Alan Kulwicki kinda Ruined NASCAR in the 90's

[@S1apShoes]

GWIZ of the Stars made some of the music used in this video. You can checkout her work here: kzbin.info soundcloud.com/gwizofthestars

[@gwizofthestars]

♡

[@raritania7581]

Should this be in the Atlanta 92 playlist?

[@bigmanjam]

Do you have a link somewhere to the Texas World Speedway music track from them? I looked through their KZbin channel and Soundcloud and unless I'm hopelessly blind I completely missed it.

[@blakenaumann]

The music in this video brought it to a whole new level. Combining fantastic storytelling with music that suits the mood just right is what takes a video from good to great, in my opinion, and that’s what you’ve done here. I hope to see more videos like this in the future!

[@diggerfan9319]

I agree. Dale Earnhardt would bring a better NASCAR season for 1993 and 94. And Alan went down in history like Buddy Holly in that plane crash. Regardless if he won the championship or not, Kulwicki's luck ran out and NASCAR ended up doing better with Jeff Gordon and Earnhardt. And all was not lost... RIP Earnhardt

[@TiredOfNamesTaken]

Certainties in life: -Death -Taxes -S1ap mentioning Brett Bodine's final win

[@Matsumoto77]

Don't forget the 1992 hooters 500 at Atlanta

[@gaffneyrailroading1982]

That was Brett Bodine's ONLY win.

[@zlinedavid]

@@Matsumoto77 The 1992 Hooters 500 is the Kevin Bacon of NASCAR. Everything is tied to it in one way or another.

[@JustAGigolo1985]

Or bring up Mark Martin

[@JimWhitakerMusic]

@@zlinedavid Richard Petty’s last race, including coming back from the fiery crash (“Get the f*ckin’ fire extinguisher!!!” lol), Jeff Gordon’s first race. The 3-way championship battle with Elliott/Allison/Kulwicki. I was 11, and that race is still my most vivid nascar memory of my early years. Then once we lost 2 of those three championship contenders a year later, it just added to the legend of that race.

[@Tigermarshall]

Another factor was that Kulwicki wasn't married, didn't have children, didn't own any other businesses, didn't race in any other series or have any other interests. 100% of his life's focus, effort and energy was that#7 race team. Hard to compete with that. None of the other owner/drivers could say that.

[@raf_cdn]

"There was so much potential in the 90s that was lost in pursuit of besting a dead man" Damn, that line really hits

[@markstrock6999]

Yeah not a very proper way to word that

[@racingfuel28]

That’s the problem with comparing yourself to others. You’re always going to find someone who’s just better than you at whatever. Nobody can really be king, because someone out there will have done it better, whether through just having more talent, or more money, or whatever. Just focus on doing things the way that works for you, and if it takes you longer to get to where you want to be so be it. The thing about goals is that accomplishing them is accomplishing them. If it takes you two years, or ten years, you still did it.

[@whaduzitmatr]

@@markstrock6999 no not politically correct but it pretty much was the truth

[@bearbob187]

I'm not religious, but plenty of people chase Jesus to no avail.

[@zachtm4]

Jesus was God, and he's not dead.

[@brandonvasquez1862]

I think the biggest thing that they overlooked about Kulwicki is that he had a mechanical engineering degree. Not saying that the other drivers weren't knowledgeable, but when you have the ability to understand the mechanics of the car at a deeper level you can really see things that others might overlook and prevent them. The best example is the fact that Waltrip couldn't get his engines right. When you do have an engineering degree, a lot more of the fine nuances can be understood at a deeper level compared to just practical experience.

[@jabber1990]

he was an engineer in a world where everyone was a mechanic

[@bradlygray1974]

Good point! I've also read that's what helped Ryan Newman early in his career before everything became more homogenized. Years with multiple poles, probably due to some tricky engineering they concealed in those cars

[@adventuresofabbott4374]

Then explain Dick Trickle. He dominated short tracks and he is arguable the greatest circle track driver of all time and didnt have a degree. He just knew from the start it was do or die. Waltrip, Bodine, Elliott, etc had success with others. It will change a guy. AK knew this. That is why he never joined Junior. He couldnt go back to that hunger. AK's hunger, hardened by be an outcast of not being a good ole boy was his edge. Not that degree.

[@adventuresofabbott4374]

Then explain Dick Trickle. He dominated short tracks and he is arguable the greatest circle track driver of all time and didnt have a degree. He just knew from the start it was do or die. Waltrip, Bodine, Elliott, etc had success with others. It will change a guy. AK knew this. That is why he never joined Junior. He couldnt go back to that hunger. AK's hunger, hardened by be an outcast of not being a good ole boy was his edge. Not that degree.

[@brandonvasquez1862]

@@adventuresofabbott4374 i do understand what youre saying but when you do have an engineering degree its miles away different with how you view setting up the car. In Alan Kulwicki's documentary they say how Nascar started hiring more engineers after Kulwicki's success. What I was saying is that people overlook his engineering degree and how that definitely helped. Especially when you want to call all the other shots. There are exceptions to the rule, but if you look at all the examples given the lack of success of the other owner drivers and what made Alan different. He was a really talented driver, but hell an engineering degree does help lmaoooo

[@NASCARFAN93100]

Alan Kulwicki was the bridge from the past to the future regardless of the topic in life He was The Engineer before NASCAR even had engineers And he was The Owner/Driver when Owner/Drivers were on their way out

[@clipobserver]

Not completely, you have BK and Denny Owner/Drivers though Denny doesn't ride with the team he owns.

