Alan Kulwicki was a professional stock car racing driver and a team owner. He races in the NASCAR Cup Series with a self funded team, AK Racing. Kulwicki was a native of Greenfield, Wisconsin in the United States. He lived from December 14th, 1954 to April 1, 1993. Kulwicki died in an aircraft crash, amidst an ongoing NASCAR Cup Series season. He was a champion driver and an equally brilliant team owner. It is said that Kulwicki was approached by many team owners but he never raced for them and instead chose to race his own team in the Cup Series.
Alan Kulwicki won the 1992 Cup Series championship, becoming the first driver/owner to do so in the series. He was also the 1986 Cup Series Rookie of the Year Awardee. Kulwicki won the award, in spite of running a low budget team with meager finances and no sponsors to back him up. Kulwicki was later added to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2019 and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2022. He is among the 50 Greatest Drivers of NASCAR and was subsequently added to the list of the 75 Greatest Drivers in the Cup Series. Alan Kulwicki has gained 5 wins in the Cup Series with 75 Top-10s to his name.
Alan Kulwicki Seasons Earnings
Alan Kulwicki’s exact salary in his contract is unknown. Spotrac has reported Kulwicki’s yearly earnings from 1987 to 1993. He had a total career earnings of $2.67 million, according to details available on Spotrac. Below is the list of his yearly earnings:
| Year | Team | Earnings |
| 1987 | Alan Kulwicki Racing | $284,375 |
| 1988 | Alan Kulwicki Racing | $364,190 |
| 1989 | Alan Kulwicki Racing | $425,500 |
| 1990 | Alan Kulwicki Racing | $19,835 |
| 1991 | Alan Kulwicki Racing | $518,645 |
| 1992 | Alan Kulwicki Racing | $907,510 |
| 1993 | Alan Kulwicki Racing | $153,470 |
Teams Alan Kulwicki raced for
Alan Kulwicki never raced for any other team in the NASCAR Cup Series. He spent his entire career racing for his self funded team. Kulwicki’s team, AK Racing was a single car team with little to no finances and no sponsors. He debuted as a full-time driver in 1986 and stayed with AK Racing until his death. He also achieved a championship title as a driver and team-owner in 1992. However, Kulwicki died in 1993 and was unable to compete to defend his championship. His only bout as a driver for another team came before he started his full-time career. Kulwicki started some races for Terry Motorsports part-time before launching his own team.
FAQ's On Alan Kulwicki
A. Alan Kulwicki died in a plane crash.
A. Alan Kulwicki is buried in St Adalbert Cemetery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States.
A. Hooters has been sponsoring NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott since 2017.
A. Paul Andrews was Alan Kulwicki’s crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series.
A. The pilot of his plane was unable to operate the engine inlet, anti-ice system properly leading to a plane crash for Alan Kulwicki.
