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Tag: Alan Kulwicki

  • Remembering Alan Kulwicki – Against All Odds

    Remembering Alan Kulwicki – Against All Odds

    Let’s travel back in time to NASCAR in the mid-1980s. If you take a look around on race day, you’ll see the likes of Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliott. In the midst of this, a young man walks by wearing a fire suit and carrying a briefcase. One can only imagine the whispered remarks those “good old boys” made as Alan Kulwicki walked past.

    Kulwicki was originally from Wisconsin, had a mechanical engineering degree and was a college graduate. To say that he was an oddity in NASCAR is putting it mildly. But Kulwicki didn’t worry about things like fitting in; he was there to win races.

    He was often described as a perfectionist and a control freak and perhaps that’s why he chose to work for himself. After all, no one else could measure up to his high standards.

    Kulwicki started his rookie Cup season in 1986 with Bill Terry but when Terry decided to end his support for the race team mid-season, Kulwicki started his own team. It was a one-man show starring Kulwicki as driver, owner, crew chief and mechanic.

    No one thought he would succeed.

    Kulwicki’s unconventional methods began to pay off when he won the 1986 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award. His first win came at Phoenix in 1988 where he first did his now famous, Polish Victory Lap, driving the opposite way on the track, with the driver’s side of the car facing the fans.

    Kulwicki expressed what that first win meant to him in Grand National Scene magazine.

    “It’s been a long road and it’s taken a lot of hard work to get here,” he said, “but this has made it all worthwhile. When you work for something so hard for so long, you wonder if it’s going to be worth all of the anticipation. Believe me, it certainly was.

    “And what do you think of my Polish victory lap? There will never be another first win and you know, everybody sprays champagne or stands up on the car. I wanted to do something different for the fans.”

    In 1992, Kulwicki’s commitment to excellence was finally rewarded. He overcame a 278 point deficit in the final six races of the season and won the Cup Championship at the last race of the season in Atlanta.

    That day was notable for several reasons although not all were immediately apparent.

    It was the closest title win in NASCAR Cup Series history until the Chase for the Cup format was implemented in 2004. Kulwicki was the last owner/driver to win the title, the first Cup champion with a college degree and the first Cup champion born in a Northern state.

    I wonder if those fans at the Atlanta race had a sense of the history being made on that monumental day. A friend of mine was there and shared his memories of that day and the feeling he had that he was watching something special.

    “I was there at Atlanta the day Alan won his championship,” he told me. “It was one of the most incredible and historic races I’ve ever seen, in person or otherwise. “The King” ran his last race and Jeff Gordon his first, but it was Alan who won the day, if not the race.

    “It was a cold and windy day and most fans wasted little time leaving at the race’s end, but I waited down by the first turn fence for Alan to take that ride around the track in the convertible as newly crowned champion. For reasons unknown, it was something I felt compelled to do.

    “As they drove slowly by my position I gave a yell of congratulations and a wave to the champ as he waved back. Little did I know we were waving goodbye.”

    Kulwicki’s reign as Champion was short-lived.

    The 1993 season had gotten off to a strong start and he was already ninth in the point standings when everything changed in the blink of an eye. On April 1, 1993, he was flying to the next race in Bristol, Tennessee when the plane carrying him and three others went down near Bristol. There were no survivors.

    Saturday morning at Bristol, all the drivers were there as the Alan Kulwicki hauler circled Bristol and left the track for the last time.

    Kyle Petty remembers that day vividly saying, “I’ve been around racing a long time and I’ve lost a son. I think the saddest thing I’ve ever seen at a racetrack was Alan’s truck leaving Bristol, Tennessee. We just sat and cried.”

    On Sunday, Rusty Wallace won the race and honored his friend by doing the Polish Victory Lap. During the remainder of the 1993 season, every winning driver completed the Polish Victory Lap to honor Kulwicki’s memory.

    Kulwicki was a bright light whose flame was extinguished far too soon and his life was a testament of hope that anything is possible. He did things his way and succeeded against all odds, believing in himself when no one else did.

    As Alan said, “If you don’t believe, you don’t belong.”

    • Repost – Originally published April 4, 2015

  • Five Legends Named to 2019 NASCAR Hall Of Fame Class

    Five Legends Named to 2019 NASCAR Hall Of Fame Class

  • Hot 20 – Hall of Famers and military heroes are honored at Charlotte this week

    Hot 20 – Hall of Famers and military heroes are honored at Charlotte this week

    Jeff Gordon. Four-time NASCAR champion. Three-time Daytona 500 champion. Four-time Brickyard 400 winner. Six-time Southern 500 victor. Three-time World 600 champion. Three-time All-Star race winner. Winner of 93 Cup races. He probably was the most automatic inductee into the Hall of Fame since Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. His was the opening name announced Wednesday for the Class of 2019.

