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acegear
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Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 973
Location: Enumclaw, WA
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 Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2004 4:34 pm Post subject: Classic Driver: Alan Kulwicki |
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Alan Kulwicki was born on 12/14/54 in Greenfield, Wisconsin. He grew up racing on dirt tracks and dreaming of making it to Nascar Winston Cup Racing one day. He graduated from ASA into NASCAR racing. Alan went south in 1985 to pursue his NASCAR dream when a dream was all he had. He had sold most of his belongings back home in Greenfield, Wis., and two days before he set out for Charlotte, an electrical short ignited a fire that burned up his truck and trailer -- and all the possessions he had retained. In 1986 Alan's dream came true, with only 2 cars, 2 engines, and 2 crew members he not only made it to Winston Cup, he went on to be that years Rookie of the Year.
Struggling on his first NASCAR tour that year, he was a source of amusement to the veterans. He was a mechanical engineer out of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee in a sport in which most of his competitors had made it only through high school. He was a small, quiet, polished, Polish-American Yankee walking through boisterous garage areas, wearing his driving uniform but carrying a briefcase. Alan was respected for his fierce wok ethic. Before the mechanical engineers of today, Ryan Newman & Matt Borland, we had Alan Kulwicki.
He drove for himself and often served as his own crew chief. Twice Junior Johnson tried to get Alan to drive for him but was turned down. NASCAR watchers said he'd never make it. He proved them wrong, winning 24 poles and five races. He won at Phoenix in '88 (where he first did his infamous Polish Victory lap), Rockingham in '90, Bristol in '91, and Pocono and Bristol in '92.. Alan came from 278 points behind in the final six races to win the '92 championship by 10 points, closest margin in NASCAR history.
Alan went into 1993 as the reining champion but on April 1,1993 Alan Kulwick was taken from us when he was in route from a Public Relations appearance in Knoxville, TN, to the next race in Bristol, TN. The plane that he and three others were riding went down near Bristol. All four on board perished.
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