Alan Kulwicki
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox NASCAR driver Alan Dennis Kulwicki (December 14, 1954 – April 1, 1993), nicknamed "Special K" and "the Polish Prince", was an American auto racing driver and team owner.<ref name=presskitpage2 /> 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.<ref name=NPASHoF>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=NPASHoF /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Kulwicki was known for being a perfectionist and doing things his own way.<ref name=PolishAmericanSportsHoF /> An engineer by trade, his scientific approach to NASCAR racing inspired the way teams are now run.<ref name=SportingNews09302002 /> Despite lucrative offers from top car owners, he insisted on driving for his own race team, AK Racing, during most of his NASCAR career.<ref name=NYTimesApril051993>Template:Cite news</ref> Described by his publicist as "a real hard type of person to get to know", he remained a bachelor throughout his life.<ref name=NYTimesApril051993 />
Early life
Kulwicki grew up in Greenfield, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee known for its Polish-American neighborhoods, near the Milwaukee Mile racetrack.<ref name=OakPark06262004>Template:Cite web</ref> After his mother died, his family moved in with his grandmother, who died when Kulwicki was in seventh grade.<ref name=NYTimesDecember271992>Template:Cite news</ref> A year later, his only brother died of a hemophilia-related illness.<ref name=NYTimesDecember271992 /> 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.<ref name=MilJournal11062003>Template:Cite news</ref> His knowledge of engineering has been cited as a contributing factor to his success as a driver,<ref name=MilJournal11062003 /> as it helped him better understand the physics of a racecar.<ref name=SportingNews09302002>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He first raced on local tracks as an amateur while in college before becoming a full-time professional racer in 1980.<ref name=NYTimesDecember271992 /> A devout Roman Catholic, Kulwicki always competed with a Saint Christopher (the patron saint of travelers) devotional medal in his car.<ref name=NASCARStories>Template:Cite web</ref>
Early racing career
Kulwicki began his racing career as a 13-year-old kart racer.<ref name=MilJournal11062003 /> His father built engines as the crew chief for Norm Nelson and Roger McCluskey's United States Automobile Club (USAC) racecars.<ref name=MilJournal07251999 /><ref name="MilwaukeeJournalNovember091988">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref> Because his work involved travel, Kulwicki's father was unable to help his son at most kart races,<ref name=NYTimesDecember271992 /> so Kulwicki's resourcefulness was often tested trying to find someone to transport his kart to the track.<ref name=NYTimesDecember271992 /> Even when Kulwicki asked his father for advice, he typically ended up doing most of the work himself.<ref name=NYTimesDecember271992 /> "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.'"<ref name=NYTimesDecember271992 />
Many local-level American racetracks host their own season championships. In Wisconsin, numerous locations held dirt and asphalt short track racing. Kulwicki started driving stock cars at the local level at the Hales Corners Speedway and Cedarburg Speedway dirt oval tracks.<ref name=MilJournal11062003 /> In 1973 he won the rookie of the year award at Hales Corners and the next year started racing late models – the fastest and most complicated type of stock cars raced at the local level – at the same track. That season, he won his first feature race, at Leo's Speedway in Oshkosh.<ref name=TRPR />
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.<ref name="SCR_Jul1993_Kreiger">Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref name="SCR_Jul1993_Theisen">Theisen, Mark, quoted in Sneddon, Rob: "Glimpses", p. 32</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1979 and 1980, he won the WIR late model track championships.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1979, Kulwicki began competing in regional to national level events sanctioned by the USAC Stock Car series and the American Speed Association (ASA),<ref name=ultimateracinghistory>Template:Cite web</ref> while remaining an amateur racer through 1980. When Kulwicki raced against future NASCAR champion Rusty Wallace in the ASA series, the two became friends.<ref name=TheLastLap /> 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 positions.<ref name=presskitpage2>Template:Cite web</ref>
NASCAR
Early 1980s