    Next, they turned to ownership, with Jack Roush and Roger Penske both given the keys. Roush has 137 victories as the man who owns the garage, putting Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch in their championship rides. Notable drivers Mark Martin and Carl Edwards also had great success in his cars. Penske has 105 wins to his credit, with Brad Keselowski bringing him his Cup title in 2012. Penske has claimed a few other motorsports accolades over the years, including ownership of 16 Indianapolis 500 winning entries. Among his drivers, you can include the names of Mark Donohue, Mario Andretti, Rick Mears, Bobby Unser, Al Unser, Al Unser Jr., Emerson Fittipaldi, Hélio Castroneves, and Rusty Wallace. I think you get the idea.

    Two fallen drivers, Davey Allison and Alan Kulwicki, are popular selections. Both were lost in aviation accidents in 1993. Allison won 19 times in just 191 career starts, winning 10 of them in 1991 and 1992 when he was third best in the standings both times. Kulwicki only won five times in his time, but he was the driver and team owner and took the Hooters No. 7 Ford to the championship the year prior to his death.

    This week in Charlotte, they honored the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2019. This Memorial Day weekend, they will honor the troops. It is racing’s most celebrated 24 hours, with action starting at Monte Carlo, moving on to Indianapolis, then to Charlotte as NASCAR salutes some of the heroes, both those on active service and those who have made the supreme sacrifice, who make such days as this possible.

    1. KEVIN HARVICK – 5 WINS – 484 Pts
    Expects the future of NASCAR to look like the All-Star race did. I bet he does.

    2. KYLE BUSCH – 3 WINS – 503 Pts
    If you are a tender flower who screws up on his pit crew, you might want to reconsider things.

    3. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN – 491 Pts
    As long as Larson does not squeeze him into the wall again, then all will be well.

    4. CLINT BOWYER – 1 WIN – 386 Pts
    Let us remember 2Lt. Dale E. Bowyer (1921-1974), Distinguished Service Cross recipient.

    5. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN – 376 Pts
    Defending champion recently visited with his Commander-in-Chief.

    6. AUSTIN DILLON – 1 WIN – 241 Pts
    Won at Daytona. All is good. See you in the Chase.

    7. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 396 POINTS
    Has a Hall of Famer owner. How cool is that?

    8. KURT BUSCH – 393 POINTS
    Has driven for two Hall of Fame owners. Top that!

    9. DENNY HAMLIN – 380 POINTS
    Drive fast on the track, drive much slower on Pit Road. That is a recipe for success.

    10. RYAN BLANEY – 365 POINTS
    Watch the Spider-Man animated series. Ryan would appreciate it.

    11. ARIC ALMIROLA – 342 POINTS
    Four Stewart-Haas drivers among the Top Dozen. How sweet it is.

    12. KYLE LARSON – 336 POINTS
    Don’t squeeze Joey. Don’t squeeze Joey. Don’t squeeze Joey…

    13. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 286 POINTS
    Got his start thanks to a Hall of Famer. Between them, they have 11 titles.

    14. ERIK JONES – 285 POINTS
    Until his boss makes the Hall of Fame, he is left with just 3 Super Bowl rings and 4 Cup titles.

    15. ALEX BOWMAN – 271 POINTS
    Traded in his car for a Coast Guard Response Boat this week. No points were awarded.

    16. CHASE ELLIOTT – 266 POINTS
    Just what we need, another Cup guy driving in the Xfinity series. Let the beat downs begin.

    17. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 265 POINTS
    It would be mean to suggest that he could get more attention if he dated a Monster Energy gal.

    18. PAUL MENARD – 240 POINTS
    Patrick County has its heroes, like the Wood Brothers and 1Lt. Leevi Barnard (1980-2009 in Iraq).

    19. WILLIAM BYRON – 229 POINTS
    He has the right car number to be a Hall of Famer.

    20. RYAN NEWMAN – 225 POINTS
    Come to think of it, Newman has also driven for a pair of Hall of Fame owners.

  • Darlington Southern 500 – Did You Know?

    Darlington Southern 500 – Did You Know?