[@NASCARFAN93100]

@@clipobserver True But still

[@Seneka51]

He was also the first Yankee to win Nascars top prize.

[@chrisramsey6725]

@@Seneka51 I believe only the second Catholic as well, after Bobby Allison

[@PYLrulz1984]

@@clipobserver they may be owner/drivers in name, but in practice, while they may be putting their money in it, they aren’t gonna run their teams like Kulwicki, Waltrip, Bodine, and others did.

[@GaboxRox15]

NBA during the 1990s: "Be like Mike" NASCAR during the 1990s: "Be like Alan"

[@auburnltl7452]

Although Alan’s strategy as a driver and owner may have altered the 90s and not in a great way in NASCAR, but I think that made him more of a legend. He did something that greats like Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott, and Ricky Rudd couldn’t do. He bested all of these guys even after his death. This in my opinion, makes him one of the most underrated legends in all of sports.

[@KellieLeigh48]

Absolutely right

[@kramnull8962]

Thing is, when all these drivers chose to go independant car owner, they were in a part of their career that they were actually just running experimental parts. Remember back in the mid 90's Earnhardt got tired of running experimental parts in his mainstream ride; because of reliability issues, so he was able to get other drivers hired on to do so in the background. Similar to what went on behind the scenes of the tire war days. Tires were just a part of the experimentation going on at that time. Metals and part designs were being tested and mainly during actual races, that had cost Dale Sr. a few races. In reality that was all Darrell was at Hendrick. Same with the others you mentioned. Bill went on with the Dodge team, ended up tutoring Kasey Kahne, and helping the driving aspects at the newly designed Dodge racing. Bodine wasn't that great, he just had the most money in NASCAR behind him at the time. Same with Rudd, whose claim to fame was being able to shift without the clutch, hinse the foot cam.... Only thing different was that they actually carried a much better sponsor and more money with them than Kulwicki did when he was doing it. He did it with a dirt track budget compared to a Waltrip, that already had much of his garage and team set up way before the move had even taken place.

[@dnasty312]

@@kramnull8962 In 1992, Alan spent *less* than $3 million

[@arturo2017]

@@kramnull8962 I beg to differ on Rudd. Def not the most talented at all specially compared to Waltrip and Elliot. But he was a damn good driver who could over drive equipment he was in. I think Rudds problem was bitterness that made him an outcast in the garage. Earnhardt took over the 3 car in 84 and Childress kicked Rudd to the curb. This all happened after he was excitedly explaining what they were working on in 83 to Earnhardt. He actually talks about this in an interview with Dale Jr. It honestly seemed like he burned bridges and isolated himself a lot. This was pretty evident when he called out the Roush engine program for not supplying him with the same equipment as Jarrett causing a huge fight. If he would've gotten over it earlier i think he could've had a more successful career.

[@kramnull8962]

@@arturo2017 Well not using the same equipment was what I was stating about the others as well. They were just bargaining chips for the teams to run cars with manufacturer logos but only to do one task. That task had nothing to do with winning. Not that every driver didn't start a race with best intentions, but the car owners knew there would be only 1 really good car. Kyle Busch was in the same boat with the #5 team at Hendrick. With Kyle he did everything wrong. He was supposed to know he wasn't going to win and he was supposed to bring the car home. Kyle chose to overdrive under developed equipment into the wall if he had to do so to make it win... I'll admit though, if there was a problem with tires or fuel mileage race, Rudd was the one that could nurse it home for sure. He just never was aggressive to win the races that took banging in the doors and fenders for a position. Which was also much of Bill Elliott's problem as well.

[@xanferra]

Thats the thing I think a lot of these drivers didnt get, Alan was an engineer first and a driver second. He knew how to run a team and engine program as well as drive, and most of these guys knew only how to drive. Darrell Waltrip admits he couldnt get out of the drivers mindset and that hurt his team. Its interesting to think what we could have seen if the owner driver craze hadnt happened. DW likely would have broken 90 wins, and could have broken 100 with the Hendrick power that came about in the Gordon era. Bodine likely breaks 25 wins and gets into the HOF. Elliott winning a second title that he barely missed out on in 92. The only guy whose career doesnt change much is Rudd, but even he probably gets a couple better points finishes and one or two more wins.

[@sleeperdave]

You honestly think Bodine would have suddenly come up with 24 wins, when he never had any real chances beyond the 1 win he did get, scoring controversy aside ?? And Rudd wouldn't have done any better at all ?? Rudd would have benefited far more then Bodine, he had a better record beforehand, and better equipment & engines that those teams offered would have made him a even stronger driver. Just look at what he DID accomplice as an O/D, it was far better then Bodine, Waltrip, Elliott. Only Stewart has a better record, and as stated, he had the benefit of being a PART owner. Rudd, also compared to the others, again, bar Stewart, never changed his driver mind set, was in a good, competitive part of his career, and was the most consistent. He didn't do worse the he had when he was a team driver, but actually made improvements to his record. Rudd, unlike the others, AFTER closing his team down, was a sought after driver, that won races & was competitive, only Elliott can even attempt to make the same claim, he did win in a dodge after closing his team. I take nothing away from any of these great drivers for going out & trying to repeat what A.K. did. All of them could've had better results having gone to other teams, POSSIBLY, or they may NOT. But to say that the least winning driver, would have suddenly become one of the most winning drivers of those seasons, you said 25 wins, is a stretch. And to say that the MOST SUCCESSFUL of all these drivers would do no better at all, is an even bigger stretch. Rudd was the most successful of these drivers as an owner, and had a good career AFTER he went to another team, only Elliott did anything AFTER owning a team. And, RPM, Rudds team, was the ONLY team to NOT be in debt, in some cases MASSIVE DEBT.