Kulwicki raced in four NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (now Xfinity Series) races in 1984.<ref name=NASCAR1984>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 (now NASCAR Cup Series). Kulwicki qualified second fastest and finished in second place at his first career NASCAR race,<ref name=NASCAR1984 /> which took place at the Milwaukee Mile, several city blocks from where he grew up.<ref name=OakPark06262004 /> Later that year, he finished seventh at Charlotte and fifth at Bristol.<ref name=NASCAR1984 /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kulwicki's Busch Series successes caught car owner Bill Terry's eye and he offered Kulwicki a chance to race for him in several Winston Cup events.<ref name=NASCARsBest>Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1985, Kulwicki sold most of his belongings,<ref name=NASCARsBest /> including his short track racing equipment, to move approximately Template:Convert to the Charlotte area in North Carolina.<ref name=NYTimesApril031993>Template:Cite news</ref> 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,<ref name=presskitpage2 /> so Kulwicki had to borrow one to pull the trailer.<ref name=NPASHoF /> 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:<ref name=presskitpage2 /> He was a driver from the northern United States when the series was primarily a southern regional series,<ref name=speed1>Template:Cite web</ref> he had a mechanical engineering degree when few other drivers had completed college<ref name=NYTimesApril051993 /> 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.<ref name=IMHoF>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=speed2>Template:Cite web</ref> He frequently walked the garage area in his racing uniform carrying a briefcase.<ref name=Hinton268 /> Kulwicki made his first career Winston Cup start at Richmond on September 8, 1985, for Bill Terry's No. 32 Hardee's Ford team. That season he competed in five races for Terry, with his highest finish being thirteenth.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1986–1989
Kulwicki started his rookie season in 1986 with Terry, who switched his car number from 32 to 35 and had received sponsorship from the restaurant chain Quincy's Steak House. After Terry decided to end support for his racing team mid-season, he sold the team to his driver. Kulwicki as an owner started out as essentially a one-man team, as he had to serve as driver, team administrator, crew chief and chief mechanic.<ref name=NYTimesApril031993 /> 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".<ref name=Hinton268 /> 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.<ref name=speed3>Template:Cite web</ref> Notable crew members include his crew chief, Paul Andrews and future Cup crew chiefs, Tony Gibson and Brian Whitesell.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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."<ref name=Hinton268>Template:Cite book</ref> With one car, two engines, and two full-time crew members, Kulwicki won the 1986 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award.<ref name=NYTimesDecember271992 /> He had competed in 23 of 29 events, with four top-ten finishes, three races not completed (Did Not Finish – DNF), an average finish of 15.4, and had only one result below thirtieth place.<ref name="1986Results">Template:Cite web</ref> Kulwicki finished 21st in the Winston Cup points standings for the season.<ref name="1986Results" />
For the 1987 season, Kulwicki secured primary sponsorship from Zerex Antifreeze and changed his car number to seven.<ref name=speedtv1>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> With nine top-ten finishes, eleven DNFs and an average finish of 18.2 in 29 events; Kulwicki finished fifteenth in the Winston Cup points standings for the season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1988, Kulwicki hired Paul Andrews as his crew chief after Andrews was recommended by Rusty Wallace at the 1987 NASCAR Awards banquet.<ref name=TheLastLap /> 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.<ref name=speed4>Template:Cite web</ref> After the race finished, he turned his car around and made, what he called, a "Polish victory lap" by driving the opposite way (clockwise) on the track, with the driver's side of the car facing the fans.<ref name=TheLastLap /> "This gave me the opportunity to wave to the crowd from the driver's side", Kulwicki explained.<ref name=NPASHoF /> Andrews recalled, "He had wanted to do something special and something different for his first win and only his first."<ref name=speed4 /> <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