    DARLINGTON, S.C. — The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway this Labor Day weekend for the Bojangles’ Southern 500. This is the third straight year of Darlington’s throwback campaign and this edition will focus on the 1985-89 era. There are 40 drivers on the entry list and, as of today, 32 will run retro paint schemes to honor the rich history of the sport.

    The tributes are as varied as the drivers. Did you know that three different Cup Series drivers will feature a salute to Dale Earnhardt? Earnhardt has nine Darlington victories, second only to David Pearson. Jeffrey Earnhardt’s No. 33 car will feature a green and white scheme that resembles the one his grandfather drove in the XFINITY Series in the 1980s. Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Chevy and Ryan Newman’s No. 31 will honor Earnhardt’s yellow and blue Wrangler scheme. This particular paint scheme is similar to the one Earnhardt drove in 1987 when he won his first Southern 500.

    Jamie McMurray will pay tribute to David Pearson, who leads all drivers with 10 Darlington wins, Brad Keselowski will honor Rusty Wallace’s 1994 “Midnight” paint scheme and Trevor Bayne’s car will represent the scheme that Mark Martin drove when he claimed the first Cup victory for Roush Fenway Racing at North Carolina Motor Speedway in 1989.

    Other drivers being honored includes Davey Allison (Corey LaJoie), Bobby Allison (Matt DiBenedetto) and Alan Kulwicki (Michael McDowell). Check out this preview of all the Darlington throwback paint schemes.

    Darlington Raceway’s throwback weekend pays homage to a tradition that began on Sept. 4, 1950, when they hosted NASCAR’s first 500-mile race. There were 75 drivers entered into the event but did you know that the race was won by Johnny Mantz? It was his first and only win in the Cup Series. There have been 113 Cup races at the 1.366-mile track and 49 different drivers have won.

    Martin Truex Jr. is the defending race winner and is one of only six active drivers who has visited Victory Lane at Darlington. Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers with three victories while Kevin Harvick (2014), Matt Kenseth (2013), Denny Hamlin (2010) and Kyle Busch (2008) have one win each. But did you know that the last 11 races have been won by 11 different drivers?

    With only two races remaining in the regular season, the Southern 500 should deliver a night to remember. Capture the Coors Light Pole Award and you’re one step closer to victory. The pole is the most proficient starting position at Darlington. It has produced 20 winners while 17 drivers have won from the second place starting position. But did you know that the deepest in the field that a race winner has started is 43rd? That driver was Johnny Mantz in the Darlington inaugural Cup Series race in 1950. Qualifying for this year’s Southern 500 will be held Saturday at 1:45 p.m. ET.

    Tune in this weekend for all the on-track action beginning with the first Cup Series practice Friday at 1 p.m. ET followed by the final practice at 3:30 p.m. The Southern 500 closes out the weekend Sunday at 6 p.m. on NBCSN.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

     

  • Remembering the Underbird

    Remembering the Underbird

    Hooters 500I still can’t imagine that it has been 23 years since we lost Alan Kulwicki in a plane crash as he was headed to Bristol Motor Speedway. The sight of the No. 7 hauler taking the lap around Bristol before leaving the track still brings a chill up my back.

    Kulwicki did things his way. He brought engineering into NASCAR and now 23 years later, most crew chiefs are engineers. Future crew chief and owner, Ray Evernham, lasted six weeks with Kulwicki in 1992. Evernham later said, “The man was a genius. There’s no question. It’s not a matter of people just feeling like he was a genius. That man was a genius. But his personality paid for that. He was very impatient, very straightforward, very cut-to-the-bone.”

    When Kulwicki started his own team he served as his own engineer and crew chief. Eventually, he hired Paul Andrews as the crew chief and the team also featured two future crew chiefs, Tony Gibson, the current crew chief for Kurt Busch at Stewart-Haas Racing and Brian Whitesell who succeeded Ray Evernham as the crew chief for Jeff Gordon.

    In the early 1990s, very few people would say no to Junior Johnson. When Johnson was looking to replace Terry Labonte, he offered the seat to Kulwicki who said no because he wanted to run his own team. Kulwicki had another run-in with Johnson. In 1991, Johnson wanted to start a second team and offered Kulwicki $1 million to drive for him. The Wisconsin owner/driver turned him down thinking he had secured Maxwell House as a sponsor for his team. Johnson wound up taking the Maxwell House sponsorship and hired Sterling Marlin to drive the No. 22 Maxwell House Ford for Johnson and Kulwicki started the 1991 season without sponsorship.