[@sleeperdave]

Unless you were referring to Geoff Bodine, he might have gotten to 25

[@xanferra]

@@sleeperdave Yeah I should have clarified that I meant Geoff getting to 25 wins, not Brett. Brett would be lucky to get one more if anything. I think Rudd's win totals do increase, as he stays competitive longer, but even before going owner/driver he was typically a high average finish but low wins type of driver, so I see him ending up in the 25-30 wins tier. The bigger question is if, were he to take a ride like the 18 over Labonte or the 88 over DJ, he would have gotten a Championship.

[@sleeperdave]

I would hope Rudd could have gotten one. I will admit, I am slightly biased, as I was a Rudd fan, & am typing this surround with TIDE memorabilia, along with RUDD era Havoline, wood brothers, Piedmont, etc cars & posters. I do believe, that of all of them, Rudd & Geoff Bodine were the only two that tried it when they still had a lot of good racing career left. Elliott may have won a couple, but those dodges did have an advantage, and they all ran strong, so no real surprise he got those wins, no disrespect to Elliott.

[@zacharyradford5552]

Kulwicki knew when to tap out on his engine building knowledge because in one season he’s blew up nine engines after hiring engine guys he the following year he blew up one.

[@DennyDeliversYT]

death, taxes, *S1ap making a video that has something to do with the 1992 Hooters 500 in it…*

[@AJBa83]

Kind of ironic that Davey Allison and Kulwicki were the first Nascar drivers I ever heard of (even had a model of the 28 bought from a car show). Even over the Atlantic, in pre-internet days, two top drivers both dying in air crashes was newsworthy.

[@bigsteve302]

I really really wish we could've seen 90's/00's NASCAR with Davey and Alan. They died as legends.

[@Inky.64]

@@bigsteve302 Davey Vs Jeff is a rivalry we never got to see unfortunately

[@kramnull8962]

Yeah it is very suspect at best. Seeing how Chevy and their cronies were hating so much on all the Fords many many years. The hate they were spewing for so many years was this. "There is no way the Fords are outrunning us; with as much money as we are pumping into racing"..... Also translates: "we should be getting more wins because we sell more Tshirts; do something NASCAR"....

[@dougcarpenter7627]

@@kramnull8962 you're correct-I could go on and on about nascrolet and SHITROLLING favoritism for over 50 years!!!!!! Modern era - chevy countdown to pass Ford victories in the 80's - shitty's winning moment 90's - Nascrolet actually had these showcased on tv!!!!!! Wtf??????? WTF??????? MASSIVE, MASSIVE SHITROLLING/GARBAGE MOTORS FAVORITISM - FU NASCROLET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@chrisramsey6725]

@@bigsteve302 Also Tim Richmond. Hell, Tim and Alan could even have a separate competition for skirt chasing if they had lived.

[@cudaman340]

One interesting story of a driver who almost went his own way but changed his mind was Terry Labonte. Terry announced in victory lane after winning Talladega in July, 1989 that he was starting his own Oldsmobile team. However, in Janruary of 1990, he abandoned those plans and accepted an offer to drive Richard Jackson's #1 Oldsmobile. He would go winless with Jackson in 1990 and wouldn't find much success when he reunited with Billy Hagan for 1991-93 (in 1992, he drove Olds, Fords, and Chevys). Replacing Ricky Rudd in Rick Hendrick's #5 would revive his career and result in his second championship.

[@danielfoster3642]

Yes. And I believe Terry Labonte was going to have Folgers as his sponsor, before they went over to Mark Martin's 6 car.

[@SiVlog1989]

I think Eli Gold put it best in the Year in Review 1993 video when talking about Alan Kulwicki's hauler leaving Bristol. "With sleet falling making the atmosphere even more sullen, fellow competitors and fans stood in silence as the Kulwicki race team transporter slowly made its way around the half mile Bristol International Raceway. NASCAR's assistant flagman, Mike Chaplin, saluted the champion by waving the chequered flag one final time," The fact that he had a degree in Mechanical Engineering, meant that he was able to look at the established ways other teams were setting cars up (4 grain scales on a 4 ft level) and thought," I can use my knowledge acquired through my education to make my car faster". Even though, perhaps not surprisingly being from a country that barely receives coverage of NASCAR, I had never heard of Alan before the Covid-19 pandemic, he is one of my favourite drivers in motorsport, anywhere. So much so that I purchased a T-shirt depicting Alan's iconic white and orange Hooters sponsored Ford Thunderbird on one side, and on the other, his various achievements, like 1986 Rookie of the Year, 1992 Winston Cup Series Champion and even the date he was posthumously inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame

[@zlinedavid]

The fact that Alan’s story is being heard in multiple countries almost 30 years after his death warms my heart. Yes, he was a unique individual. Calculating, tenacious, and with a quiet confidence that came with belief in his unorthodox approach.