Kulwicki victory lane quote in Grand National Scene magazine{{#if:|
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— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries
}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }} 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 fourteenth in the Winston Cup points standings for the season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref name=1989DriversStatistics /> 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.<ref name=1989DriversStatistics>Template:Cite web</ref> In 29 races, he had six pole positions, nine top-ten finishes, and finished fourteenth in season points.<ref name=1989DriversStatistics /> The team had a new workshop built during the season.<ref name=TheLastLap />
1990–1991
Junior Johnson, owner of one of the top NASCAR teams, approached Kulwicki at the beginning of the 1990 season to try to get him to replace Terry Labonte in the No. 11 Budweiser Ford. Kulwicki declined, stating that he was more interested in running his own team.<ref name="TheLastLap" /> 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-ten points in a season.<ref name="1990DriversStatistics" /> In 29 races, he had thirteen top-ten finishes and one pole position.<ref name="1990DriversStatistics">Template:Cite web</ref>
After the 1990 season, Kulwicki lost his primary sponsor after Ashland, Inc., the makers of Zerex, chose instead to use its Valvoline motor oil brand to replace Folgers Coffee and sponsor Mark Martin at Roush Racing. Kulwicki had begun negotiations with Kraft General Foods, who was looking for a new team to sponsor after its deal with Bahari Racing expired after the 1990 season, and was set to sign to carry Maxwell House Coffee on the No. 7. Johnson, who had signed Geoff Bodine to drive the No. 11 when Kulwicki rejected his offer in 1990, tried again and came back with a $1 million offer for Kulwicki to take the wheel of his second car, which he had not run since 1986. After Kulwicki again declined, Johnson went to Kraft himself and convinced them to sign to sponsor his car instead, which he would hire Sterling Marlin to drive.<ref name=TheLastLap>Template:Cite book</ref>
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 in what was the first ever instance of special liveries being used in NASCAR;<ref name=NASCARPaintScheme>Template:Cite web</ref> Kulwicki was one of the five drivers, striking an agreement with the Army to sponsor his car for the race. He went on to finish in eighth place, climbing from 27th.<ref name=speedtv2>Template:Cite web</ref> The agreement with the Army was only for Daytona, leaving Kulwicki to run a plain white car for the foreseeable future; while his results in the next two races were solid, with a fifth at Richmond and a seventeenth at Rockingham, Kulwicki was now running the entire operation out of pocket. He would need to secure some sort of backing or risk running out of funds to continue. As the Winston Cup Series rolled into Atlanta for the Motorcraft Quality Parts 500, the break Kulwicki needed presented itself.
One of forty-seven drivers to attempt to qualify, Kulwicki qualified on the pole position. Among the seven cars that did not qualify for the race was the No. 82 Ford driven by Mark Stahl, another owner-driver. As it so happened, he was sponsored by the restaurant chain Hooters, which was based in Atlanta and also sponsored one of the track's Cup Series races. Since both sides had needs to be fulfilled, with Hooters wanting their brand on a car in race held at its home track and Kulwicki seeking funding to keep his operation alive, they both agreed to terms for the Hooters sponsorship to be carried on the #7. The principals agreed to at least a one-race deal, which became a much longer-term deal when Kulwicki recorded an eighth-place finish in the race.<ref name=TheLastLap />
Later in the season, Kulwicki won the Bristol night race for his third career win.<ref name=1991DriversStatistics /> In addition to the win, Kulwicki finished the season with eleven top-ten finishes, four poles, and a thirteenth-place points finish.<ref name=1991DriversStatistics>Template:Cite web</ref>
1992: Championship Season
Kulwicki started out the year by having to take one of two provisional starting positions at the Daytona 500; he ended up finishing fourth.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He 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 five in season points.<ref name=TalladegaWoF>Template:Cite web</ref> Andrews attributed Kulwicki's consistently strong finishes to the steady performance of newly adopted radial tires 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."<ref name=TheLastLap /> Kulwicki's second victory in the season was at the first race at Pocono, which was the first time he had won on a superspeedway.<ref name=TheLastLap /> Discounted as a contender for the season championship during the year, Kulwicki was expected to fade from contention as Bill Elliott and Davey Allison, both of whom had won more races than Kulwicki and who had traded the points lead between them, were both having strong seasons and looked to be the favorites for the Winston Cup.<ref name=TalladegaWoF /> He did not, however, and remained in the top-five in the series standings.Template:Cn
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the conclusion of the race, Kulwicki trailed points leader Elliott by 278 points and second place Allison by 124. He seemed to resign himself to another season without a championship, saying to reporters, "This probably finishes us off in the championship deal."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
However, Kulwicki was able to benefit from bad fortune that would befall Elliott in the weeks ahead. The next week at Martinsville, Elliott fell out of the race with a blown engine while Kulwicki finished fifth. Kulwicki followed that up with a twelfth-place run at North Wilkesboro, a second place at Charlotte, and another twelfth-place finish at Rockingham. While Elliott managed a fourth place finish at Rockingham, he ran twenty-sixth at North Wilkesboro with handling problems and thirtieth at Charlotte after his car's sway bar broke. Allison too had not run well over the same four races; brake failure late in the race at Martinsville left him sixteenth, ill-handling cars relegated him to eleventh and nineteenth at North Wilkesboro and Charlotte, and he could only manage tenth place at Rockingham. This left Kulwicki just seventy points behind Elliott and a mere 15 points behind Allison with two races left.Template:Cn
Then, at Phoenix, Kulwicki ran fourth while Elliott suffered overheating problems and a cracked cylinder head. He once again finished outside of the top-thirty. Allison won the race, retaking the points lead, but Kulwicki's performance left him within striking distance of the points lead. When the points standings were tabulated after the race, Kulwicki had surpassed Elliott in the standings and stood thirty points behind Allison.<ref name=NASCAR02122002>Template:Cite web</ref>
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Thus, the stage was set for the final race of the season, the Hooters 500 at Atlanta.<ref name=NASCAR03042008>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=SportingNews11112002>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Before the race, 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.<ref name=WisconsinSportsHeroes>Template:Cite book</ref>
Kulwicki qualified for the race in fourteenth position, three spots behind Elliott and three spots ahead of Allison. Allison simply needed to finish fifth or better to clinch the Cup, regardless of what his cohorts did. Atlanta, however, was not one of his better tracks, as he had a string of inconsistent finishes there. He had, however, finished fourth in the spring race won by Elliott. Kulwicki needed to outpace both Elliott and Allison and put as much distance as he could between the two drivers because he not only had to make up the thirty points on points leader Allison, but also needed to put distance between himself and Elliott, who trailed him by only ten points.Template:Cn
Kulwicki narrowly avoided an incident on the second lap of the race as front row starters Rick Mast and Brett Bodine spun out. However, trouble would eventually find him on the first round of pit stops. As Kulwicki was getting ready to leave his pit box after service, he shifted into first gear and his car stalled. He got a push start from his crew and upshifted into fourth gear, which enabled him to refire the car and head back out.<ref name=TheLastLap /> Andrews later 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." While Kulwicki had no choice but to keep his car in top gear, which caused his pit stop times to be much slower than usual, he was one of the faster drivers on track that day and he quickly gained positions once back up to speed.<ref name=TheLastLap /> He eventually caught up to Elliott, who was also running well, and the two began jockeying back and forth for positions; eventually, Kulwicki found his way to the front of the field and held onto the lead despite the best efforts of the #11 team. Then, on lap 255, Kulwicki got a break he desperately needed. Allison was running in sixth place at the time, and since he had led a lap during the course of the event was still leading the championship. As he was coming off of turn four, Ernie Irvan spun out in front of the field on the frontstretch.