Reigning Winston Cup Champ Left us with only Memories

Remembering Alan Kulwicki

by Kate Falk

It seems like yesterday, that day in April, snagging the newspaper off the couch where my husband had thrown it and seeing the words… "NASCAR star is feared dead in plane crash". It was the pre-internet world for me in 1993, and the information would arrive in trickles, but the fear fell heavy and fast. He was gone. Darlington had been Alan Kulwicki's last race. Bristol would arrive in a fog with only a race-car hauler circling the track and fans with sorrow in their hearts and tears on their faces. There was the shock of it, not true, some mistake. And then the horror of it. What a powerless feeling it must have been, knowing the plane was going down, a man so in control of everything, so smart and now so helpless. I hope that those moments were quick and painless. In a post 9/11 world we think of many who lost their lives so quickly and horribly, and always we hope for the best. That the angels took them from the pain, if you so believe.

I don’t have any particular story to give you. I didn’t know Alan. Didn’t grow up with him, didn’t even watch his ASA career. But I watched him race Winston Cup. We all knew he was different, those of us watching. Those of us who enjoyed his first win at Phoenix in 1988 knew he was different as we watched him spin the car on his victory lap and drive the track the wrong way so he could relish the fans’ response. He did it again in 1992 when he won that coveted championship. And this time I was there to see in person, to wave and cheer, on a day when the air was crisp and the sky was so impossibly blue. It was a sight to behold.

I recall a conversation a few weeks prior to the November, 1992 race in Atlanta. Not a brash, cocky guy, but a confident guy saying "I’m going to win the championship." I don’t know how he knew. I don’t think Davey and Bill thought he would, nor their legions of dedicated fans. But Alan knew. And win it, he did.

We’ll never know what Alan could have accomplished, either in his career or in his personal life. We only know what he did accomplish, and maybe that’s enough. He was a champion who loved his family. And in the end, maybe that’s enough.

Remembering Alan Kulwicki

by Stephanie Hruby-Staff Writer

04/01/2002

April 1, 1993 was the day that Alan Kulwicki and several others died in a plane crash, while en route to Bristol Motor Speedway for that weekend's race. Sadly, this was no April Fools Day joke. The heartfelt and extremely emotional tribute to Kulwicki is something that I will never forget. To see his hauler cross the Bristol start/finish line for the final time helped to symbolize the end of one journey (life) and the beginning of another (eternity). Unfortunately, he would not be the only driver lost in 1993 to an aviation accident- Davey Allison would lose his live July 13.

After both drivers' deaths, a man told me a joke that helped with the grieving. He said that after Davey was killed, Alan was showing him around the row of garages in the infield of Heaven Motor Speedway. Alan explained that every time a driver is killed, his car is sent up to Heaven for him to still be able to race.

In the garage, all but 3 doors were open. They went to the first door, opened it, and there stood the #7 Hooters "Underbird" car. "That's my car," Alan said. (For those that don't remember, Alan was thought to be the underdog, and thus he took off the T & H on the front valence of his car, which it then read "Underbird".) They went to the second door, opened it, and inside was the #28 Texaco Havoline Thunderbird. "That's your car," Alan said to Davey. Finally they opened the third door and there stood the black #3. "I didn't know Earnhardt died," Davey said. "No, he didn't. That's God's car!" Alan explained.

I guess God has to find a new car to drive now...

However, many do not know the struggles this man went through to make his dream a reality. He was the driver and owner, mechanic, businessman; whatever needed to be done, he did it. When he began racing in 1986, he had maybe 2 cars, 2 engines, and 3-4 crew members to help him. Then in 1990, Alan was even offered to go drive for Junior Johnson, but turned it down, because he liked racing for himself as the owner. Alan would go on to drive the Army camouflage colors during the fighting in Iraq, and finally get the opportunity of a lifetime- a multi-year contract with Hooters Restaurants.

But it wouldn't last for very long...

The thing that gets me the angriest is that the newer fans don't remember this guy that was a Winston Cup Champion. Hopefully with the Speed Channel replaying many Daytona 500s, in which he competed, and ESPN Classic replaying other races, many will be able to remember Alan for the accomplishments that he had, in his brief career in Winston Cup.

I'm extremely glad to see Alan's famous Hooters sponsorship back in NASCAR, on another underdog, who could use some help. Good luck Brett Bodine. I hope you get the some of that much needed luck like Alan did. I know he's watching over you right now, smiling.