Underdog: Alan Kulwicki remembered on anniversary of death
Today, on the 22nd anniversary of his untimely death, the late Alan Kulwicki remains one of NASCAR's most fascinating and enigmatic champions, a true pioneer unlike any who came before him.
Kulwicki won the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup championship by overcoming a huge points deficit and prevailing in a five-way shootout in the final race of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
In one of those NASCAR moments where the facts far outstripped any piece of fiction a writer could have concocted, Kulwicki won the title from Bill Elliott because he led one more lap than Elliott did. Elliott won the race and Kulwicki finished second, with the five bonus points for most laps led in the race being the difference in Kulwicki's favor. Adding to the legend was the fact that the Atlanta race was also Richard Petty's last and Jeff Gordon's first.
Kulwicki was the ultimate outsider in the then-insular and distinctly Southern world of NASCAR. He was from Wisconsin, a college-educated engineer, an intense control freak who won a championship as an owner/driver with a team that had maybe 15 paid employees.
Like all of the Fords racing that year, the nose of Kulwicki's car carried an embossed "Thunderbird" logo across the front bumper. Kulwicki blocked off the Th, so his bumper read "underbird," a nod to his perennial underdog status.
Among his quirks, Kulwicki lived in a small apartment near Charlotte Motor Speedway and every day would write down inspirational sayings on small pieces of paper to keep himself motivated.
Kulwicki's low-budget team used just two pairs of cylinder heads at non-restrictor-plate tracks during the '92 season. Crewmen used to take the heads off the race motors and put them in their carry-on luggage when they flew home from races.
For Kulwicki to defeat the heavily-funded factory Ford teams run by Junior Johnson, Robert Yates and Jack Roush in 1992 would be like Tommy Baldwin driving his own car and winning the championship over Rick Hendrick, Gene Haas and Richard Childress today. It was that shocking.
Kulwicki's acceptance speech at the 1992 Winston Cup Awards Banquet gave some insight into his character.
"Six years ago, I was just a little guy with a dream that moved down South with a pickup truck and a trailer," Kulwicki said. "After running a few NASCAR races and dreaming about it for 10 years, I thought, well, maybe I was ready to take a stab at it."
It was a huge gamble to leave Wisconsin to head to an uncertain future in North Carolina.
"They were having a going-away party for me," Kulwicki said of his family and friends. "The only thing was, I didn't know where I was going to."
It got worse before it got better. Kulwicki loaded up his trailer, only to have his truck develop an electrical fire and burn down.
"I stopped and asked myself if someone was trying to tell me something," said Kulwicki. "It would have been real easy to quit and turn back and say that it just wasn't meant to be or I can't do it. But I kept on. When I first came down South, I've got to be honest with you, I was really scared. I was just swimming for my life. The fear of failure is a good motivator, and I think that's what drove me in the early years."
But Kulwicki and his crew, which included future crew chiefs Tony Gibson and Paul Andrews, persevered. Kulwicki won his first race at Phoenix in 1988, famously driving in the wrong direction afterward in what he called "The Polish victory lap."
That move was just one of many things that set Kulwicki apart from the crowd.
"I have been the underdog a lot of my career," said Kulwicki. "I didn't start out choosing to do it this way. It just sort of happened. I started my own team out of necessity when there weren't any offers."
The end of Kulwicki's speech was the most impressive, and the most heartbreaking.
"I really am a fortunate person to be here tonight," Kulwicki concluded. "I really count my blessings. We've all got a lot to be thankful for here. I hope that in the year to come I will be a good representative. I hope that when 1993 is over that the people at Winston, the people at NASCAR and the competitors all look back and say, 'We were proud to have him represent us as our champion.' Thank you."
Less than four months after making that speech, Kulwicki was killed in a plane crash near Bristol Motor Speedway on the night of April 1, 1993.