[@SiVlog1989]

@@zlinedavid I think there was a moral aspect as well. He invested so much time, effort and what little money he had to build it up and as an owner driver he was responsible for the paychecks of his employees. Although he rode them to try to get the absolute best out of them, he knew that they needed the paychecks he was sending them to enable them to make a living. He said it himself when talking about turning down Junior Johnson's offer to drive the #11 car, "if I had had an offer like this before I started my own team, maybe I would have taken it, but I had so much at stake here that I stuck it out," and the fact that he proved everyone wrong by doing things his way, marching to the beat of his own drum to clinch a championship is truly remarkable. Yes, there have been owner drivers in F1 (the first form of Motorsport I got into) but that ended at the start of the 1980's. And even then, the only owner driver champion, Jack Brabham (who won the title in 1966 in his own car, after earlier securing titles in 1959 and 1960 for the Cooper team), he didn't have 100% ownership of his own team, it was in partnership with Ron Tauranac, hence his cars having the letters "BT" before the type number

[@BrominatedVegetableOil]

The level of domain expertise & competencies that Alan had was the only reason it all came together. This video is a great documentation of how pure talent or industry know how only does so much.

[@davidtoups4684]

Fun Fact: In 1998 Matt Kenseth made his first cup start driving Bill Elliott's #94 at Dover filling in for Bill. He finished 6th. This was the third highest debut finish for any driver in NASCAR history.

[@evanwilliams6406]

Actually no, Rusty Wallace finished 2nd in his first start which was a one-off for Roger Penske and later Rusty would join Penske's operation in 1991.

[@davidtoups4684]

@@evanwilliams6406 That's why I said it was the third highest debut. There were two others, one of them being Rusty Wallace and I can't remember the other, who had finished higher.

[@Ob1tuber]

If it’s race then yeah Rusty was better, but in season it’s either James Hylton or Kevin Harvick

[@Chrisx005x]

Makes one wonder if Alan had lived would he've expanded to a multi car organization with both the additional resources and clout to do as such and then nabbed Matt to drive for him instead of Jack Roush? I know that's something of rabbit hole territory, but had circumstances been different, seems halfway believable. They were both natively Wisconsin drivers from the Midwest and would Alan essentially see a younger version of himself in Matt as an upcoming driver? Even still, would Robbie Reiser still follow suit with the new team? Not too much really changes for Kenseth in this alternate timeline with winning his championship with Ford (On the other hand, would Alan eventually change manufacturers? Don't think he'd ever do it following some kind of fad, but if he saw better logical gains in terms of both the R&D as with making it affordable), but it's AK racing cars and Roush. Matt was very consistent like Alan and kind of an outsider. Maybe not to the extent that Alan was, but still. Would he've eventually jumped ship to Gibbs or stay with Alan his whole entire career? They probably would've been great friends. Sadly and in short answer, we'll never know.

[@alesso02]

@@davidtoups4684 It's Jim Roper, the first ever NASCAR race winner, in 1949.

[@Kcole2780]

S1apSh0es, Just wanted to advise you about something regarding Geoff Bodine's 1994 season. This came directly from Geoff himself in multiple fan interviews/zoom meetings. When discussing the rigors of the 1994 season, it was Hoosier's first and eventually only season, with that, thousands of miles of testing was conducted, Geoff's team was the guinea pig for Hoosier. Geoff would advise that all the testing burnt out equipment, and with a shoestring budget, engines were blowing frequently. As for the drop off in '95, Geoff was advised last minute that Hoosier was dropping out of NASCAR. Due to his commitment to Hoosier the previous year, Geoff accused Goodyear of supplying substandard tires for the bulk of the '95 season. It wasn't until Geoff went directly to Bill France Jr. with overbearing evidence against Goodyear, that the supply issue was solved and Geoff started to turn things around slightly. However the damage was already done, and by mid-late 97, his team had run out of resources. Good piece, just wanted to advise of that side of things from Geoff's perspective.

[@jesuschristislord6790]

Had Waltrip been healthier and kept using Hendrick engines, he would have been the most successful out of all of them. He got hurt in 1995 and was old, and it all fell apart. If he'd stayed healthy and kept Hendrick engines, he'd been fine

[@xanferra]

The other problem was Darrell was an agreessive driver and was at his best when he didnt care about tearing the equipment up. As an owner, he needed to keep things clean and that hurt his potential as well.

[@slwsnowman4038]

He's said it on Fox, starting his own engine shop was a mistake.

[@GaboxRox15]

@@xanferra that's the main reason why he failed as an owner-driver. Darrell thought way too much as a driver, not as much as an owner. He was basically a team owner with a driver's mindset

[@BillySinnz]

The biggest mistake he made was to go to in-house engines. If he had stuck with Hendrick engines it would have been a completely different story.

[@migratorybyrds1107]

The engine shop, and the series of bad sponsors is what did DW racing in.

[@crystalracing4794]

This is similar to Jack Brabham's story in F1. He won the championship in 59 & 60. He then created his own team a year later and waited until 1966 to win the championship again. Bruce McLaren tried to copy him, but died in 1970 without a championship win- however, his team became one of F1's most successful after his death. John Surtees, Chris Amon & Emerson Fittipaldi also went down the driver-owner route in the 70s and all failed miserably.