<ref name=SportingNews11112002 /> Irvan, who had been running three laps down at the time, came down in front of Allison, who was unable to avoid him and the two made contact and crashed into the inside wall near the start/finish line. Allison's car was badly damaged in the incident, and although the damage would be able to be repaired in the garage his chances of winning the Winston Cup were over.<ref name=SportingNews11112002 />
Under the ensuing caution, Kulwicki and Andrews went to work on discussing strategy for the remainder of the race.<ref name=CMT>Template:Cite web</ref> With Allison now out of the championship picture, maximizing track position and points became Kulwicki's focus. He and Elliott had each gained five bonus points for leading a lap, and five additional bonus points were available for the driver who led the most laps during the race. However, despite the possibility for more caution periods, Kulwicki would have to pit at some point to get enough fuel in the car to make it to the advertised distance. Therefore, Kulwicki and Andrews decided to stay out as long as they could and lead as many laps as possible. Once the race resumed, Kulwicki was able to maintain his lead on Elliott despite the best efforts of the latter.<ref name=NASCAR02122002 />
On lap 310, after leading 101 consecutive laps and 103 overall, Kulwicki came down pit road for a fuel-only stop. Since the team did not need a full twenty-two gallon load of fuel to make it to the end and they needed to save as much time as they could, Andrews made the determination to put approximately half a can of gasoline into Kulwicki's tank; this could be done in a little over three seconds and with only two crew members.<ref name=TheLastLap /> Fuel man Tony Gibson and catch can man Peter Jellen waited as Kulwicki pulled in. There was a problem with the fuel relay, however, and Gibson was not certain of the amount of gasoline that made it into the tank.<ref name=TheLastLap /> Kulwicki came back onto the track in third place, behind front runner Elliott and second place Terry Labonte. He had not fully secured the five bonus points for leading the most laps, since Elliott had an opportunity to tie Kulwicki's total. In that case, both drivers would receive the points. Elliott also had to come down to top off his fuel tank.Template:Cn
But as he had done with the adjustment following the broken gearbox and the accident that took Allison out of the race, Kulwicki once again caught a break that affected his chances in a significant way. Tim Brewer, Elliott's crew chief, had lost track of Labonte, as had the ESPN television broadcast. Brewer called Elliott in on lap 314, unaware that Labonte was still on the race track. Labonte was able to pass Elliott while he pitted, then pitted himself one lap later. Elliott reassumed the point with twelve laps remaining, which when added to the ninety he had already led would only add up to 102. However, even if Elliott had waited an additional lap to pit, he still would've only led 103 laps, the same as Kulwicki. Under the rules in place at the time, if two drivers tied for the most laps led during a race, both would be awarded the 5 bonus points. This would still have left Elliott behind Kulwicki on points if they stayed running as they were, but also would have taken away some margin for error from Kulwicki as he needed to stay in a position where he would finish ahead of Elliott in the points; a tie, which was possible, would be broken by whoever won more races and Kulwicki's two wins would not be enough.Template:Cn
Kulwicki was told that he had clinched the five extra points several laps later. Andrews warned him of the fuel relay issue, however, and told Kulwicki to conserve whatever fuel he could as no one knew for certain whether or not Gibson had done the job. Kulwicki was running in second, far enough ahead of third place Geoff Bodine that he was not a factor, and thus all he had to do was hold position in order to win the championship.<ref name=TheLastLap /> Elliott won the race and Kulwicki stretched his fuel to finish second.<ref name=CMT /> Kulwicki won the 1992 Winston Cup Championship by maintaining his 10-point lead over Elliott.<ref name=NPASHoF /> He celebrated the championship with his second Polish victory lap.<ref name="SCR_Jul1993_Sneddon">Sneddon, Rob: "Glimpses", p. 29.</ref> 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.<ref name=ESPNHooters500>Template:Cite episode</ref>
