Alan Kulwicki

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.

In 1973 he won the rookie of the year award at Hales Corners and the next year started racing late models – the fastest and most complicated type of stock cars raced at the local level – at the same track.

That season, he won his first feature race, at Leo's Speedway in Oshkosh.

Kulwicki attended Pius XI High School, a Roman Catholic high school in Milwaukee and received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1977.

His knowledge of engineering has been cited as a contributing factor to his success as a driver, as it helped him better understand the physics of a racecar.

Kulwicki moved from dirt tracks to paved tracks in 1977.

He also teamed up with racecar builder Greg Krieger to research, model, engineer and construct an innovative car with far more torsional stiffness than other late models.

The increased stiffness allowed the car to handle better in the corners, which increased its speed.

Racing at Slinger Super Speedway, he won the track championship in 1977.

In 1978, Kulwicki returned to Slinger; that same year he started racing a late model at Wisconsin International Raceway (WIR), finishing third in points in his rookie season at the track.

In 1979 and 1980, he won the WIR late model track championships.

In 1979, Kulwicki began competing in regional to national level events sanctioned by the USAC Stock Car series and the American Speed Association (ASA), while remaining an amateur racer through 1980.

When Kulwicki raced against future NASCAR champion Rusty Wallace in the ASA series, the two became friends.

He first raced on local tracks as an amateur while in college before becoming a full-time professional racer in 1980.

A devout Roman Catholic, Kulwicki always competed with a Saint Christopher (the patron saint of travelers) devotional medal in his car.

Kulwicki began his racing career as a 13-year-old kart racer.

His father built engines as the crew chief for Norm Nelson and Roger McCluskey's United States Automobile Club (USAC) racecars.

Because his work involved travel, Kulwicki's father was unable to help his son at most kart races, so Kulwicki's resourcefulness was often tested trying to find someone to transport his kart to the track.

Even when Kulwicki asked his father for advice, he typically ended up doing most of the work himself.

"I showed him how", Gerry Kulwicki said.

"And he said: 'Why don't you do it? You can do it better.' And I said, 'Well, if you do it for a while, you can do it better.'"

Many local-level American racetracks host their own season championships.

In Wisconsin, numerous locations held dirt and asphalt short track racing.

Kulwicki started driving stock cars at the local level at the Hales Corners Speedway and Cedarburg Speedway dirt oval tracks.

Kulwicki's highest finish in the ASA season points championship was third place, which he accomplished in both 1982 and 1985, with five career victories and twelve pole positions.

Kulwicki raced in four NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (now Xfinity Series) races in 1984.

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 Kulwicki won his first race at Phoenix International Raceway, he debuted what would become his trademark "Polish victory lap".

Kulwicki won the 1992 Winston Cup Championship by what was then the closest margin in NASCAR history.

He died early in 1993 in a light aircraft accident and therefore never defended his championship.

He has been inducted into numerous racing halls of fame and was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers.

Kulwicki was known for being a perfectionist and doing things his own way.

An engineer by trade, his scientific approach to NASCAR racing inspired the way teams are now run.

Despite lucrative offers from top car owners, he insisted on driving for his own race team, AK Racing, during most of his NASCAR career.

Described by his publicist as "a real hard type of person to get to know", he remained a bachelor throughout his life.

Kulwicki grew up in Greenfield, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee known for its Polish-American neighborhoods, near the Milwaukee Mile racetrack.

After his mother died, his family moved in with his grandmother, who died when Kulwicki was in seventh grade.

A year later, his only brother died of a hemophilia-related illness.