Alan Dennis Kulwicki, a Polish- American, was the son of Gerry Kulwicki, the crew chief for United States Automobile Club so most of his upbringing was centred on race cars. Born on the 14th December 1954 he grew up in Greenfield, Wisconsin close to the Milwaukee Mile racetrack. His career in racing started at the age of thirteen when he raced karts. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering in 1977 and this gave him an insight into the physics of race cars. He received his engineering degree the same year that he had his first career track championship at the Slinger Speedway.

The late Alan Kulwicki - Sears Point 1991 (Courtesy or Wiki Commons)

Throughout his college days he raced as an amateur at the local dirt tracks before turning professional in 1980. After graduating he joined his father in the engineering business working on and building car engines like his father for ASA. Alan was responsible for developing the Indy car alignment system that is still in use today at the Brickyard. He knew that he would have to choose one career over the other to achieve the success he was sure he was capable of. Finally, in 1985, after selling most of his personal belongings he set off to Charlotte in North Carolina to try his hand at NASCAR racing. He took with him little more than a borrowed truck, (his own had been destroyed by an electrical fault two days before he was leaving) towing a trailer in which to live, and a game plan for success in his head. That plan was to run for the Rookie of the Year in 1986, run competitively at every track on the circuit in 1987, and wins his first NASCAR race in 1988.

By 1986 Alan's dream came true, with only 2 cars, 2 engines, and 2 crew members he not only made it to the Winston Cup Series, he went on to be that years Rookie of the Year. He had his first start on the 8th September, 1985 at Richmond for Bill Terry and went on to complete five starts, with his highest finish being placed at thirteenth. Alan was described as being very studious and hard-working with a no-nonsense approach to racing, something of a loner and he demanded the same degree of excellence that he gave to his work from his crew and this made it difficult to recruit and retain crew members. Nevertheless, Alan was respected for his stern work ethics. He drove for himself and very often served as his own crew chief, he would work long hours, maintaining and servicing his car on a very limited budget. One notable crew chief, Ray Evernham, who lasted just six weeks with him in 1992, said of him, "The man is 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."

In 1988 Alan hired Paul Andrews as his crew chief after he was recommended by Rusty Wallace and that year saw him win his first NASCAR Winston Cup race in the second to last race of the season at Phoenix International Raceway. Alan led forty one laps and won by 18.5 seconds. When the race ended Alan turned his car around and he made a Polish Victory lap, driving to face the crowds with a victory wave. "It’s been a long road and it’s taken a lot of hard work to get here, but this has made it all worthwhile. When you work for something so hard and for so long, you wonder if it’s going to be worth all of the anticipation. Believe me, it certainly was. And what do you think of my Polish Victory Lap? There will never be another first win and you know, everybody sprays champagne or stands up on the car. I wanted to do something different for the fans". (Alan’s victory quote in Grand National Scene magazine.)

1989 was a difficult year for his team; although he held the pole position for five races he was unable to secure a victory. It was during this time that Junior Johnson asked if he would like to drive for one of his Thunderbird operations but Alan turned it down. Later he explained why, "Time will tell if my decision is right or wrong. But I have never been a quitter in my life. Even as bad as things have been lately, if I joined another team, I would feel like I never stuck it out with what I have now. Down the road I would never be able to say that I have given it my best shot. I would always second-guess myself." His decision proved to be right when he won his second race in the Winston Cup Series. That season he finished eighth in the standings but his sponsor, Zerex, would be finishing at the end of the season.

Despite trying to find another sponsor he was not successful and when Speed Week 1991 arrived Alan he turned up at Daytona with a plain white Thunderbird, not sure what would happen. Junior Johnson approached Alan again and again he refused. The United States Army came up with sponsorship money for Alan in the Daytona 500, Alan paid his own expenses for the second and third races and he secured a one off sponsorship for the fourth race at Atlanta with Hooters. This led to a long term sponsorship after he finished in eighth position. This season saw him secure his third career victory at Bristol. His single minded determination and belief in himself paid off for Alan in 1992. Alan finished fourth in the first race of the season, the Daytona 500, he was in the victory lane for the sixth race and was victorious in the 1992 Championship Spark Plug 500 in June and completed fifteen more top ten finishes on his way to securing the Winston Cup Championship with a ten point lead over Bill Elliott. Alan celebrated by doing his second Polish Victory Lap.

Alan had achieved his dream through what seemed to be overwhelming complications and daunting odds, in just eight short seasons on the race track, he'd become NASCAR's number-one driver and he did it "his way". Kulwicki proved to be a humble champion. Upon climbing out of his car in Atlanta he said "I thank God for the fortune to be here and to be an American and compete on the Winston Cup circuit." He went on to reflect, "If you were to bet money back in '86 that I'd be where I am today, the odds were slim. When you consider everything it took to get here from there, you'd say it couldn't be done. But you can't look at it that way. I didn't. Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal." Alan returned home to Greenfield for "Alan Kulwicki Day" in January 1993, thousands of people turned out to welcome home their champion, the local television filmed the event and Alan signed autographs for six hours. Alan didn’t celebrate his triumph for long; on Thursday, the 1st of April 1993 he was killed in an aeroplane crash while returning to Bristol for the spring race, from an appearance at Hooters in Knoxville. The National Transportation Safety Board attributed the crash to be the pilot’s failure to use the aeroplane’s anti-ice system to clear ice from the engine inlet system. Alan was thirty eight years of age. There was an emotional moment on Saturday morning, the 3rd of April at Bristol. It was a cloudy day. All of the drivers were at the track as the Alan Kulwicki Hooters Racing Hauler circled Bristol and received the checked flag from Harold Kinder for the last time. The next day, on Sunday, Alan’s friend, Rusty Wallace won the race and honoured his friend by doing the Polish Victory lap.

During the remainder of the 1993 race schedule, each driver winning a race in 1993 completed the "Polish Victory Lap" in honour of Alan Kulwicki. The last race of the season, the race winner, Rusty Wallace, along with the Series Champion, Dale Earnhardt, completed one final "Polish Victory Lap" side by side. Rusty carried the #28 flag and Dale carried both the #7 and #28 flags to honour both drivers. In Alan’s words, "in every aspect of life, have a game plan, and then do your best to achieve it." He was named as one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.

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