[@crystalracing4794]

Forgot to mention Graham Hill, but he was miles his past (and drove until he was 46). But tragically he, his team and Tony Brise were killed during 1975 in a plane crash

[@Mister_Matt_X]

Wow... I've looked up Graham Hill that man is a legend winning the Indy 500 as an F1 driver.... and he won the triple crown of Motorsports Indy in 1966, Monoco (multiple times) and Le Mans in 1972 including a few F1 championships the only driver to do so.... that right there ladies and gentlemen is what you call a real professional race car driver right there. There should be a video about how Graham Hill kinda ruined the Triple Crown of Motorsports and everyone came up short of being close to Graham Hills achievement behind the wheel and behind the scenes. Hope you're taking notes S1ap!

[@FallingPicturesProductions]

I've said this to alot of racing buddies of mine for years. Had Davey or Bill won the '92 championship neither Gordon or Dale Sr rack up the win/championship totals they did because so many other people would have been in better equipment actively nicking top 5s and top 10s off of them.

[@jbj7599]

As a casual fan, could you elaborate on the better equipment? Nvm I think I get it with DWs failure?

[@BradRains]

You could add Tim Richmond to that part of the Gordon/Dale Sr conversation as well.

[@JeffBrown781]

I don't know that it would have made a difference specifically if they won the title (Earnhardt had a major off-year in '92). But if Davey hadn't died in '93, now THAT would be disruptive to Dale and definitely Gordon.

[@raf_cdn]

@@BradRains And if Irvan never got injured, he'd definitely disrupt that order as well

[@papadragon695]

If Davey, Alan, and Tim Richmond wouldn’t have died it would have definitely changed a lot.

[@kostaskotoulas6542]

Another great one S1apSh0es! No one can match Kulwicki. The man was indeed Special. The difficulties he faced growing up made him tough and his great knowledge of engineering made him a rare combination of skill and determination.

[@jchayes7325]

I met Alan at Riverside international raceway in 1987 really great guy got his autograph still have it he is very missed he was one of my favorite drivers it was great for him to win the championship in 92 unfortunately what happened to him in 93 was tragic to NASCAR

[@Razz415]

I could listen to this guy describe paint drying. But bringing me to the brink of tears every time I hear the passion around Alan gets me every time. Another banger Slap!

[@dahljeffrey61]

Being a racing fan from Wisconsin Alan won his title months before I was born. I grew up with my grandpa talking about his talent and how he had seen him race locally around wisconsin. I’m a Kenseth fan, always will be. And I remember when he won his title, and in the local paper there was the list of nascar cup champions and I saw Alan’s name highlighted. Makes me proud he was from Wisconsin. And he was gone way too soon. RIP. Btw, these videos are incredible. I don’t miss any. Keep it up man.

[@crisgomalty3d21]

Well figure Kulwicki had an engineering degree. Shows up to the garage with a briefcase. He was also business savy. He knew more things about a car inside and out. These other guys just didn't have that kind of experience

[@tomanderson6335]

All good ol' boys* who, as far as I know, never even attended college, much less graduated. *Yes, the Bodines were from NY originally, but had spent enough time down south that they didn't really stick out until you heard them talk.

[@zlinedavid]

@@tomanderson6335 Well, they were from upstate NY, and anyone that's been there will tell you there's no shortage of hillbillies in upstate NY. So they fit in just fine.

[@Mister_Matt_X]

@@zlinedavid I have a cousins wife from Pennsylvania who knew the Bodines by her side of the family... and I also have cousins who love that stuff... they worked on cars went to local short track races including the famous Williams Groves dirt track... heck they even go to Connecticut and New Hampshire to races there including Watkins Glen, Pocono and the now abandoned Nazareth Speedway. They even watch NASCAR modifieds every so often... You name it you bet your bottom dollar they did it and I wish I could’ve done the same as them but never made the cut to get involved. Or maybe I was involved but was not invited to keep them company and talk amazing racing stories for the ages or treating me like I’m an open seat in the theater or something and cared less about my interest in the sport... To be honest with ya they didn’t really tell me a whole lot of stories about racing here and there but I still wanted to know a lot more but some things are personal I guess...

[@Ob1tuber]

@@zlinedavidthat applies to almost all northern states, the more north you go, the more south it seems

[@SONICX1027]

Imagine if Alan was still alive, he would have told a lot of stories of his racing career and his championship on Dale Jr.’s Podcast

[@realbaron5714]

Or he died in a race 😑

[@jok3r906]

I am learning more about Nascar from this channel, and far more, than I could ever find myself. Thank you so much for all your hard work S1ap. It's truly appreciated.

[@acmodelmaster1944]

The rags to riches story of Alan Kulwicki defiantly deserves either a movie or TV series in my opinion.

[@jeffktown]

Reminder that Bill Elliott and his team gave some young shortracker from Wisconsin his first start. That driver was Matt Kenseth.

[@xavierjuno4572]

And not only that in his first start ever he got a top 10 which is impressive

[@EclecticHillbilly]

Yep, Matt got called on because Bill was attending George's funeral.

[@MrBreeze18]

That shortracker would win a championship 5 years later by being consistent but only won one race. Thanks to him Penske and Brain France unveiled the chase the next year. THAT's what ruined NASCAR.

[@StudioDaVeed]

Kulwicki had a Degree in Mechanical Engineering - he looked at the whole thing from the inside out. Not the outside in. That may be the difference. I also recall that bit him at least once. He ran hollow axle shafts in the rear end once and sheared one leaving pit road. Jeff Hammond (?) was stunned as that wouldn't translate to any real weight savings and definite loss of strength as proven.

[@zlinedavid]

Depends on how the shaft failed. In terms of flex and shear/twist….Alan was right. A hollow shaft is actually stronger and comparably lighter than a solid shaft of the same dimension. They are much harder to manufacture though, and getting the depth of the splines correct would take some very precise machining. I’m guessing that’s where the failure occurred. Execution failure, not theory.

[@StudioDaVeed]

@@zlinedavid Thank you for the expertise!

[@jabber1990]

Alan was also an engineer, and was able to out-engineer a car, which his competition knew...so he introduced engineering and so a lot of issues we have today (the $30M sponsors) are because everyone had to hire engineers which don't come cheap

[@brettbaratheon9776]

What an absolutely tremendous video! I was just the boy when Alan was racing , but we were sure proud of him in Wisconsin. It was a sad day when he passed on. Real special guy

[@NASCARFAN93100]

No matter the topic in life It will always come back to the 1992 Hooters 500

[@RonKosey]

"Six degrees of the 1992 Hooters 500"

[@EdsBrain]

One could argue that all the others had a different mindset compared to Alan that the latter always focused on as a owner first then as a driver second. The others all drove for someone else and they didnt have to worry destroying the cars needed to survive a season. It sounds plausible that the most of the others wanted to create their legacy after their driving careers were over. They wanted to create like what Junior Johnson did. After finishing his driving career, Junior ended creating a powerhouse team that defined a decade before Alan entered the sport.

[@RetroCarsForever]

This video just made me appreciate Kulwicki even more. Simply a renaissance man/genius, gone too soon.

[@WorldwideWyatt]

Far too soon, if he was still with us NASCAR would be so much better.

[@edd17sp74]

Great video. I never considered that so many guys went owner/driver in the 90’s because of Alan.

[@frankf2902]

Fished watching the video. Very interesting! It’s crazy how Alan’s owner/driver success was such an anomaly. HOWEVER. This video made a poor case of arguing that this “kinda ruined nascar in the 90s”. Yes, their foray into being owner/drivers didn’t pay off for DW, Elliott, or Bodine, but how does that ruin nascar? In retrospect it might’ve been cool to see the old timers still compete for titles in the late 90s, but like you said, if Rudd took the 28 in 1994 who knows when (or if) we would’ve seen DJ, and if Waltrip or Bodine took the 99 when would we have seen Jeff Burton? The late 90s was a passing of the torch, and while being an owner driver didn’t work in hindsight for a lot of older stars, their competitive spirit wouldn’t have let them sit by and let an opportunity go away, and I have no problem with that EDIT: This video is overall excellent and a very fascinating explanation behind the struggles of the old guard in the 90s. But the clickbait title is what annoys me. “Alan Kulwicki kinda ruined nascar in the 90s” “well actually he just inspired a few seasoned veterans to challenge themselves to be owner/drivers which turned out derail their careers in retrospect” “Well actually it kinda worked out well for DW and Bodine at first” “Well actually Rudd did just about as well on his own as he would’ve done for Yates and never really fell off” Slap, I love ya buddy, but c’mon lmao. This didn’t ruin nascar, and the only career it really ruined was Geoff Bodine’s; he had talent, he had speed, and if he had reliability with a solid team he really could’ve made himself a household name. But besides him? Waltrip had an illustrious career already, and while he went out with a whimper, not a bang, so did petty. Yes he still had a bit left in the tank that went unrealized, but he’s not the only one. Bill Elliott is in the same boat. A second title would’ve been awesome, but his struggles as an owner driver are not some sort of irreparable black stain on his career, especially since it made his resurgence in the early 2000s all the more special. I like the guy, but it’s a stretch to assume Brett Bodine would’ve kicked ass had he stayed in the 26. And as you mention in the video, while missing out on Hendrick’s rise to power might’ve cost him a few wins, Rudd‘s performance was still on par with what it was both pre and post owner/driver stint, so I can’t really say the move was all that negative.

[@kingredleader7839]

I think what SlapShoes is getting at, is that had the bodine brothers, ricky rudd, bill elliot, and darrell waltrip played it safe; then people like jeff gordon and dale Jarrett wouldn't have gotten their titles

[@frankf2902]

@@kingredleader7839 definitely that’s what he’s getting at, and that’s a very sound theory. …but why does that ruin nascar? Framing bill Elliott and DW’s owner/driver struggles as net negatives for nascar as a whole is a stretch. Inferring that big names sticking with big teams would have led to more wins/championships inversely means that their struggles is what allowed guys like Jeff Gordon and Dale Jarrett to win titles. I just don’t see why slap thinks that’s bad. Yeah I feel especially bad that waltrip’s career ended with such a slow whimper, but I don’t think Jeff Gordon’s success was bad for nascar, nor do I think DJ, Jeff burton, Bobby labonte, etc having more late 90s success is a problem either. In both timelines nascar still explodes in popularity in the 90s and remains the golden age.

