(
December 14 ,
1954 -
April 1 ,
1993 ) was a
Polish -
American NASCAR driver. He drove the #7
Ford Thunderbird , first sponsored by Zerex and later by
Hooters . His first sponsor was
Quincy's Steakhouse , and the car number was 35. He was nicknamed "Special K".
Alan Kulwicki was born in
Greenfield, Wisconsin , a suburb of
Milwaukee . Alan received a
Degree in
Mechanical Engineering from the
University Of Wisconsin-Milwaukee . Many attribute his success to his
Knowledge of engineering, which at the time was consider to be of less value than
Experience and
Intuition .
Alan won the 1973 Rookie of the Year award at the now defunct Hales Corners Speedway dirt track in Frankin (another Milwaukee suburb). He won the 1979 and 1980 Late Model track championship on the pavement at the
Wisconsin International Raceway .
In
1985 Alan sold most of his belongings (except a pickup truck and a trailer) to move from Wisconsin to the southern United States. An electrical fire two days before he left destroyed his truck and trailer. He was the source of amusement at first to many veteran drivers. He was a mechanical engineer out of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a sport in which most of his competitors only made it through high school. He could be seen walking the garage in his race uniform and carrying a brief case. He was driver, owner and often times his own crew chief.
Kulwicki made his first start near the end of the 1985 season for
Bill Terry . In
1986 , Kulwicki could not find a ride, so he fielded his first
Winston Cup racing team as owner and driver. With just two cars, two engines, and two full-time crew members, he won Winston Cup
Rookie Of The Year .
In
1988 he won his first NASCAR race at
Phoenix International Raceway . He turned around his car, and made his now famous "
Polish Victory Lap " by driving the wrong way on the track (driver's side toward the fans). He got in trouble with NASCAR officials.
The final race of the
1992 season was one of the most eventful in NASCAR history. It was the final race for
Richard Petty , the first race for
Jeff Gordon , and six drivers were capable to win the championship that day. 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 for winning the championship. He finished second in the race (behind winner
Bill Elliott ). Most of the other five drivers had trouble, and Kulwicki became the
1992 Winston Cup Champion . He spun around his car, and did his only other
Polish Victory Lap . He came from 278 points behind in the final six races, and his 10 point margin of victory over Elliott was the closest in NASCAR Cup Series history. Kulwicki won the championship by leading one more lap than Elliott (103 to 102). This championship was a noteworthy accomplishment for several other reasons: he was the last Winston Cup winner who served as both driver and owner of his car/team, the first Winston Cup winner with a college degree, and the first Winston Cup winner not born in a southern state. Elliott gave Kulwicki a golden comb at the awards banquet as a spoof to Kulwicki's habit of combing his hair after leaving his racecar. The song played at the awards banquet was "My Way".
During his six-year Winston Cup career, Kulwicki won five
Winston Cup races and earned 24 pole positions.
Tragically, Kulwicki was killed at age 38 in a
Plane Crash on April 1, 1993, near
Blountville ,
Tennessee , while returning in a Hooters corporate jet from an appearance prior to spring race at
Bristol Motor Speedway . Three days after Kulwicki's death, Bristol race winner
Rusty Wallace honored his old short track foe by turning Kulwicki's trademark reverse "
Polish Victory Lap ". Every winner for the remainder of the season honored Kulwicki with a Polish victory lap. Also for the remainder of the
1993 season, all cars entered in
Winston Cup and
Busch Series races carried stickers of Kulwicki's stylized #7 on their left and right B-posts (the center post between the two side windows). Upon
Davey Allison's death, Kulwicki's #7 was joined by the stylized #28 from Allison's car. 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 fallen heroes Kulwicki and Allison.
For much of the remainder of the 1990's,
NASCAR and non-NASCAR drivers alike continued the tradition of executing a
Polish Victory Lap following a race or championship win.
He was posthumously inducted into the
International Motorsports Hall Of Fame in
2002 .
Kulwicki's success as an owner/driver sparked a small
Fad among
NASCAR veterans.
Geoff Bodine (who purchased Kulwicki's team after his death), his younger brother
Brett ,
Ricky Rudd , and
Bill Elliott all began racing teams after Kulwicki's death. However, none of them could reach the same success that Kulwicki did, and slowly but surely those drivers either sold their teams, or let them just fade away. NASCAR Nextel Cup driver
Robby Gordon , the only current owner/driver in the sport who runs the full schedule, frequently mentions Alan as an
Inspiration for him as an owner/driver. Gordon, whose car carries the #7, picked this number as a
Tribute to Kulwicki.
On Alan's life. The movie was created by Kulwicki's
Wisconsin fans. The film was produced for less than $100,000 and was seen in 14 states and 80 cities, primarily across the NASCAR circuit. The film focuses on the events in Kulwicki's life that fed his desire to become champion... at all costs. The star of the film, Brad Webber, was a big Kulwicki fan and credits the late driver with being his inspiration to become an actor. The theme song for the film is entitled "Heroes Never Die" and was written by the writer/director of the film, David Orgas.
- He wore a custom Mighty Mouse patch on his drivers suit (MM wore an orange and white drivers suit).
