Alan Kulwicki

Quick Facts

Full Name	Alan Kulwicki
Occupation	Race Car Driver
Date Of Birth	Dec 14, 1954(1954-12-14)
Age	70
Date Of Death	April 1, 1993, Blountville, TN
Birthplace	Greenfield
Country	United States
Birth City	Wisconsin
Horoscope	Sagittarius

Alan Kulwicki Biography

Alan Kulwicki is one of the most popular and richest Race Car Driver who was born on December 14, 1954 in Greenfield, Wisconsin, United States. The Polish Prince’ came from nowhere to take the coveted 1986 NASCAR Rookie of Year Award.

His “Polish victory” lap, going the opposite way on the track to wave to the crowd from the driver’s side, was later adopted by Dale Earnhardt and countless other NASCAR winners.

At the time, Hooters was sponsoring a car driven by Mark Stahl, another owner- driver in the Cup series. Unlike Kulwicki, Stahl was a part-time participant who had trouble making races. The Hooters car failed to make the field for the Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 and the Atlanta-based chain, desiring a spot in the race, approached the sponsorless Kulwicki to gauge his interest. The principals agreed to at least a one-race deal, which became a much longer term deal when Kulwicki recorded an eighth-place finish in the race. Later in the season, Kulwicki won the Bristol night race for his third career win. In 29 races, he had eleven top 10 finishes, four poles, and finished 13th in the points.

Alan Dennis Kulwicki (December 14, 1954 – April 1, 1993), nicknamed “Special K” and the “Polish Prince”, was an American auto racing driver and team owner. He started racing at local short tracks in Wisconsin before moving up to regional stock car touring series. Kulwicki arrived at NASCAR, the highest and most expensive level of stock car racing in the United States, with no sponsor, a limited budget and only a racecar and a borrowed pickup truck. Despite starting with meager equipment and finances, he earned the 1986 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award over drivers racing for well-funded teams.

After the early death of his mother, young Alan was mostly raised by his grandmother.

Alan Kulwicki Net Worth

Alan Kulwicki is one of the richest Race Car Driver from United States. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Alan Kulwicki 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

Unlike most of his fellow NASCAR drivers, he came from Northern U.S. and a college background.

He joined NASCAR with no sponsorships, a shoestring budget, and exactly one racecar, yet still won multiple races.

Kulwicki passed Dale Jarrett with 27 laps left at the Food City 500 race on April 5 at Bristol to take a narrow victory. It was his fourth Winston Cup victory. After that race, he never left the top five in season points. Andrews attributed Kulwicki’s consistently strong finishes to the steady performance of newly adopted radial tires throughout their lifespan. He said, “It was hard to control them, and the driver’s ability to work with that car during practice in order to get the car set up meant so much more than it ever did.” Kulwicki’s second victory in the season was at the first race at Pocono. Discounted as a contender for the season championship during the year, Kulwicki was expected to fade from contention. He qualified on the pole position for the Peak AntiFreeze 500 race on September 20 at Dover, but crashed early in the race and finished 34th.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

Alan Kulwicki height Not available right now. Alan weight Not Known & body measurements will update soon.

Who is Alan Kulwicki Dating?

According to our records, Alan Kulwicki is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Alan Kulwicki’s is not dating anyone.

Relationships Record : We have no records of past relationships for Alan Kulwicki. You may help us to build the dating records for Alan Kulwicki!

In 1985, Kulwicki sold most of his belongings, including his short track racing equipment, to move approximately 860 miles (1,380 km) to the Charlotte area in North Carolina. He kept only a few things; his pickup truck was loaded to tow a trailer full of furniture and tools. An electrical fire two days before he left destroyed his truck, so Kulwicki had to borrow one to pull the trailer. After arriving in the Charlotte area, he showed up unannounced at Terry’s shop ready to race. Veteran NASCAR drivers were initially amused by Kulwicki’s arrival on the national tour: He was a driver from the northern United States when the series was primarily a southern regional series, he had a mechanical engineering degree when few other drivers had completed college and, with only six starts, had limited driving experience in the junior Busch Series. Kulwicki was described as very studious, hard working, no-nonsense and something of a loner. He frequently walked the garage area in his racing uniform carrying a briefcase. Kulwicki made his first career Winston Cup start at Richmond on September 8, 1985, for Bill Terry’s No. 32 Hardee’s Ford team. That season he competed in five races for Terry, with his highest finish being 13th.

Facts & Trivia

Alan Ranked on the list of most popular Race Car Driver. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in United States. Alan Kulwicki celebrates birthday on December 14 of every year.

For the 1987 season Kulwicki secured primary sponsorship from Zerex Antifreeze and changed his car number to seven. He picked up his first career pole position in the season’s third race, at Richmond. Later that season, he again qualified fastest at Richmond and Dover. Kulwicki came close to winning his first Winston Cup race at Pocono, finishing second after winner Dale Earnhardt passed him on the last lap. With nine top 10 finishes, eleven DNFs and an average finish of 18.2 in 29 events; Kulwicki finished 15th in the Winston Cup points standings for the season.

Top Facts about Alan Kulwicki

1. Alan Kulwicki was an American NASCAR driver.
2. He won the 1986 Rookie of the Year award.
3. In 1992, he became the NASCAR Cup Series champion.
4. Kulwicki died in a plane crash in 1993.
5. He was known for his “Polish Victory Lap” celebration.
6. Kulwicki had five career Cup Series wins.
7. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with an engineering degree.
8. Kulwicki owned and operated his own race team, AK Racing.
9. He was posthumously inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2019.
10. Kulwicki’s legacy continues to inspire young drivers today.

How did Alan Kulwicki the NASCAR driver died?

Kulwicki and three others were killed in a plane crash while on approach to Tri-Cities airport near Kingsport, Tenn. They were en route to that weekend’s Winston Cup race at nearby Bristol Motor Speedway.

Who died in the plane crash with Alan Kulwicki?

On a green northeastern Tennessee hillside a few hundred yards from a two-lane strip of blacktop called Island Road, Kulwicki, Campbell and Hooters employees Mark Brooks and Dan Duncan were killed in the fiery crash of their twin- engine, turbo-prop Merlin aircraft.

Is Alan Kulwicki still alive?

April 1, 1993

Who did Alan Kulwicki drive for?

Alan Kulwicki (December 14, 1954 – April 1, 1993) was an American NASCAR driver. He drove the #7 Ford Thunderbird , first sponsored by Zerex and later by Hooters. His first sponsor was Quincy’s Steakhouse, and the car number was 35. He was nicknamed “Special K”.

What NASCAR driver died in a plane?

Hall of Fame driver Curtis Turner , one of Cup’s first superstars, died along with professional golfer Clarence King when their Aero Commander 500 crashed near Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 4, 1970. The plane went down shortly after leaving Jefferson Township, Penn., bound for Roanoke, Virginia.