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.<ref name=NASCARsBest /> Kulwicki won the championship because of his consistent high finishes.<ref name=TalladegaWoF /> It was the closest title win in NASCAR Cup Series history until the implementation of the Chase for the Cup format in 2004.<ref name=NASCAR03042008 /> Kulwicki was the last owner-driver to win the title for nearly two decades,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the first Cup champion with a college degree,<ref name=NYTimesApril031993 /> and the first Cup champion born in a northern state.<ref name=NYTimesApril031993 /> He started from the pole position six times during the season, which was the most for any driver.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The song that played during a short salute to Kulwicki at the year-end awards banquet was Frank Sinatra's "My Way".<ref name=MilJournal07251999 />
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.<ref name="SCR_Jul1993_Jeffords">Jeffords, Terry, quoted in Sneddon, Rob: "Glimpses", p. 47.</ref>
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.<ref name=TRPR>Template:Cite web</ref>
1993
Kulwicki did not significantly 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."<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref> Kulwicki negotiated a lease agreement with Hooters Chairman Robert Brooks for the use of one of his aircraft.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> The Swearingen Merlin III twin turboprop Kulwicki leased was painted with Hooters livery, and its FAA registry changed from N300EF (for Eastern Foods, another of Brooks's companies) to N300AK.<ref name=":2" />
After the first five races of the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series had been completed, Kulwicki was ninth in overall points.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Kulwicki had concerns about how often he was being allowed to use the airplane he had leased, and other financial concerns he wanted to bring up with his sponsor, Hooters. The PR representative for both Hooters and Kulwicki, Tom Roberts, suggested that Kulwicki bring up his concerns to Hooters leadership while in flight from Knoxville to Bristol on the evening of April 1, 1993, en route to the 1993 Food City 500.<ref name=":2" /> Roberts himself, in an attempt to avoid a conflict of interest between the two sides, did not board the chartered flight, and took a commercial flight to Bristol instead.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Death
Kulwicki died in an airplane crash on Thursday April 1, 1993.<ref name="Fleischman">Template:Cite book</ref> He was returning from an appearance at the Knoxville Hooters on the Kingston Pike, in a Hooters corporate plane on a short flight across Tennessee before the Sunday spring race at Bristol.<ref name=NYTimesApril051993 /> The plane slowed and crashed just before final approach at Tri-Cities Regional Airport in a field off of Interstate 81 near Blountville.<ref name=Hinton285>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name=NTSB>Template:Cite web</ref>
Kulwicki was buried at St. Adalbert's Cemetery in Milwaukee; the funeral was attended by NASCAR President Bill France Jr. and numerous drivers.<ref name="MilwaukeeSentinel19930408">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref> 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.<ref name="ESPNOutsideTheLines">Template:Cite episode</ref> As the transporter passed the start / finish line, the flagman waved a checkered flag.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2008, Kyle Petty described the slow laps as "the saddest thing I've ever seen at a racetrack... We just sat and cried."<ref name="ESPNOutsideTheLines" /> Kulwicki had competed in five NASCAR races that season with two Top 5 finishes, and was ranked ninth in points at his death.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In his career, he had won five NASCAR Winston Cup races, 24 pole positions, 75 Top 10 finishes, and one championship in 207 races.<ref name=NASCARCareerStatistics>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