[@GaboxRox15]

@@frankf2902 it didn't "ruin" NASCAR per se, but it made it considerably less competitive. What S1ap is trying to say is that you can argue Jeff Gordon didn't have as hard of a time during the 90s as he should have. His only meaningful competition during his 3 title runs of the decade were: 1 season of Dale Sr, 1 season of Terry Labonte, 2 seasons of Mark Martin and 1 season of Dale Jarrett. All of them were comers and goers, there wasn't a single driver that rivaled Jeff for multiple seasons throughout the decade. It was either Terry Labonte or Dale Jarrett, either Dale Sr or Mark Martin

[@JMChladek]

As I look at it, over that five year stretch, Alan remained somewhat outside of the "Good ole boy" Network in Nascar anyway which allowed him to keep his operation tight nit with excellent loyalty from those who stayed and no hard feelings with those who washed out, such as Ray Everenham (they parted company since their personalities were too much alike). Alan's engine program was not based in North Carolina either so he could keep prying eyes from that. Even with those factors, there were a lot of lucky circumstances Alan benefitted from. But as they say, the best out there make their own luck. I don't know that Alan could have duplicated success in 94. He had concerns in 93 that Hooters would not be able to financially support his team to the level he felt it needed to be at to continue it's success. So he was starting to look for new sponsors when he was killed in the plane crash. Alan also had concerns about his age since he was in his thirties when he moved south and of course there were plenty of ladies who wanted to potentially marry him. So who knows what those influences might have done. To Alan's credit, the success of his team and it's people are what he cared most about in 93 and he wasn't letting anything get in the way. But two, three years down the road... Excellent analysis BTW.

[@jonathanstancil8544]

Alan truly was a Special Kase. None came close to his greatness. People ask what would have happened if Richmond would have lived? Or Davey? Alan is the one I always wonder about. He was a logical tactician that nobody could hold a candle to. He had an owner that wanted greatness, not just wins, and a driver that felt exactly the same way. And they saw eye-to-eye like none other. He is already considered great now after 6 complete seasons as an owner/driver, what would have been after 6 more?

[@GetBenched2010]

With the exception of Elliott, I don't think the other drivers that went owner/driver did it out of ego to put Kulwicki in his place. I think they saw a chance to make 100% of the investment and in turn make 100% of the profits. They saw one guy win it all doing this and saw it as the chance to dump the middle man.

[@chrisramsey6725]

I agree. I enjoyed the video but the argument Slap makes all hinges on assuming motivations for the drivers mentioned. The fact is, we do not know if Alan's success was their motivating factor.

[@brandondear3641]

Best comment on here

[@buckodonnghaile4309]

I was a teenager when he won it and now I'm old as dirt, it was great watching the little guy win it.

[@kramnull8962]

I was 21 when he did it, so now I'm dirt?

[@KK3869]

Lovely video. I would like to add a couple of points. Darrell Waltrip: Another factor in his decline was Jeff Hammond leaving his team in the middle of '92. Hammond became frustrated because Waltrip had a business partner that had gotten in his ear and he became more concerned about making money instead of building a competitive race team. Hammond finally had enough and gave Waltrip the "It's him or me" ultimatum Waltrip sided with his new buddy and Hammond left after the team's victory at the July Pocono race. "Suitcase" Jake Elder took over crew chief duties and yeah, they won two races together, but one could argue that he was just riding on the work that Hammond did. Hammond eventually left and came back to DW in '97, but by then it was too little, too late and the team was pretty much at rock bottom by then. Anyway, go listen to Hammond talk about it on the Scene Vault podcast. It's pretty good. Brett Bodine: Read this in a Ryan McGee article sometime ago, but supposedly Brett and Geoff were going to have a technical alliance with their self-owned teams, but then the '94 Brickyard happened and their already shaky relationship went to crap.

[@StevenCityChevy-Fusion]

I'm a very big Waltrip fan going back to about 1989-90 and I can tell going by your detail of the 1992 season that you know what you're talking about. I've never heard about a business partner from that time. Was this just someone that had Waltrip's ear at that time about how to run a business or was this an actual investor in the team? If so, who was it and long afterward were they involved?

[@doomusrlc]

What happened at the 1994 Brickyard race?

[@watchemfly8164]

@@doomusrlc Brett spun Geoff

[@doomusrlc]

@@watchemfly8164 ah ok

[@psslg2467]

This video made me realise that, despite not having such inflated numbers and statistics as drivers like Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, AK was one of the best drivers ever. That championship he brought home in '92 was one of the most amazing feats in NASCAR history.

[@670HP-Package-NOW]

Both Davey and Alan were generational talents that we never got to see at their full potential

[@christopherlucas4620]

I do wonder what could’ve become of Waltrip in his late 40s. We got to see a little bit of that Ole DW Spark when he got to drive the #1 DEI car substituting for Steve Park. He even challenged for a win. I cried with him… “they didn’t throw enough dirt on me….” In the interview. I will say, that was a BRILLIANT comparison with Gant and Martin winning races in their early 50s. Well done.

[@EclecticHillbilly]

Although he had some success, Waltrip was never the same after that big wreck at Daytona.

[@Storyracing387]

Once again, another great video! 🔥 Another good question is, "What if Dale Jr took over operations at DEI?" I believe, if he a taken over and still received the engine backing from RCR, the early 2000s would have looked a lot different.

