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He came from absolutely nothing. He left his home
in Wisconsin to try his luck in NASCAR with a borrowed pick-up
truck that caught on fire before he even left. He arrived in
Charlotte with a second borrowed truck, an old trailer, and some
spare parts. After getting in touch with Eddie Gossage at the
Charlotte Motor Speedway, he found a place to stay. Everyone
doubted him. They all said he wasn’t going to do it, and that
he’d be back to the Wisconsin short tracks in no time. However,
there was one person that believed he could do it; one person
who stepped up and said, “Keep it up, and you’ll make it.” That
person was himself. This man believed in himself so much that he
sold everything he owned to achieve his ultimate goal. From dust
to glory, Alan Kulwicki reached his dreams through hard work and
dedication. Then, in the blink of an eye, it was all taken away
from him way too soon.
Alan Kulwicki was a thinking man’s driver.
When he’d look at you, you could see in his eyes that the gears
in his head were cranking overtime. Like his successor Champion
Cheesehead, Matt Kenseth, Alan was also a man of few words, but
let his driving talk for him. He may not have given you the
answer you wanted to hear, but it was an honest one. More often
than not, it was a one-word answer: “no”. That’s who Alan
Kulwicki was…take it or leave it. Things were done his way, or
else you packed your bags. You may not have liked him, but you
damn sure had to respect him. That same drive is what led him to
overcome the odds and win the 1992 Winston Cup Championship in
the most thrilling battle that racing has ever seen.
Alan Kulwicki opened the doors for a lot of
innovations that exist in the sport today. One key element for
that was his college degree in engineering from the University
of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He was the first in history to drive in
NASCAR with a college degree, therefore making him the first
driver in NASCAR history to win a race and to win a championship
with a college degree. Now, when you look at the growing number
of drivers with engineering backgrounds, you can’t help but
connect that to Kulwicki.
Other connections to Alan can be found in the
people themselves who grace the garages today. Ray Evernham used
to work for AK Racing, but quit because he and Alan saw
differently on almost everything. He left Kulwicki and applied
what he already knew and what Kulwicki had taught him, in
joining Bill Davis Racing to work with a young hotshot in the
Bush Series named Jeff Gordon. You can see what happened from
there. Also, Alan’s crew chief, Paul Andrews, is with Petty
Enterprises these days, and Ryan Newman carries on the example
of what you can do in racing with an engineering degree.
April 1st is dubbed “April Fools’ Day”, but in
1993 there was no fooling around. Alan Kulwicki, the 1992
Winston Cup Champion, had his sights set on returning to the
Bristol Motor Speedway as he prepared to defend his spring win
from the previous year. He was on a plane to the track after a
short-noticed autograph signing at Hooters in Tennessee, and it
appeared that everything was right in the world.
Seven hundred miles away, Kulwicki’s home
state of Wisconsin was at rest. It was late at night, and
throngs of Kulwicki faithful would soon awaken to news that
would shake their world mercilessly. For it was on this night,
April 1, 1993, that Alan Kulwicki’s plane fell from the dark
black Tennessee skies, and crashed.
At the Bristol Motor Speedway, the stalwart
fans showed up in shirts with black shirts that had number 2’s
and 3’s. Others had yellow shirts with the number four. Heck,
some even had new rainbow colored shirts with number 24’s on
them to show support for this new hotshot rookie, Jeff Gordon.
However, all anyone could think about was the white and orange
number 7, whose hauler made one final Polish Victory Lap,
received the checkered flag waved by Doyle Ford, and exited the
Bristol Motor Speedway. Alan’s confidant, Rusty Wallace, won the
1993 spring Bristol race, and with tears in his eyes, dedicated
it to none other than his good friend Alan Kulwicki. Thirteen
years later, the number two car once again went to Victory Lane,
and it seemed a bit fitting, no matter who the driver is. So on
April 1st, we pause to remember the most intense, calculating
driver the sport has ever seen. Today we salute Alan Kulwicki
the champion, the competitor, and the inspiration. Alan’s spirit
lives on…thirteen years later. |