His car was driven by road course specialist Tommy Kendall on road courses and by Jimmy Hensley at the other tracks.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was raced for most of the 1993 season until the team was sold to Geoff Bodine, who operated it as Geoff Bodine Racing.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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.<ref name=IROC>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Davey Allison died on July 13, 1993; competitors who had been carrying a No. 7 sticker in memory of Kulwicki added a No. 28 sticker for Allison.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Kulwicki finished 41st in the final points standings despite competing in only five races.<ref name=NASCARCareerStatistics /> Racing Champions issued a die-cast version of Alan Kulwicki's No. 7 car that was a tribute to Kulwicki's 1992 title.<ref>Racing Champions of die-cast Alan Kulwicki 1993 Edition</ref>
The USAR Hooters Pro Cup championship (now CARS Tour) held the "Four Champions Challenge" in memory of the four victims of the plane crash.<ref name=FourChampionsChallenge>Template:Cite web</ref> Established in 1997, the challenge was 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.<ref name=FourChampionsChallenge /><ref name=HootersPage6>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=hooters >"HOOTERS Celebrating 25 Years." HOOTERS Magazine. February/ March 2008. p. 69.</ref>
Milwaukee County honored Kulwicki in 1996 by creating Alan Kulwicki Memorial Park,<ref name=hooters /> 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 Template:Convert park, which features a Kulwicki museum inside the Brooks Pavilion.<ref name=HootersPage6 />
Since 1994, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte has awarded the Alan Kulwicki Memorial Scholarship to one incoming student each year. Scholarship winners are outstanding high school seniors who plan to major in mechanical engineering. By 1998, UNC Charlotte created an automotive and motorsports engineering program.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
In October 2009, the Kulwicki family donated nearly $1.9 million to benefit motorsports engineering education at UNC Charlotte. In honor of the gift, the university's board of trustees renamed the existing motorsports research facility the Alan D. Kulwicki Motorsports Laboratory.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The donation funded the construction of a second motorsports engineering building, which opened in January 2012.<ref name=":0" />
Bristol Motor Speedway named its grandstand in turns one and two in honor of Kulwicki, as well as a terrace above the grandstand.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 2004 Busch Series race at the Milwaukee Mile was named the "Alan Kulwicki 250" in honor of Kulwicki.<ref name=OakPark06262004 /> Wisconsinite Paul Menard turned his car around after winning the 2006 Busch Series event and performed a Polish victory lap to honor Kulwicki.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Slinger Super Speedway has held an annual Alan Kulwicki Memorial race since 1994.<ref name=WisconsinSportsHeroes />
Kulwicki was posthumously inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2002.<ref name=IMHoF /> He was inducted in the Lowe's Motor Speedway Court of Legends in 1993,<ref name=NASCARkyn>Template:Cite web</ref> the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Talladega-Texaco Hall of Fame in 1996,<ref name=TalladegaWoF /> Bristol Motor Speedway Heroes of Bristol Hall of Fame in 1997,<ref name=NASCARkyn /> the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 2001,<ref name=PolishAmericanSportsHoF>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2010.<ref name=MSHoF>Alan Kulwicki at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America</ref> Kulwicki was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2019.<ref name="NBCNASCARHoF">Template:Cite news</ref>
Kulwicki's success as an owner-driver sparked a small trend among NASCAR veterans.<ref name=AutoRacingDigest>Template:Cite web</ref> Geoff Bodine, his younger brother Brett, Ricky Rudd, Bill Elliott, and Joe Nemechek all began racing teams shortly after Kulwicki's death.<ref name=AutoRacingDigest /> However, none were as successful as Kulwicki's.<ref name=AutoRacingDigest /> Robby Gordon frequently mentions Alan as an inspiration for him as an owner-driver,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and selected car No. 7 as a tribute to Kulwicki.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Slinger Super Speedway began an Alan Kulwicki Memorial night in 1993; it has continued the annual memorial as of 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In May 2012, the Milwaukee County Historical Society announced plans for a special exhibit celebrating the life and career of Kulwicki to open in early 2013. The exhibit is called "Alan Kulwicki: A Champion's Story".
