Alan Kulwicki’s 1991 season was already shaping up to be a challenging one when he arrived at Rockingham for the AC Delco 500. Running his self-owned No. 7 Ford Thunderbird, Kulwicki entered the race without a primary sponsor. However, fate took an unexpected turn when Mark Stahl failed to qualify for the event. Hooters, which had been sponsoring Stahl’s car, saw an opportunity and decided to back Kulwicki instead.
With new sponsorship on board, Kulwicki delivered a strong performance, finishing eighth at Rockingham. More importantly, this partnership would set the stage for one of NASCAR’s most iconic underdog stories. Hooters continued to support Kulwicki through the rest of the season and into 1992, giving his small but determined team the financial backing needed to compete at a higher level.
Kulwicki’s hard work and perseverance paid off the following year when he captured the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup championship in dramatic fashion. Overcoming powerhouse teams like Junior Johnson’s and Bill Davis Racing, he won the title by just 10 points—the narrowest margin in history at the time. His strategic thinking, including leading just enough laps in the season finale at Atlanta to gain crucial bonus points, proved decisive.
The partnership that began as a last-minute deal at Rockingham turned into a historic success story. Kulwicki not only became a champion but also introduced one of NASCAR’s most famous traditions: the “Polish Victory Lap,” in which he drove the wrong way around the track to celebrate his win. Though his life was tragically cut short in 1993, his legacy remains one of the greatest in motorsports history.
