I was opening up Jayski.com to check the entry lists for this weekend's race at Texas, so I can make the qualifying polls. At the top of the page, I saw a headline which deeply saddened me. The date was April 1, 1993. 15 years ago today, the world of auto racing lost a defending champion. 15 years ago today was the day Alan Kulwicki was killed in a plane crash on his way to Bristol Motor Speedway to compete in the Food City 500. I remember crying for a half hour in my mother's arms when she told me the morning after it happened. I was 7 years old at the time, and Kulwicki was my favorite driver. His legend still lives on today though. Every time a driver turns his car around and does a victory lap going the opposite way, we remember Kulwicki. His first victory came in 1988 at the inaugural race in Phoenix. He stopped at the start/finish line, turned the car around, and drove around the track the opposite way. He got into trouble with NASCAR, and when asked what he did, he said "that's called a Polish victory lap." That reverse lap which got Kulwicki in trouble 20 years ago has now become commonplace. The world would've loved to believe this was an April Fools joke, but it was not to be so. You'll never be forgotten, Alan! Your memory is forever etched into the heads of race fans everywhere. Every driver has a signature victory celebration, and the Polish victory lap will live on forever. RIP Alan, hard to believe it's been 15 years, I'm sure you're having one hell of a race up there!
BK over and out
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