    Kulwicki would eventually secure Hooters to sponsor his car for one race in 1991 and it grew into a multi-year commitment. That commitment from Hooters and Kulwicki’s determination turned into magic in 1992. It was a season of consistency. He scored two victories and only had two finishes outside the top-20 all season. When the team rolled through the gates for the 1992 Hooters 500, Kulwicki was second in points, trailing Davey Allison by 30 points. He went to Ford and NASCAR to get approval to have Underbird on the car because he relished the underdog role.

    During the race, points leader Allison was involved in a wreck with Ernie Irvan and fell out of contention. It became a battle between Bill Elliott and Kulwicki to determine the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup championship. Elliott won the Hooters 500, but Kulwicki managed  a second place finish to capture the series championship.

    The 1992 Hooters 500 is one for the NASCAR record books. It was Richard Petty’s final race, Jeff Gordon’s first race and the day the Underbird took Alan Kulwicki to the championship.

    It was a championship he wouldn’t defend. After an appearance at the Hooters in Knoxville, Tennessee, Kulwicki was flying to Bristol when his plane crashed on final approach to the airport. Kulwicki was gone at the age of 38.

    His legacy continues in the sport. Tony Gibson is still on a pit box, engineers are the life blood of Sprint Cup success for any team and now the Alan Kulwicki Driver Development Program is helping worthy drivers along the way to reaching their dream.

    It’s been 23 years since NASCAR lost a true independent owner/driver who did it his way. Tony Stewart has won a championship since Kulwicki as an owner-driver, but Stewart also had the partnership with Gene Haas and support from Hendrick Motorsports. Kulwicki did it on his own.

    I can still see the Hooters No. 7 taking the Polish Victory Lap waving to the fans and I will always wonder how much more he could have accomplished if he wasn’t taken so soon.

    Rest in peace, Alan Kulwicki. You are still missed.

  • Hot 20 – The Truex Triumph at Pocono Deserves an Encore at Michigan

    Hot 20 – The Truex Triumph at Pocono Deserves an Encore at Michigan

    You need a multi-car operation in order to be successful. At least, that seems to be the prevailing wisdom of the day, but just do not let Barney Visser and his Furniture Row team in on it. Other teams might not like what they would see.

    Marching to the beat of their own drummer is just what they do. For example, while most teams call the Charlotte area home, the auto driven by Martin Truex Jr. is prepared in Denver, Colorado. Starting part-time in 2005, Furniture Row has been a Top 30 entry ever since they ran the full schedule with Regan Smith in 2010. They even won a race the next season, but hitting the Top Twenty by year’s end was a struggle.

    Their dedication reached fruition in 2013 when Kurt Busch came over for a year, with 11 Top Fives launching them to a 10th best season. Still, no wins, and when Truex joined the outfit last year they dropped again to also-ran status in the standings. That proved to be just a blip on their radar as Cinderella got another shot to go to the ball and wear those glass galoshes.

    Last Sunday, Truex gave Furniture Row just its second victory ever when he was the class of the field at Pocono. This was no surprise outcome for a usual also-ran, as they are easily the best team in points amongst the single win teams. In fact, they are second only to Kevin Harvick in points for the season, period. Single car teams are not supposed to do that. In fact, no single car team is supposed to do what Alan Kulwicki did between 1987 and his championship of 1992 these days. It seems to me that those mountain men and women are putting up another solid argument that the prevailing wisdom of the day is not their way, at least not yet.

    While a teammate might not be to too far off in the future, Truex has had some success of his own at Michigan. He had three Top Tens racing for Michael Waltrip, and a pair of runner-up finishes for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2007. After last season’s annus horribilis, this appears to be a year of new beginnings and new successes, for both the team and its driver. Of course, he is among…

    …our Hot 20 heading into Michigan.

    1 – JIMMIE JOHNSON – 4 WINS (481 pts)
    If Chad and Jimmie were girls, they wouldn’t talk for months after a race.

    2 – KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS (559 pts)
    Fourteen races. Two wins. Ten times finishing in second place. Don’t worry, be Happy.

    3 – MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN (520 pts)
    Finally.

    4 – JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (480 pts)
    Starts dead last after rear-end gear change, then gets a pit penalty, yet finishes fourth at Pocono.

    5 – DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 1 WIN (465 pts)
    You would have thought he, not his buddy, won the race.

    6 – BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN (441 pts)
    Brought the beer to the Truex party. while Junior sent some post-celebration head pain relief.

    7 – MATT KENSETH – 1 WIN (415 pts)
    Family joined the Johnsons and Dillon boys for a Taylor Swift concert. Perks of the profession.

    8 – KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN (379 pts)
    Took the pole, finished fifth. Just another day at the office.

    9 – DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (379 pts)
    The way he qualified at Pocono, one would have thought he was Bowyer.

    10 – CARL EDWARDS – 1 WIN (368 pts)
    Not as good as Newman this season…except for that little ole win he has.

    11 – JAMIE MCMURRAY – 427 POINTS
    Has completed 96.8 percent of his career laps at Michigan, but fourth in 2004 his best result.

    12 – KASEY KAHNE – 417 POINTS
    Impromptu body work from Junior helped neither car last weekend.

    13 – JEFF GORDON – 411 POINTS
    So, Alan and Jeff swore at each other. Am I the only one who notices they are both guys?

    14 – PAUL MENARD – 385 POINTS
    Caught speeding, got caught again on the drive through, then got a flat. Not a good day.

    15 – ARIC ALMIROLA – 379 POINTS
    Pocono was not a pointless exercise for Aric. He did pick up a single point for his efforts.

    16 – RYAN NEWMAN – 374 POINTS
    After just earning five himself, Newman not feeling the love after being Allmendingered.

    17 – CLINT BOWYER – 354 POINTS
    Billy Scott to replace Brian Pattie atop the box at Michigan. Let the magic begin.

    18 – GREG BIFFLE – 343 POINTS
    Twelfth was twelve better than teammate Trevor Bayne, which means they still have work to do.

    19 – KYLE LARSON – 333 POINTS
    Third at Dover, eighth at Pocono and eighth last spring at Michigan. The time is now.

    20 – DANICA PATRICK – 328 POINTS
    Deserved a better fate last Sunday.

  • ByrnesStrong Poll Votes Rick Hendrick and Alan Kulwicki In For Next HOF Spot

    ByrnesStrong Poll Votes Rick Hendrick and Alan Kulwicki In For Next HOF Spot

    The ByrnesStrong Poll, formerly known as The Century Poll but renamed in honor of Steve Byrnes who just lost his battle to cancer, focused this month on who of the twenty NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees would be voted in for induction in the next class.

    The ByrnesStrong Poll members included as usual fifty voters from the NASCAR garage and fifty from the NASCAR media corps. Those members from the garage included drivers, crew chiefs, crew members, team owners, sponsors, manufacturer representatives and track officials.

    The actual voting breakdown for the ByrnesStrong Poll was as follows:

    Voting Breakdown

    Nominee G M T
    Rick Hendrick 10 5 15
    Alan Kulwicki 12 3 15
    Benny Parsons 4 9 13
    Buddy Baker 6 4 10
    Curtis Turner 3 6 9
    Mark Martin 1 6 7
    Bruton Smith 2 5 7
    Red Byron 2 4 6
    Terry Labonte 1 2 3
    Richard Childress 1 1 2
    Jerry Cook 2 0 2
    Harry Hyde 1 1 2
    Larry Phillips 2 0 2
    Robert Yates 1 1 2
    Ray Evernham 0 1 1
    Ray Fox 1 0 1
    Hershel McGriff 1 0 1
    Raymond Parks 0 1 1
    Mike Stefanik 0 1 1
    Bobby Isaac 0 0 0

                                       

    Key:     G = Garage vote, M = Media vote, T = Total

    Both NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick and 1992 Cup champion Alan Kulwicki tied for the top spot with 15 apiece. It was also evident that those two were the front-runners for all of those voting from the garage area.

    Those that voted for Hendrick cited his eleven Cup championships, his dedication to the sport, and his participation as a multi-car team owner and those that voted for Alan Kulwicki noted his tenure as a driver who could always ‘do more with less’ and as the last owner/driver to win a Cup championship.

    It was not surprising that the next vote-getter garnered the most votes from the media, with a total of nine votes going to Benny Parsons. BP, as Benny Parsons was affectionately known, was a driver, a Cup champion, a car owner, and a broadcaster. His professorial and relaxed approach to broadcasting was legendary and sorely missed when he passed away on January 16, 2007.

    The media also seemed to favor Curtis Turner and Mark Martin in the voting poll. Turner was one of NASCAR’s early drivers, who had quite the reputation for not only driving hard but playing hard as well. During his career, Turner won 360 races in several different racing series, including 22 in the NASCAR Convertible Division in 1956, and 17 wins in the NASCAR Grand National series (now Sprint Cup).

    Turner did, however, have an interesting relationship with NASCAR, having been banned for trying to organize a labor union before being allowed to race again four years later. Turner died in an airplane crash near Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on October 4, 1970.

    Unlike Turner, Mark Martin’s tenure on the track is more recent, although he is currently not behind the wheel of a race car. Martin has often been described as ‘the best driver never to win a championship’, as he has finished second in the Cup Series standings five times.

    All of the other nominees in this month’s ByrnesStrong Poll at least garnered one vote, with the exception of Bobby Isaac, a 1970 Cup Champion, whose crew chief was the legendary Harry Hyde. Isaac won 37 Cup races, including eleven races during his championship season. He also holds the record for most poles in a single season, with 20 poles in 1969.

    Outside of NASCAR, Isaac set 28 world speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. He, unfortunately, passed away at the age of 45 from a heart attack after a race at Hickory Motor Speedway.

    As always, many thanks should go to Mike Siberini, who independently conducts The Century Poll and who renamed it this month in honor of NASCAR’s own Steve Byrnes.

     

  • Our Drivers – So Close and Yet so Far Away

    Our Drivers – So Close and Yet so Far Away

    I grew up in a different era of NASCAR and I’ve recently realized how much things have changed while I wasn’t paying attention. It feels as though I have awoken from a deep sleep, like in a fairy tale, and nothing is the same.

    I look at my wall of autographs and I can almost feel the history behind the signatures.  When I close my eyes I can remember walking up to drivers like Alan Kulwicki, Ken Schrader, Dick Trickle, Jeff Gordon and Michael Waltrip; getting autographs and talking to them. They treated each fan, from the first to the last, as special and you felt appreciated. I was able to chat with drivers at local tracks, I learned so much and made friends with many.

    This was a time when drivers didn’t have any more money than the fans, they were just like us. That was the appeal; they didn’t see themselves as heroes, they were racers. We paid for a ticket and they thanked us by signing autographs until there were no more fans in line. Fans were the car owners, fans were the sponsors, fans were important.

    The NASCAR drivers sought out the fans, anxious to get their name out there. Along with winning races, that is what brought in the sponsors. Today the situation is reversed and the drivers are pretty much owned by the sponsors and their teams. NASCAR has become so commercialized, that the blue collar sport of yesterday has been lost.

    The point I am trying to make is this; the drivers were accessible. It isn’t like today where you run the risk of being trampled by 500 fans trying to get Jimmie Johnson’s autograph when he only has an hour before being rushed away by his sponsor to another event.

    I experienced this firsthand last year when I had a pass for a Nationwide race and thought I would see how hard it would be to get autographs. It was a frustrating experience to say the least. I was wearing a boot that went from my foot to my knee, due to an injury. I bravely stood in the area as drivers walked by and I assumed I would be given a little room because of my foot, I was wrong. Basically I was tackled more than Tony Romo on any given Sunday and I finally gave up. I got some autographs but it took me a week to recover from the ordeal.

    That is when I began to wonder how disabled fans get autographs? How do fans that can’t afford to go to a race get them? How do older fans that can’t stand in lines for hours to attend an autograph session get them? There has to be an easier way for those fans that want to meet their favorite driver but are restricted.

    Then it hit me. Perhaps I can submit an envelope with a picture and a self addressed envelope with postage already paid. Maybe that is now the best way to get an autograph. I did this years ago for a little boy who was unable to write to his hero; Dale Earnhardt Sr. Earnhardt not only sent him an autograph but other items as well.

    I was stunned to discover that it’s not that simple anymore. You can no longer just send in a picture or a hero card and request an autograph. Most major teams schedule driver autograph sessions or you can purchase autographed items from their stores.

    Pay for an autograph? Really? Something as simple as getting an autograph shouldn’t be so hard, should it?

    Autographs are as important to the sport as the fan that will stand in line for hours to obtain them. I understand that, yes, the drivers are pulled around from place to place and do the best they can, but the fans are losing out and it’s the fans who put these drivers in the cars. The fans are the heart of NASCAR and having to pay for an autograph is ludicrous. As it stands now, there is a disconnect between the drivers and their fans.

    I don’t think fans feel very important to NASCAR or the drivers today. Let’s get a show of hands. How many fans feel special these days? No show of hands needed, the empty seats say it all. Look at the stands now and then look at the stands back in the days of Tim Richmond, Harry Gant and Richard Petty. Where did the fans go?

