin International Raceway is a stockcar racing oval and drag strip in the Town of Buchanan, in Outagamie County, just outside Kaukauna, Wisconsin, USA.-Stockcar track:...
(WIR), finishing third in points in his rookie season at the track. In 1979 and 1980, he won the WIR late model track championships.
In 1979, Kulwicki began competing in regional to national level events sanctioned by the USAC Stock Car
USAC Stock Car
The USAC Stock Car division was the stock car racing class sanctioned by the United States Auto Club . The division raced nationally; drivers from USAC's open wheel classes like IndyCars, Silver Crown, sprint cars, and midgets frequently competed in races and won championships...
series and the American Speed Association
American Speed Association
The American Speed Association is a sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States formed in 1968. The Association was based in Pendleton, Indiana and currently is headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida. ASA was most famous for a national touring series which began in 1973 but was...
(ASA), while remaining an amateur racer through 1980. When Kulwicki raced against future NASCAR champion Rusty Wallace
Rusty Wallace
Russell William Wallace, Jr. is a past NASCAR Winston Cup Champion, currently a broadcaster on ESPN, car owner in the Nationwide Series, and a co-host of NASCAR Angels.-Early racing career:...
in the ASA series, the two became friends. Kulwicki's highest finish in the ASA season points championship was third place, which he accomplished in both 1982 and 1985, with five career victories and twelve pole position
Pole position
The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...
s.
1980s
Kulwicki raced in four NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (now Nationwide Series) races in 1984. At the time, the Busch Grand National Series was considered NASCAR's feeder circuit, a proving ground for drivers who wished to step up to the organization's premiere circuit, the Winston Cup. It is comparable to Formula OneFormula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
's relationship with Formula 2/Formula 3000
Formula 3000
The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter the Formula One championship...
/GP2 Series
GP2 Series
The GP2 Series, GP2 for short, is a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Ecclestone also has the rights to the name GP1...
. Kulwicki qualified second fastest and finished in second place at his first career NASCAR race, which took place at the Milwaukee Mile
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a -long oval race track in West Allis, Wisconsin that seats about 40,000 spectators. It operated as a dirt track until 1953. The track was paved in 1954....
, several city blocks from where he grew up. Later that year, he finished seventh at Charlotte
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the Sprint All-Star Race...
and fifth at Bristol
Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961...
. The following year, Kulwicki placed sixteenth in the season-opening Busch Series race at Daytona
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...
. Although he won the pole position at that year's event in Milwaukee, he finished fourteenth because of engine problems. Kulwicki's Busch Series successes caught car owner Bill Terry's
Bill Terry (NASCAR owner)
Bill Terry is a former NASCAR car owner. His cars raced in NASCAR between 1982 and 1986. He is best known for offering Alan Kulwicki a ride in his car, which led to Kulwicki racing for Terry during five races in 1985 and fourteen in 1986. Terry left the sport at that time...
eye and he offered Kulwicki a chance to race for him in a few Winston Cup events.
In 1985, Kulwicki sold most of his belongings, including his short track racing equipment, to move approximately 860 miles (1,384 km) to the Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
area in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. He kept only a few things; his pickup truck was loaded to tow a trailer full of furniture and tools. An electrical fire two days before he left destroyed his truck, so Kulwicki had to borrow one to pull the trailer. After arriving in the Charlotte area, he showed up unannounced at Terry's shop ready to race. Veteran NASCAR drivers were initially amused by Kulwicki's arrival on the national tour: He was a driver from the northern United States
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
when the series was primarily a southern
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
regional series, he had a mechanical engineering degree when few other drivers had completed college, and, with only six starts, had limited driving experience in the junior Busch series. Kulwicki was described as very studious, hard working, no-nonsense, and something of a loner. He frequently walked the garage area in his racing uniform carrying a briefcase. Kulwicki made his first career Winston Cup start at Richmond
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond International Raceway is a 3/4-mile , D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series...
on September 8, 1985, for Bill Terry's #32 Hardee's
Hardee's
Hardee's is a restaurant chain, located mostly in the Southeast and Midwestern regions of the United States. It has evolved through several corporate ownerships since its establishment in 1960. It is currently owned and operated by CKE Restaurants. Along with its sibling restaurant chain, Carl's...
Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
team sponsored by Hardee's
Hardee's
Hardee's is a restaurant chain, located mostly in the Southeast and Midwestern regions of the United States. It has evolved through several corporate ownerships since its establishment in 1960. It is currently owned and operated by CKE Restaurants. Along with its sibling restaurant chain, Carl's...
