Alan Kulwicki Wins First NASCAR Winston Cup Event - November 8, 1988

November 8, 1988

(Photo; en.wikipedia.org)
In 1988, Kulwicki hired Paul Andrews as his crew chief after Andrews was recommended by Rusty Wallace at the 1987 NASCAR Awards banquet. That year Kulwicki won his first NASCAR Winston Cup race in the season's second-to-last race at Phoenix International Raceway after race leader Ricky Rudd's car had motor problems late in the race. Kulwicki led 41 laps and won by 18.5 seconds. After the race finished, he turned his car around and made, what he called, a Polish Victory Lap by driving the opposite way (clockwise) on the track, with the driver's side of the car facing the fans. "This gave me the opportunity to wave to the crowd from the driver's side", Kulwicki explained. Andrews recalled, "He had wanted to do something special and something different for his first win and only his first."

Kulwicki victory lane quote in Grand National Scene magazine; "It's been a long road and it's taken a lot of hard work to get here, 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."

He finished the 1988 season with four pole positions in 29 events, nine Top 10 finishes including two second place finishes, twelve DNFs, and an average finish of 19.2. Kulwicki finished 14th in the Winston Cup points standings for the season.

(Photo; en.wikipedia.org)

(Kulwicki's 1988 car, which he used for his Polish Victory Lap)

Alan Kulwicki's Zerex Ford Thunderbird at the Memory Lane Museum in Mooresville, North Carolina. The paper on the windshield says its a 1988 car. Additional message from the contributor: The back ground on this car is that it was Alans first winston cup car originally sponsored by hardee's in 1985 for five races. In 1986 with the Quincy's steak house sponsorship it was the main vehicle he drove to the Rookie of the Year title. It was nicknamed "sirloin" because it was so tough! and it fit with the sponsorship.