    It saddens me to see those empty seats and I worry about the state of the sport in general. Fans need to feel engaged again, need to know that the sport they love will listen to them and believe that each and every one of them is important. NASCAR needs to remember that without the fans, there is no NASCAR.

     

  • USMC Staff Sgt. Liam Dwyer, IMSA Race Winner, Shares Can Do Attitude with NASCAR Community

    USMC Staff Sgt. Liam Dwyer, IMSA Race Winner, Shares Can Do Attitude with NASCAR Community

    Last week’s IMSA race winner at Lime Rock, USMC Staff Sergeant Liam Dwyer visited the world of NASCAR this past race weekend in Dover, Delaware to experience the sights and sounds of stock car racing and to share his inspirational message of overcoming obstacles and achieving dreams.

    Dwyer, currently still on active duty stationed out of Walter Reed, joined the Marines in 2000 after hearing about the bombing of US Navy Destroyer USS Cole. He was deployed both to Iraq and Afghanistan where he suffered serious wounds, including the loss of his left leg after an IED explosion.

    In spite of his injuries, Dwyer never gave up on his dream to be behind the wheel of a race car. And he achieved that dream and so much more with a win in the IMSA Continental Challenge at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut.

    In typical and humble fashion, Dwyer credited his victory to his team, his co-driver, and all those who stood with him throughout his journey of rehabilitation.

    “Last week’s win, everyone is giving me all the praise for it, but the praise really goes to Mazda and my team,” Dwyer said. “I wrecked the car at Mazda Raceway three weeks prior so that was a write off. So, the team had a five-day turnaround. They built a complete new car with 360 man hours and six days later, they were driving up to Lime Rock Park in Connecticut.”

    “The car was fast right off the trailer and the team was really good,” Dwyer continued. “Qualifying was rained out so the field was set by points. We started second to last out of the 33 car field. Based on pit strategy, some good driving (a little bit on my part bit a lot on my co-driver Tom Long’s part), we came out with ‘W’ there at my home track at my home state.”

    Dwyer’s interest in cars started in his childhood and has continued to this day.

    “I grew up with an affection with cars,” Dwyer said. “I had been to Lime Rock numerous times as a child to watch the old IMSA Series there. Actually in high school is when I got interested in racing. I really started doing time trials after Iraq that I had a skill for it. I didn’t start getting faster until after Afghanistan.”

    “I’m a Skip Barber Racing School grad back to 2007,” Dwyer continued. “But I got my break two years ago with High Performance Heroes, a vintage car team that found me at VIR.”

    “They decided they wanted to build a race car for me,” Dwyer continued. “They built a 1962 Austin Healy Sprite and in 2012 I had some odd success with that. Freedom Auto Sports is a team that is all about supporting veterans and active duty personnel. They wanted to help me out and they started following me. After the season I had last year, they took notice and I got a phone call to go test at Sebring.”

    “I’ve had some really good people around me that have gotten me to where I am today.”

    Dwyer detailed the adjustments that had to be made to his car, even removing his prosthetic leg to demonstrate.

    “One of the biggest challenges we face is that we have to do a driver change,” Dwyer said. “I still operate a normal clutch. That’s been our biggest challenge because my foot needs to stay attached to the clutch. But I also need to get out of the car quickly for driver changes.”

    “So, they have designed a system for me that allows me to do both. Our driver change system in no way aids or hinders me getting in and out of the car.”

    While Dwyer has achieved many of his own racing goals, he was most anxious to experience first-hand the world of stock car racing at the Monster Mile.

    “I’ve been a NASCAR fan since really before I can remember,” Dwyer said. “I was an Alan Kulwicki fan back in the late 1980s, and after that a Davey Allison fan, and then an Ernie Irvan fan so I did not strike very well with choosing drivers.”

    “But since 1999, I’ve been a Tony Stewart fan. I’ve really grown to like Kurt Busch over the last two years because of all he is doing for the Armed Forces Foundation,” Dwyer continued. “I know Kurt Busch personally. I met him twice at the hospital. We were at Walter Reed last year and the NASCAR guys came in.”

    “I was on my way to a race that weekend and met him again,” Dwyer said. “I called him out to a go kart race and he took me up on that. He beat me by about 4/10s of a second.”

    In addition to his excitement with seeing the NASCAR drivers, Dwyer also was on another mission, that of sharing his words of inspiration to others.