. That season he competed in five races for Terry, with his highest finish being 13th.
Kulwicki started his rookie season in 1986 with Terry. After Terry decided to end support for his racing team mid-season, Kulwicki fielded his own team. He started out as essentially a one-man team in a time when other teams had dozens of people in supporting roles. Initially the driver, owner, crew chief
Pit stop
In motorsports, a pit stop is where a racing vehicle stops in the pits during a race for refuelling, new tires, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, or any combination of the above...
, and chief mechanic, Kulwicki had difficulty acquiring and keeping crew members because he found it difficult to trust them to do the job with the excellence that he demanded, and because he was hands on in the maintenance of racecars to the point of being a "control freak
Control freak
In psychology-related slang, control freak is a derogatory term for a person who attempts to dictate how everything around them is done — "a control freak. Scared to let us have differences"...
". He sought out crew members who had owned their own racecars, believing they would understand what he was going through: working long hours and performing his own car maintenance with a very limited budget. Notable crew members included his crew chief, Paul Andrews
Paul Andrews (NASCAR)
Paul Andrews is an American crew chief known for his work in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He was the crew chief for Bobby Labonte's #43 team for Petty Enterprises until August 2007. He was the crew chief for Alan Kulwicki's 1992 Winston Cup championship...
, and future Cup crew chiefs, Tony Gibson
Tony Gibson (auto racing)
Tony Gibson is an American auto racing crew chief for the #39 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet Impala driven by Ryan Newman by in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series. Gibson worked as car chief on Alan Kulwicki’s title team of 1992 and was also the car chief on Jeff Gordon’s title teams of 1998 and 2001...
and Brian Whitesell
Brian Whitesell
Brian Whitesell is an American team manager in NASCAR Sprint Cup auto racing from Stuarts Draft, Virginia. He is the team manager for the Hendrick Motorsports #5 team of Mark Martin and the #88 team of Dale Earnhardt, Jr...
. Future crew chief and owner, Ray Evernham
Ray Evernham
Ray Evernham is currently a consultant for Hendrick Companies. In 1999, Evernham won the NASCAR Winston Cup Illustrated “Person of the Year”.-Racer:...
, lasted six weeks with Kulwicki in 1992. Evernham later said, "The man was a genius. There's no question. It's not a matter of people just feeling like he was a genius. That man was a genius. But his personality paid for that. He was very impatient, very straightforward, very cut-to-the-bone." With one car, two engines, and two full-time crew members, Kulwicki won the 1986 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Rookie of the Year
The NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award is presented to the first-year driver that has the best season in a NASCAR season. Each of NASCAR's national and regional touring series selects a RotY winner each year....
award. He had competed in 23 of 29 events, with four Top 10 finishes, three Did Not Finishes (DNF), an average finish of 15.4, and had only one result below 30th place. Kulwicki finished 21st in the Winston Cup points standings for the season.
For the 1987 season
1987 in NASCAR
The 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season began February 8 and ended November 22. Dale Earnhardt of RCR Enterprises won the championship for the third time...
, Kulwicki secured primary sponsorship from Zerex Antifreeze and changed his car number to #7. He picked up his first career pole position
Pole position
The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...
in the season's third race at Richmond. Later that season, he again qualified fastest at Richmond
Chevy Rock and Roll 400
The Wonderful Pistachios 400 is a NASCAR Sprint Cup stock car race held at the Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. Since 2004, the race has served as the last race in NASCAR's "regular season". After this race, the top twelve drivers in the standings advance to the ten-race...
and Dover. Kulwicki came close to winning his first Winston Cup race at Pocono
Pocono Raceway
Pocono Raceway also known as the Tricky Triangle, is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania at Long Pond...
, finishing second after winner Dale Earnhardt
Dale Earnhardt
Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was an American race car driver, best known for his involvement in stock car racing for NASCAR...
passed him on the last lap. With nine Top 10 finishes, eleven DNFs, and an average finish of 18.2 in 29 events; Kulwicki finished 15th in the Winston Cup points standings for the season.
Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix International Raceway, also known as PIR, is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. The track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the Indycar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series...
after race leader Ricky Rudd's
Ricky Rudd
Ricky Rudd is a former American NASCAR driver. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and Nationwide Series driver Jason Rudd. Rudd is known as the "Iron Man" of NASCAR; holding the record for most consecutive starts in NASCAR racing. At the conclusion of the 2005 season, Rudd had made 788...
car had motor problems late in the race. Kulwicki led 41 laps and won by 18.5 seconds. After the race finished, he turned his car around and made a Polish Victory Lap by driving the opposite way (clockwise) on the track, with the driver's side of the car facing the fans. "This gave me the opportunity to wave to the crowd from the driver's side", Kulwicki explained. Andrew recalled, "He had wanted to do something special and something different for his first win and only his first." He finished the 1988 season with four pole positions in 29 events, nine Top 10 finishes including two second place finishes, twelve DNFs, and an average finish of 19.2. Kulwicki finished 14th in the Winston Cup points standings for the season.
1990s
Junior JohnsonJunior Johnson
Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr. , better known as Junior Johnson, is a retired moonshiner in the rural South who became one of the early superstars of NASCAR in the 1950s and 1960s. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966...
, owner of one of the top NASCAR teams, approached Kulwicki at the beginning of the 1990 season to ask Kulwicki to drive one of his cars. Kulwicki declined, stating that he was more interested in running his own team. He won his second Cup race at Rockingham
North Carolina Speedway
Rockingham Speedway, formerly North Carolina Motor Speedway and later North Carolina Speedway is a racetrack located near Rockingham, North Carolina...
on October 21, 1990, and finished eighth in points that year, his first finish in the Top 10 points in a season. In 29 races, he had thirteen Top 10 finishes and one pole position.
Before the 1991 season, Zerex ended their sponsorship of Kulwicki's team. Johnson was expanding his operation to a two-car team and offered Kulwicki a ride in his second car. Kulwicki turned down Johnson's $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1 million offer, thinking that he had secured a sponsorship deal with Maxwell House
Maxwell House
Maxwell House is a brand of coffee manufactured by a like-named division of Kraft Foods. Introduced in 1892, it is named in honor of the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. For many years until the late 1980s it was the largest-selling coffee in the U.S. and is currently second behind...
coffee. Instead, Johnson ended up securing that sponsorship for his second team, so Kulwicki began the season without a sponsor, paying expenses out of his own pocket. At the opening race of the season, the 1991 Daytona 500
1991 Daytona 500
The 1991 Daytona 500 by STP was held February 17 at Daytona International Speedway. Davey Allison won the pole. In the first Gatorade 125 on Thursday, Richard Petty edged Hut Stricklin for second place, placing The King 3rd on the grid.-Pre-race Notes:...
, five cars raced with paint schemes
Livery
A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...
representing different branches of the United States military to show support for the American forces involved in the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
. It was the first use of special paint schemes in NASCAR history. Kulwicki's car was sponsored by the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in a one-race deal. After running the second and third races of the season in a plain white unsponsored car, Kulwicki was approached by Hooters
Hooters
Hooters is the trade name of two privately held American restaurant chains: Hooters of America, Incorporated, based in Atlanta, Georgia, and Hooters, Incorporated, based in Clearwater, Florida...
for a one-race sponsorship deal for the fourth race at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway is a track just outside Hampton, Georgia, twenty miles south of Atlanta. It is a quad-oval track with a seating capacity of over 125,000. It opened in 1960 as a standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track...
. Hooters had been sponsoring Mark Stahl's car, but Stahl did not qualify for the race. Kulwicki had qualified on the pole position for the upcoming race. Hooters and Kulwicki signed a one-race sponsorship agreement, followed by a long-term deal after Kulwicki finished eighth in the race. Later in the season, Kulwicki won the Bristol night race for his third career win. In 29 races, he had eleven Top 10 finishes, four poles, and finished 13th in the points.
1992 NASCAR Winston Cup championship
Dale Jarrett
Dale Arnold Jarrett is a former American race car driver and current sports commentator known for winning the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship...
with 27 laps left at the Food City 500
Food City 500
The Food City 500 is a 500 lap race NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on the track at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. This is one of two NASCAR races held at Bristol, the other being the Irwin Tools Night Race, and is considered one of NASCAR's best races...
race on April 5 at Bristol to take a narrow victory. It was his fourth Winston Cup victory. After that race, he never left the Top 5 in season points. Andrews attributed Kulwicki's consistently strong finishes to the steady performance of newly adopted radial tire
Radial tire
A radial tire is a particular design of automotive tire . In this design, the cord plies are arranged at 90 degrees to the direction of travel, or radially ....
s throughout their lifespan. He said, "It was hard to control them, and the driver's ability to work with that car during practice in order to get the car set up meant so much more than it ever did." Kulwicki's only other victory in the season was at the first race at Pocono. Discounted as a contender for the season championship during the year, Kulwicki was expected to fade from contention. He qualified on the pole position for the Peak AntiFreeze 500 race on September 20 at Dover, but crashed early in the race and finished 34th.
