A Poem in Remembrance of Alan
AFTERGLOW
I'd like the memory of me
to be a happy one.
I'd like to leave an afterglow
of smiles when day is done.
I'd like to leave an echo...
Whispering softly down
the ways of happy times and
laughing times and
bright and sunny days.
I'd like the tears
of those who grieve to dry before
the sun of happy memories that
I leave behind, when day is done.
(author unknown)
Thanks for all the sunny memories you've left with us. We will never forget you, Special K.
A still heartbroken fan
Missing Alan...Today Jeanne Goedon and I went to put things on your grave and see we are the first so far but also a few days early. As for me, each and every Sunday as the drivers get in their cars and start engines is told to them I still look for you yet know that you are in heaven and racing all the time with so many others who have also gone!!!! No matter we all still love and miss you very much and always will. Much love to you and one day will see you again.
Barb Willard
I was a casual race fan from southern California and since the mid sixties Cale Yarborough was (still is) my hero. In 1987 I met a girl from Charlotte NC and in 1988 we went to the Coca-Cola 600. Man-O-Man what a race!!!! Darrell won it with Rusty 2nd, and right behind Rusty in 3rd was a guy called Kulwicki. I remember thinking, "Who is that guy?". Later that year we went to Phoenix and the guy called Kulwicki won and I remember thinking, "Who is that guy?". And then he turns the car around and does the now famous Polish Victory Lap, and I remember thinking, "WHO IS THAT GUY???????". That guy, to me, is the inspiration and motivation to overcome when I think I can't.
I remember watching the '92 Hooters 500 on TV and after a 1/3 of the way through sitting down was unheard of! When it was over I realized that the best Winston Cup race in history was run and remember feeling proud to be part of it.
When I go to a race I always have my "AK fan on board" sign hanging inside the car window, and always wear my AK Racing T-Shirt so nobody forgets. Sometimes someone will come up and point to the shirt and ask, "Who is that guy?"..........You got a few minutes?
Thanks for the memories, Alan, you were good.
Gene Serrano
It seems like only yesterday that we heard on the news that Alan's plane had crashed. We remember attending the Dover race the previous Fall and felt so sorry for Alan when he crashed in Turn 4. He thought he'd lost the championship that day. We watched the season ending Atlanta race that year hoping he'd come out the Winston Cup Champion and he made it! All his hard work and perseverance had paid off. Alan was an inspiration to us all. How sad to think that he only enjoyed being the Winston Cup Champion for such a short time. We think of Alan often and miss seeing him race. He was a great champion!
Ellen & Dave, Calgary, Canada
Alan still an inspiration...I think it is still a great tribute to a great driver to see the reverse victory laps, such as the one Rusty Wallace just took at Bristol. Also when Paul Andrews gets interviewed there is always a mention of Alan. I know as a NASCAR fan that got hooked in 1988 and was and still is a loyal fan of the 3 car. I still cherish my taped 1992 Atlanta race were we all watched the last single car team win a championship! I still remember the "UNDERBIRD" and won't ever forget his determination to win! God bless him!
Terry
My husband and I were at Bristol for the race, when we heard about Alan death. We went over to the track and watched the hauler go around the track in his memory. We both enjoyed watching AK race, and being from Wisconsin myself, he always was the one I would watch and yell for.
He did it his way.
Cathy from Virginia
A Champion's champion.
Joe from Harrisburg, PA
Alan and Paul...My mom had an airbrush t-shirt done of Alan that had been given to me for my birthday before Alan had passed. I wore that shirt to Pocono in '93, right after Davey had passed. We got pit road passes, and Paul Andrews spotted and approaches me, and inquired about the airbrush shirt. I have never seen a stranger cry til then.
After that race we got home and had another airbrush done of Alan. My father took it with him to the Charolotte 600, Gordons First Win. My dad tracked down Paul and gave him the shirt. He said Paul had to sit down he was so taken.
We got a Christmas card that year from Paul...just proof that the drivers and crew really are great people.
Thanks Geoff Bodine for doing your part to help the team.
Chip
Remembering...What can I say other than he will always be in our hearts. I still wear his white championship hat to every race I attend, even though it has been washed about a dozen times. My dad has insisted that I wear a different hat, or at least a better AK hat, but I can't. The hat is a symbol to me of Nascar of old and what it should be today. I'll never stop wearing AK's hat.
Tom Magwitz
I will always remember you, cause of your little Mighty Mouse,and the "dont ever give up"...I still have my Mighty Mouse on my drivers uniform..and will always rember you as a TRUE CHAMPION.for coming so far in our sport,in a short time...You are still my champion...and always be.i miss you.....but one of these days,we will meet.Thank GOD for you and all your memories.
Darrell Bucher
Remembering a great Champion...Thank you, Alan, for being an inspiring role model, and for doing it "your way." I will never forget.
Jane Pitcher
The things that made us smile...I loved the Zerex commercials with Alan and Rusty Wallace. The vacation one and the devil one always made me laugh. I also remember how he combed his hair with an ace comb before he got out of the racecar at the Hooters 500. Then Bill Elliott presented him with a gold comb at the banquet. That comb is on display at Bill Elliott's museum in Dawsonville.
K. Delisle
Still grieving...I am and always will be a Davey Allison fan. Alan was also a great one that was taken way too soon. This is a great tribute. We sure miss you Davey and Alan. Thanks for the memories !!!
Melisa
Alan's number...They Retire numbers in every other pro sport,now it's time for us to do the same for a Champion that didn't have the chance to defend his Title.If ever there was someone that EARNED this honor, it has to be Alan Kulwicki!
Tim Rice
April 1, 1993...The evening of April 1st, I was programing my VCR for that weekends racing action. I realized I didn't have any unused tape just a program I had taped for my husband that week while he was out of town and the 1992 Winston Cup Banquet. I started to rewind the Banquet tape than stopped and ejected it thinking to myself, NO I might want to watch that again later this year. I did not hear about the plane crash until 5PM the next day. It was so strange, because I realized the time of the crash and the time I was saving the Banquet tape were the same. The program my husband wanted tape was taped over with that weekends events. These tapes will forever be in the "Archives" as I call them. And even stranger, my husband never asked about the program he wanted taped, we don't even remember what it was. And now seven years later, it still hurts and I still cry. And on April 1st, I will watch those tapes and remember.
Debra Caserotti
Where did the seven years go??...Seems like just yesterday we got the sad news. That final race of the 1992 racing season is one of my favorites of all time. Three great drivers locked in a battle in the final race of the season..what drama!! Watching that UNDERBIRD win the tile by just by such a slim margin (one lap led was the difference in a WHOLE SEASON!!) was certainly a thrill. AK did more with less than anyone to EVER race in Winston Cup. His determination lives on inside all that were fortunate to watch him race!!
Dennis M
Still Remembered...It may be 7 years but, you are still in our thoughts. You are still at all the tracks and you are watching over it all you, Davey and Neil. But, you are all in a better place. We miss you very much and you will never be forgotten....
Janet
We miss you Alan!
Shirley & Jack Wilkinson
Fan Forever...It may have been 7 years since Alan's passing, but tears still well up when I see him remembered in the media at this time of year, or they show highlights of the final '92 race in Atlanta. The pain of losing my favorite driver has not faded in all these years. Although I've moved on to follow another "underdog", I keep all of Alan's collectibles on display like I always have.
Paula