Kulwicki Driver Development Program
In 2015, Kulwicki's friends began the Kulwicki Driver Development program to "help worthy drivers along the way in reaching their dream...while at the same time keep Alan Kulwicki's memory and legacy alive."<ref name="FullThrottle">Template:Cite news</ref> The field is narrowed to 15 applicants and the program gives $7777 to support seven drivers' career advancement.<ref name="FullThrottle" /> Drivers are judged based on their on-track performance as well as off-track activities, social media presence, and community involvement.<ref name="NBC2016">Template:Cite web</ref> The winner receives seven times $7777 ($54,439) and a trophy.<ref name="NBC2016" /> It was cancelled for the 2020 season because of COVID-19 concerns, and resumed in 2021.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The program winners as of 2025 are:
| Year | Winner | Other participants |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Ty Majeski<ref name="KDDPWinner">Template:Cite web</ref> | Steve Apel, Justin Crider, Dave Farrington Jr., Reagan May, Bryce Napier, Cole Williams |
| 2016 | Alex Prunty<ref name="NBC2016" /> | Jeremy Doss, Dave Farrington Jr., Cody Haskins, Quin Houff, Michael Ostdiek, Brandon Setzer |
| 2017 | Cody Haskins<ref name="Speed512017">Template:Cite web</ref> | Braison Bennett, Cole Butcher, Justin Mondeik, Michael Ostdiek, John Peters, Brett Yackey |
| 2018 | Brett Yackey<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Cole Butcher, Justin Carroll, Derek Griffith, Molly Helmuth, Justin Mondeik, Brittney Zamora<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2019 | Jeremy Doss<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Danny Benedict, Justin Carroll, Luke Fenhaus, Derek Griffith, Carson Kvapil, Paul Shafer Jr.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
| 2020 | Canceled due to COVID-19 | |
| 2021 | Luke Fenhaus | Wyatt Alexander, Luke Fenhaus, Max Kahler, Ryan Kuhn, Kole Raz, Brooke Storer, Dylan Zampa<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2022 | Dylan Zampa<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Dylan Zampa, Jackson Boone, Evan Shotko, Jacob Nottestad, Haeden Plybon, Riley Stenjem, Kate Re |
| 2023 | Max Cookson<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Haedon Plybon, Jackson Boone, Riley Stenjem, Evan Shotko, Jacob Borst, Levon Van Der Geest |
| 2024 | Ty Fredrickson<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Derek Gluchacki, Levon Van Der Geest, Evan Goetz, Max Kahler, Chase Burda, Brandon Varney |
| 2025 | TBA | Derek Gluchacki, Taylor Hoar, Bryce Miller, Seth Christensen, Noah Eisenhower |
| 2026 | —* | —* |
Media
Father Dale Grubba, the priest who had presided over Kulwicki's funeral,<ref name="MilwaukeeSentinel19930408" /> released a biography of his friend entitled Alan Kulwicki: NASCAR champion Against All Odds in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=MilJournal04172005>Template:Cite news</ref>
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Winston Cup Series
Daytona 500
| Year | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Terry Motorsports | Ford | DNQ | |
| 1987 | AK Racing | 37 | 15 | |
| 1988 | 16 | 32 | ||
| 1989 | 9 | 7 | ||
| 1990 | 25 | 35 | ||
| 1991 | 27 | 8 | ||
| 1992 | 41 | 4 | ||
| 1993 | 10 | 26 | ||
Busch Series
| NASCAR Busch Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | Template:Tooltip | Pts | Ref |
| 1984 | Whitaker Racing | 7 | Olds | DAY | RCH | CAR | HCY | MAR | DAR | ROU | NSV | LGY | MLW 2 |
DOV | CLT 7 |
SBO | HCY | ROU | SBO | ROU | HCY | IRP | LGY | SBO | BRI 5 |
DAR | RCH | NWS | CLT 34 |
HCY | CAR | MAR | 50th | 377 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 1985 | 07 | DAY 16 |
CAR | HCY | BRI | MAR | DAR | SBO | LGY | DOV | CLT | SBO | HCY | ROU | IRP | SBO | LGY | HCY | 52nd | 236 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||||||||||||||
| 7 | Pontiac | MLW 14 |
BRI | DAR | RCH | NWS | ROU | CLT | HCY | CAR | MAR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
International Race of Champions
(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)
| International Race of Champions results | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Pos. | Points | Ref |
| 1993 | Dodge | DAY 9 |
DAR 11 |
TAL | MCH | 5th | 47 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
References
External links
- Template:Racing-Reference driver
- Template:Racing-Reference owner
- Movie review of Dare to Dream: The Alan Kulwicki Story by Speed Channel
Template:S-start Template:S-ach Template:Succession box Template:Succession box Template:S-end
- Pages with broken file links
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- Accidental deaths in Tennessee
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- International Race of Champions drivers
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