Kulwicki was quite vocal that his 278-point deficit would probably be his undoing, and that the Dover race result would keep him from contending for the season title. He was quoted as saying, "This probably finishes us off in the championship deal." On October 11, Mark Martin had a narrow victory over Kulwicki at the Mello Yello 500 at Charlotte. For the second race in a row, points leader Bill Elliott
Bill Elliott
William Clyde "Bill" Elliott , also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville or Million Dollar Bill, is a part-time driver and former champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Elliott was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on August 15, 2007. He won the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup...
had problems, which left six drivers within reach of the title with three races left to go. Elliott had problems again at the second-to-last race, and his cracked cylinder head
Cylinder head
In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head sits above the cylinders on top of the cylinder block. It closes in the top of the cylinder, forming the combustion chamber. This joint is sealed by a head gasket...
allowed race winner Davey Allison
Davey Allison
David Carl "Davey" Allison was a NASCAR driver. He was best known for driving the #28 Texaco-Havoline Ford for Robert Yates Racing in the Winston Cup Series. Born in Hollywood, Florida, he was the eldest of four children born to Bobby Allison and wife Judy...
to take the points lead, with fourth place finisher Kulwicki second in season points and Elliott third.
The 1992 Hooters 500
1992 Hooters 500
The 1992 Hooters 500 was the final race of the 1992 NASCAR season. The race is considered one of the greatest NASCAR races of all-time. It was held November 15, 1992 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and was televised live on ESPN...
, the final race of the 1992 season, is considered one of the most eventful races in NASCAR history. It was the final race for Richard Petty
Richard Petty
Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...
and the first for Jeff Gordon
Jeff Gordon
Jeffery Michael "Jeff" Gordon is a professional NASCAR driver. He is the driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger/DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet Impala. He is a four-time Sprint Cup Series champion and a three-time Daytona 500 winner. He is third on the all-time wins list, with 85 career wins, and has the...
. Six drivers were close enough in the points standings to win the championship that day. Allison led second-place Kulwicki by 30 points, Bill Elliott by 40, Harry Gant by 97, and Kyle Petty
Kyle Petty
Kyle Eugene Petty is a former American NASCAR driver and is currently a co-host for NASCAR RaceDay and panel member for NASCAR Smarts which are both on SPEED. He also commentates for TNT in the summer. He is the son of racer Richard Petty, grandson of racer Lee Petty, and father of the late Adam...
by 98 and needed to finish sixth or better to clinch the championship. Kulwicki received approval from NASCAR and Ford to change the "Thunderbird
Ford Thunderbird
The Thunderbird , is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States over eleven model generations from 1955 through 2005...
" lettering on his bumper for the race to "Underbird" because he felt like the underdog in the contention for the championship. During Kulwicki's first pit stop
Pit stop
In motorsports, a pit stop is where a racing vehicle stops in the pits during a race for refuelling, new tires, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, or any combination of the above...
, the first gear in the car's transmission broke. Andrews said, "We had to leave pit road in fourth gear, because we had broken metal parts in there, and only by leaving it in fourth are you not going to move metal around as much. We could only hope that the loose piece of metal didn't get in there and break the gears in half. We had three or four pit stops after it broke. I held my breath all day long." Allison was racing in sixth place, closely behind Ernie Irvan
Ernie Irvan
Virgil Earnest Irvan, more commonly known as Ernie Irvan is a former race driver in NASCAR. He is best remembered for his comeback after a serious head injury at Michigan International Speedway which earned him numerous awards and respect from his fellow drivers...
