Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 1, 1994 TAG: 9404010117
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: JOHNSON CITY, TENN. LENGTH: Medium
Today, one year after Kulwicki's death in a plane crash in Blountville, Tenn., Roberts plans to remove the posters, pictures and memorabilia from his office in Guntersville and take them home.
It's his way of moving on, something he knows Kulwicki would want him to do.
"I have to be at peace with myself and I know Alan would understand," says Roberts, Kulwicki's publicist. "I still have a difficult time with it."
To some, Roberts always will be thought of as the man who was supposed to be the fifth person in the plane that crashed one year ago today, killing Kulwicki and three others. Roberts decided at the last minute to drive.
"I've come to deal with that," he says.
Kulwicki was on his way from an autograph session in Knoxville, Tenn., to a race in Bristol, Tenn., when the plane he was in crashed into a hillside about five miles from Tri-City Regional Airport.
Besides Kulwicki, the pilot and two members of the Hooters of America racing team were killed. Hooters sponsored Kulwicki's car.
NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace, who raced with Kulwicki on short tracks in the Midwest before moving up to the Winston Cup series, says other drivers still talk about Kulwicki, usually noting his abilities on the track. But most have accepted his death.
"There's no one wants to dwell on death," Wallace says.
Wallace won the Food City 500 at Bristol International Raceway in April 1993, two days after the crash. He says fans still thank him for doing Kulwicki's trademark wrong-way victory lap after winning the race.
Some drivers still do that in tribute.
"That has been done everywhere," Roberts says. "It's a calling card he left."
Kulwicki, 38, was from Greenfield, Wis., and moved to North Carolina to start his own team and join the Winston Cup circuit. He struggled financially at first.
When he won the championship, he became the first owner-driver to win it since Richard Petty in 1979.
"There are very, very, very few people in the world that are as ambitious as Alan Kulwicki that will ever accomplish their dream," says driver Mark Martin. "It's a tragic loss. And I never really have come to grips with why things happen the way they do."
Driver Geoff Bodine bought Kulwicki's team, which has had few personnel changes.
"I think that we had some rough times there for the first six to nine months [after Kulwicki's death]," says Cal Lawson, the team manager. "It's taken some time for us to get back to where we were with Alan."
He says Kulwicki had close control over all aspects of the racing team, while Bodine delegates more authority. Lawson says that means he has been using the things he learned from Kulwicki.
"A lot of my decisions are based on what he would have done," Lawson says. "I don't guess hardly a day goes by I don't think about him."
He says the team is looking forward now after being "just down about things" last year.
"Geoff's given us the direction," he says.
Roberts and Wallace say Kulwicki's brief Winston Cup career will have lasting impact. Wallace says Kulwicki helped expand NASCAR's popularity.
"The sport was always known as a Southeastern sport," Wallace says. "It's not just a Southeastern sport anymore."
Roberts says Kulwicki, who had a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, brought technological advances to the sport, including a muffling system for cars in the track garage.
Kulwicki also will be remembered for his struggles when he joined the circuit.
"His legacy will be: It's possible for a little guy to achieve his dream," Roberts says.
In his last moments, however, Kulwicki was at the mercy of the pilot and the plane.
"That's been the hardest thing I've had to deal with," Roberts says.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB