Alan Kulwicki

Find a Grave

Perhaps the most unlikely of all NASCAR Winston Cup Champions. He was a Polish-American kid from Milwaukee in a sport dominated by Southern drivers. He may also have been the first Champion to hold a college degree (in mechanical engineering from University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee) and probably the first to carry a brief case to work. It is indicative of his career that when he won his first NASCAR Winston Cup race (1987 Phoenix International Raceway) he turned his car around and went the wrong way around the track. (This put the driver's side of the car facing the outside of the track and allowed him to wave to the fans.) He promptly dubbed this move the "Polish Victory Lap." He repeated his Polish Victory Lap when he won the Winston Cup Championship in 1992. Sadly, his reign as Champion lasted only five months. He was killed in a plane crash outside Blountvllle, Kentucky on April 1, 1993 while returning from a promotional visit.

Among his accomplishments:

1992 Winston Cup Driver's and Owner's Champion.

1986 NASCAR Rookie of the Year.

Named one of NASCAR'S 50 Greatest Drivers of All Time in 1998.

More information can be found at his biography on Wikipedia and the video Outside the Lines - Alan Kulwicki.