, when Irvan's tire blew with 73 (of 328) laps left in the event. As a result, Allison ran into the side of Irvan's spinning car and his car was too damaged to continue. Kulwicki and Elliott were left to duel for the title. While leading late in the race, Andrews calculated the exact lap for his final pit stop so that Kulwicki would be guaranteed to lead the most laps and would gain five bonus points. Kulwicki made his final pit stop only after leading enough laps to guarantee the bonus points. To save time, the pit crew did a fuel-only pit stop. Not changing tires allowed them to be available to push the car to prevent it from stalling, since the car had to start moving in a higher gear. Because the team's fuel man hurried to add the gasoline during the quick stop, he did not add the desired amount into the tank. As a result, Kulwicki had to conserve fuel to ensure that his car was still running at the end of the race. Elliott won the race and Kulwicki stretched his fuel to finish second. Kulwicki won the 1992 Winston Cup Championship by maintaining his 10-point lead over Elliott. He celebrated the championship with his second Polish Victory Lap. Always conscious of his appearance for potential sponsors, Kulwicki combed his hair, making a national television audience wait for him to emerge from his car.
My Way (song)
"My Way" is a song popularized by Frank Sinatra. Its lyrics were written by Paul Anka and set to music based on the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed in 1967 by Claude François and Jacques Revaux, with lyrics by Claude François and Gilles Thibault. Anka's English lyrics are unrelated to the...
".
Championship honors
Kulwicki returned to his hometown, Greenfield, for Alan Kulwicki Day in January 1993. The gymnasium at Greenfield High School was filled and surrounded by four to five thousand people. Local television crews filmed the event. Kulwicki signed autographs for six hours.In celebration of his championship, sponsor Hooters
Hooters
Hooters is the trade name of two privately held American restaurant chains: Hooters of America, Incorporated, based in Atlanta, Georgia, and Hooters, Incorporated, based in Clearwater, Florida...
made a special "Alan Tribute Card" that was used at all of the autograph sessions during the 1993 season. Kulwicki did not change his spending habits after winning the 1992 championship. "The only thing I really wanted to buy was a plane", he said, "but it turns out Hooters has a couple I can use."
Death
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
Hooters in a Hooters corporate plane on a short flight across Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
before the Sunday spring race at Bristol. The plane slowed and crashed just before final approach at Tri-Cities Regional Airport
Tri-Cities Regional Airport
Tri-Cities Regional Airport , also known as Tri-Cities Regional Airport, TN/VA, is a public airport located adjacent to Blountville, Tennessee...
near Blountville
Blountville, Tennessee
Blountville is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,074 at the 2010 census...
. The National Transportation Safety Board
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine...
attributed the crash to the pilot's failure to use the airplane's anti-ice system to clear ice from the engine inlet system.
Kulwicki was buried at St. Adalbert's
St. Adalbert's Church, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
St. Adalbert's Church referred to in Polish as 'Kościół Świętego Wojciecha', is a Roman Catholic Parish located at 1923 W. Becher St on Milwaukee's South Side, and one of Milwaukee's 'Polish Cathedral's.-Dedication:...
Cemetery in Milwaukee; the funeral was attended by NASCAR President Bill France, Jr.
Bill France, Jr.
William Clifton France , nicknamed "Bill Jr." and "Little Bill," was an American motorsports executive who served from 1972 to 2000 as the head of NASCAR, the sanctioning body of United States-based stock car racing. He succeeded the founder of NASCAR, his father Bill France, Sr., as its head...
and numerous drivers. Kulwicki's racecar transporter
Semi-trailer truck
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or articulated truck or articulated lorry, is an articulated vehicle consisting of a towing engine , and a semi-trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) articulated truck...
was driven from the rainy track later that Friday morning while other teams and the media watched it travel slowly around the track with a black wreath on its grille
Grille
A grille or grill is an opening of several slits side by side in a wall or metal sheet or other barrier, usually to let air or water enter and/or leave but keep larger objects including people and animals in or out.-Spelling:In the United States, "grille" is used to differentiate the automotive...
. In 2008, Kyle Petty described the slow laps as "the saddest thing I've ever seen at a racetrack... We just sat and cried." Kulwicki had competed in five NASCAR races that season with two Top 5 finishes, and was ranked ninth in points at his death. In his career, he had won five NASCAR Winston Cup races, 24 pole positions, 75 Top 10 finishes, and one championship in 207 races.
His car was driven by road course specialist
Road course ringer
Road course ringer, also known as Road course specialist, Road course expert, or Road runner, is a term used to describe a non-NASCAR driver who is hired by a NASCAR team to race, specifically, on road courses...