    “Having been a NASCAR fan almost my entire life and being at some of the races, just to be here at the track means a lot,” Dwyer said. “I’ve gotten to meet some of the drivers and they have been so hospitable.”

    “My message here is to really say that people look at me and say I’ve been dealt a pretty crappy hand being an amputee and with the other injuries that I have to my body,” Dwyer continued. “No matter what we face in life, no matter what challenges we face, the key is staying positive. There are people out there worse off than you. There are people out there that have had it worse than me.”

    “I look at everybody and what challenges they are facing and I think this population has become so attuned to if we face adversity, we just give up,” Dwyer continued. “A lot of people stop striving for their dreams at that point. This has only made me drive further. I’ve been dealt this hand and it is really a blessing. I’m fully aware that the only way that I have the opportunities I have now and to go racing and to be here is because of my injuries.”

    “If people could start looking at things in a more positive light, there would be less darkness,” Dwyer said. “That’s the biggest message that I can share with people is that for the rest of our lives we should strive to do things and be more positive. I’m a very good example of no matter the hand you are dealt, I’ve made lemonade out of a shitty batch of lemons.”

    So, what is next for this fearless competitor as he completes his tour of duty with the Marines and pursues his racing passion?

    “My goal in life right now is that I want to race the 24 hours of Daytona and maybe the 24 hours of Le Mans,” Dwyer said. “I’m also hoping to work something out where I can get to the track and still be a Marine.”

    “And if I can inspire others to get out there and do things that they thought were difficult, then that’s what I want to do.”

  • Remembering a Champion-Alan Kulwicki

    Remembering a Champion-Alan Kulwicki

    Today is April 1st, a day that for many is a fun and prank filled day with friends. For some it is a sign that spring is right around the corner. However, for some long time NASCAR fans it’s bittersweet, as we remember a Champion, a friend and someone who we lost too soon, Alan Kulwicki.

    I remember hearing the news, hoping it was an April Fool’s Day joke, one in poor taste. But deep down we knew the truth, we just didn’t want to hear it. We didn’t want to believe that our reigning NASCAR Winston Cup Champion’s plane had crashed as he was coming into Bristol for the race that weekend.

    Alan Kulwicki, born December 14th, 1954 was lost to us on April 1st, 1993. He was from Greenfield, Wisconsin which was the stomping ground for many of NASCAR’s finest drivers such as Dick Trickle and Matt Kenseth. He drove in the mid-west ASA Series, winning championships at Slinger and Kaukauna, which are two of the best tracks in Wisconsin, prior to packing up and moving south to make his NASCAR dream come true. He was looked at differently from some of the other drivers, showing up to the track carrying a briefcase. He was the first college graduate to go into NASCAR as a driver, graduating college with a degree in engineering.

    One of Alan’s favorite songs was Frank Sinatra’s my way, and that is how he did it. He was NASCAR’s” Rookie of the Year” in 1986. One of the most endearing thing’s about Kulwicki was the comb he always had on hand, even keeping one in the car so that when he took off his helmet he could comb his hair. He was always camera and picture ready.

    The one thing that still lives on today is when he won his very first NASCAR race at Phoenix International Speedway in 1988. He turned his car around so that the driver’s side window faced the grandstands and he did what he called the “Polish Victory Lap.” This backwards lap is still done by drivers today in his honor. He was the underdog in NASCAR and became known as NASCAR’s Mighty Mouse, even having cloth patches with AK7 and Mighty Mouse on them. I still have mine.

    The year was 1992 and it was a wistful, exciting feeling going into the last race of the year at Atlanta Motor Speedway, formerly Atlanta International Raceway. It was Richard Petty’s last Cup race of his career and Jeff Gordon’s first. The Championship could have gone to three different drivers; Davey Allison the front runner, along with Bill Elliott and Alan Kulwicki.  Allison’s hopes ended in a crash which took him out of the race but Elliott and Kulwicki ran hard races. It was coming down to a tight finish and the bonus points for leading the most laps pushed Kulwicki 10 points ahead of Elliott to win his first, and sadly his only, championship. In Victory Lane you could not have seen a happier man and even more so he did it “his way”.

    Alan was only 38 when he passed and there is no doubt he would have made an even bigger mark on NASCAR had he lived. I ask that you take a moment and remember Alan Kulwicki. He was a clean driver, a determined driver and any future driver in NASCAR could learn a lot from him. So today it’s bittersweet thinking of the past, but I think of him next to his Hooters No. 7, lifting that trophy over his head and reflect; a better champion we could not have asked for.