Tommy Kendall
Tommy Kendall
Tommy Kendall is an American race car driver and television broadcaster. He is best known for his SCCA Trans-Am Series career....
on road courses and by Jimmy Hensley
Jimmy Hensley
Jimmy Hensley is a former NASCAR driver. With a career spanning 27 seasons in all three of NASCAR's elite divisions, Hensley may be best remembered for his Rookie of the Year award won in 1992, his 15th season in the series, and for his nine career Busch Series wins. He spent most of his career...
at the other tracks. It was raced for most of the 1993 season until the team was sold to Geoff Bodine
Geoff Bodine
Geoffrey Eli Bodine is an American motorsport driver and bobsled builder. He is the oldest of the three Bodine brothers . Bodine currently lives in Cornelius, North Carolina....
, who operated it as Geoff Bodine Racing
Geoff Bodine Racing
Geoff Bodine Racing is a former NASCAR Winston Cup and Craftsman Truck Series team. It was owned and operated by former NASCAR driver Geoffrey Bodine following his purchase of the estate of Alan Kulwicki. He remained owner of the team until the 1998 season, when he sold the operation to Jim Mattei...
.
Kulwicki had been selected to compete in the 1993
IROC XVII
The seventeenth year of IROC competition took place in 1993. IROC XVII was the fourth and final year the Dodge Daytona was used in competition, and continued the format introduced in IROC VIII...
International Race of Champions
International Race of Champions
International Race of Champions, better known as IROC, was a North American auto racing competition, promoted as an equivalent of an American All-Star Game or The Masters...
(IROC) series as the reigning Winston Cup champion. He competed in two IROC races before his death, finishing ninth at Daytona and eleventh at Darlington. Dale Earnhardt raced for Kulwicki in the final two IROC races, and the prize money for those races and their fifth place combined points finish was given to the Winston Cup Racing Wives Auxiliary, Brenner Children's Hospital and St. Thomas Aquinas Church charities.
Legacy
Three days after Kulwicki's death, Bristol race winner Rusty Wallace honored his former short track rival by performing Kulwicki's trademark Polish Victory Lap. Davey Allison died on July 13, 1993; competitors who had been carrying a #7 sticker in memory to Kulwicki added a #28 sticker for Allison. After the final race of the season, series champion Dale Earnhardt and race winner Wallace drove a side-by-side Polish victory lap carrying flags for Kulwicki and Allison. Kulwicki finished 41st in the final points standings despite competing in only five races.The USAR Hooters Pro Cup championship, the "Four Champions Challenge", is named in memory of the four victims of Kulwicki's plane crash. Established in 1997, the challenge is a four-race series, with each race named after one of the four who died in the crash: Kulwicki, Mark Brooks (son of Hooters owner Bob Brooks
Robert H. Brooks
Robert H. Brooks was founder of Naturally Fresh, Inc. in 1966 in Atlanta, Georgia, and later created the Hooters of America restaurant chain in the mid-1980s.-Early life and career:...
), Dan Duncan, and pilot Charles Campbell.
Milwaukee County honored Kulwicki in 1996 by creating Alan Kulwicki Memorial Park
Parks of Milwaukee
-List of parks in Milwaukee County park system:The Milwaukee County Park system was awarded the 2009 National Gold Medal Award "for excellence in the field of park and recreation management" by the National Recreation and Park Association.-Other parks:...
, located near the corner of Highway 100 and Cold Spring Road in Greenfield
Greenfield, Wisconsin
Greenfield is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 35,476 at the 2000 census.-History:Greenfield was originally created as the Town of Kinnickinnic around 1839. On Feb. 19, 1841, the name of the town was changed to Greenfield, taking its name from the name of the...
(Area Map). Hooters chairman Robert Brooks donated $250,000 to build the 28 acre (0.11331208 km²) park, which features a Kulwicki museum inside the Brooks Pavilion.
AT&T 250
The NorthernTool.com 250 is a NASCAR Nationwide Series race held at the Milwaukee Mile. From 1984-1985, the race was 200 laps, long. From 1986-1992, no race was held. In 1993, the race returned, and was increased to 250 laps, , a distance it has remained at since...
" in honor of Kulwicki. Wisconsinite Paul Menard
Paul Menard
Paul Menard is a NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #27 Menards Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing and runs part-time for Kevin Harvick Inc. in the Nationwide Series. He is the son of Menards founder John Menard, Jr., whose company is his sponsor...
turned his car around after winning the 2006 Busch Series event and performed a Polish Victory lap to honor Kulwicki. Slinger Super Speedway
Slinger Super Speedway
The Slinger Speedway is a quarter mile paved oval automobile race track with a 33-degree bank located in Slinger, Wisconsin....
has held an annual Alan Kulwicki Memorial race since 1994.
Kulwicki was posthumously inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
International Motorsports Hall of Fame
The International Motorsports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame dedicated to enshrining those who have contributed the most to auto racing either as a driver, owner, developer or engineer...
in 2002. He was inducted in the Lowe's Motor Speedway Court of Legends in 1993, the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame
Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame
The Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame is a promenade in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, dedicated to honoring distinguished members of Wisconsin's sports history. New members are honored at a biennial banquet.-History:...
in 1993, Talladega-Texaco Hall of Fame in 1996, Bristol Motor Speedway Heroes of Bristol Hall of Fame in 1997, the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America is a Hall of Fame and museum for American motorsports legends. It was originally located in Novi, Michigan and it moved to the Detroit Science Center in 2009.-Museum:...
in 2010.
Kulwicki's success as an owner/driver sparked a small trend among NASCAR veterans. Geoff Bodine, his younger brother Brett
Brett Bodine
Brett Bodine is a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and is the current driver of the pace car in Sprint Cup events. Brett is the younger brother of 1986 Daytona 500 winner Geoff Bodine and the older brother of 2006 Craftsman Truck Series champion Todd Bodine...
, Ricky Rudd, Bill Elliott, and Joe Nemechek
Joe Nemechek
Joseph Frank Nemechek III is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver and owner of NEMCO Motorsports. He won the 1992 Busch Series championship...
all began racing teams shortly after Kulwicki's death. However, none were as successful as Kulwicki. NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers Robby Gordon
Robby Gordon
Robert W. "Robby" Gordon is an American racecar driver who currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as an owner-driver, driving the No. 7 Speed Energy Dodge Charger for Robby Gordon Motorsports, and also competes part-time in the Nationwide Series...
and Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart is an American auto racing driver and owner. Throughout his racing career, Stewart has won titles in Indy cars and stock cars as well as midget, sprint and USAC Silver Crown cars, giving him the recognition of "one of the finest racers of his generation."Stewart...
are the only owner-drivers in NASCAR currently running the full schedule. Robby Gordon frequently mentions Alan as an inspiration for him as an owner/driver, and selected car #7 as a tribute to Kulwicki.
In 2010, the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee created the Alan Kulwicki Memorial Student Center in their Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Building. The center, along with a scholarship for engineering students, was made possible in part by a donation from Thelma H. Kulwicki, the late racer's stepmother, who also donated numerous items of memorabilia located in the center.
Media
Father Dale Grubba, the priestPriest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
who had presided over Kulwicki's funeral, released a biography of his friend entitled Alan Kulwicki: NASCAR champion Against All Odds in 2009. The book was the basis for a low-budget feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
, Dare to Dream: The Alan Kulwicki Story, released on April 1, 2005. The film chronicles Kulwicki's life from racing late models at Slinger Super Speedway, through his rise to NASCAR champion, and ends with his death. The movie was created by Kulwicki's Wisconsin fans for less than $100,000. The star of the film, Brad Weber, was a Kulwicki fan and credits the late driver with being his inspiration to become an actor.
Career results
NASCAR career statistics:| Year | Rank | Points | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish | Winnings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 40 | 509 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25.7 | 20.3 | $10,290 | |
| 1986 | 21 | 2705 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 22.1 | 15.7 | $83,450 | |
| 1987 | 15 | 3238 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 14.1 | 18.2 | $284,375 | |
| 1988 | 14 | 3176 | 29 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 10.1 | 19.2 | $364,190 | |
| 1989 | 14 | 3236 | 29 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 7.3 | 18.8 | $425,500 | |
| 1990 | 8 | 3599 | 29 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 11.8 | 14.5 | $403,662 | |
| 1991 | 13 | 3354 | 29 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 6.8 | 17.0 | $518,645 | |
| 1992 | 1 | 4078 | 29 | 2 | 11 | 17 | 10.5 | 10.5 | $907,510 | |
| 1993* | 41 | 625 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 15.8 | 15.0 | $153,470 | |
| Totals | 24,520 | 207 | 5 | 38 | 75 | 12.0 | 16.4 | $3,151,092 | ||
External links
- Movie review of Dare to Dream: The Alan Kulwicki Story by Speed ChannelSPEED ChannelSpeed , is a cable and satellite television network broadcast to various parts of North America, but primarily the United States...