[@Mister_Matt_X]

This is one of the trickiest questions because with Teresa still owning DEI as a museum, a wedding venues spot and ETG or Earnhardt Technologies Group to make grassroots racing parts like sway bars, Drivetrains, suspensions, New DEI merch etc. Now rewind the clock when Chance 2 was a thing to start up JR Motorsports today. Ty Norris on Jrs podcast talked about how Chance 2 would’ve been how Jr and Teresa would’ve figured out how to own teams together and they never butted heads from what I heard maybe a check up here and there and MTJ won back to back Busch Series championships which I thought was impressive If Teresa agreed to the deal to Jr. to keep DEI afloat around 2007-2008 they would’ve figured it all out by finding new sponsorships and employees to do their jobs. My theory is that if DEI existed as a Cup Series team JR Motorsports would’ve been a stepping stone for drivers to race for DEI and DEI would’ve been what I called “A new powerhouse team for the ages” but JR Motorsports would’ve had Truck and Xfinity teams and DEI would’ve been Cup teams...

[@SiVlog1989]

I think it's pretty cool that Spire Motorsports have not only the same shop as Alan Kulwicki did, but from the front of their Chevy, the combination of white and orange is a throwback to Alan being sponsored by Hooters :)

[@sapper_5126]

Never realized Geoff’s racing team came from such good roots. He had it all there for him. I went to school with his niece in Waverly, NY. His brother Eric has a dealership there still. The Bodine family are good people, they’ve always been humble about what they’ve done.

[@josephkirsh6464]

I love your vids man. Your depth in this time period is perfect. I'd love to see content on more what-ifs around this time. There's no shortage of them. Davey Allison, Tim Richmond, Ernie Irvan, etc.

[@chrisramsey6725]

Also one that never gets mentioned but really could have been something is Rob Moroso.

[@T_128]

So many "What If's" about early 90's nascar. Thanks for exploring this angle s1apsh0es. Never thought about this particular reverberation of the 92 title. Thanks for continuing to put out great content.

[@winnerscreed6767]

Way to many "what ifs" History doesn't change no matter how many times we want it too or question it.

[@Mister_Matt_X]

I thought if there will be a NASCAR What If scenario mini series like the series “For All Mankind” I haven’t seen the series except watching a few clips here and there and I thought “Woah... What?!” because the alternate universe of the Space Race of someone’s theory was nail biting... But I doubt a NASCAR What If scenario mini series based on the drivers we’ve lost would never get off the ground... I still look at the DifferentHistory Wiki on occasions here and there a fan made page about Alan Kulwicki, Davey Allison, Adam Petty and Dale Earnhardt... For the Dale Earnhardt page in 2001 Dale Earnhardt won his eighth championship... whatever the alternate timeline or alternate universe would’ve been is always a mystery with so much thought...

[@joshuasill1141]

Alan Kulwicki was also ahead of his time. He pioneered getting his pit crews in shape to get faster pit times out of them. He put weight machines in the facilities for them to get stronger and even monitored them practicing to see where they could improve. He also pioneered taking the very first pit box. His reasoning was yes you were at a disadvantage speed wise due to the speed limit on pit road but you were also closer to the exit line and whoever crossed the exit line first had that position. So guy 1 and guy 2 are coming in for a pit stop. Guy 1 who took a back pit box (near the pit entrance) would get to his pit first and get their car worked on and out of his pit box as guy 2 was just getting into his pit (near the pit exit). Even though guy 1 had the speed and acceleration advantage coming down pit road, with a fast enough pit stop guy 2 could beat out guy 1 by getting to the exit line first.

[@richardstephens5570]

Kulwicki did not pioneer taking the first pit box, I know this because I began watching NASCAR in the late 70's. It's always been known stall number one is the best. Besides being closest to the line, you don't have to worry about getting blocked by a team in front of you.

[@matthewthompson89]

The fact that we lost Alan and davey in the same year , proves that they were so much better beyond their years

[@randomCADstuff]

A video just on Geoff's '94 season, or what it could have been, would be cool.

[@danielfoster3642]

If Alan Kulwicki had lived, Kulwicki probably would have opened a second car for Geoff Bodine.

[@metalhedd]

Kulwicki also ended his stint in the last days of cheaper racing. Spending was starting to skyrocket and the height of the aero wars was starting at that point and there was no guarantee that Alan's model could persist through this era. He benefits a lot from the rose colored glasses of hindsight.

[@JesusTapdancingChristOnaCross]

Once Hendrick got their act together of being able to successfully run a multi car team with 2 equal teams and cars that could legitimately win the title (Labonte and Gordon)... it was game over.

[@zlinedavid]

You assume that Alan doesn’t leverage that 1992 title into the finances to fund a 2nd team as well. I agree that with his controlling personality, it may have been a disaster, but you’ve got to consider that AK was an extremely intelligent man. He may have realized it was time to evolve and adapted quite well.

[@PYLrulz1984]

@@zlinedavid maybe, but still, while brains is a hell of a thing to have, to have the money Hendrick, Roush, Penske, Gibbs, and what not could bring in, along with additional brains to understand the engineering and aerodynamics of the cars, Kulwicki would have been like Rudd, Elliott, or Bodine. Eventually realizing they need to go back to good teams if they want wins, and realizing their operations aren’t going to be competitive enough.

[@zlinedavid]

@@PYLrulz1984 I could see Alan evolving into a situation like Roush-Fenway or a number of other teams: one side with primarily a financial interest, another primarily on the operations side. Basically....some financial muscle that wouldn't interrupt the hustle.

[@mols89]

Man, I love "What If..." stories, especially with the Cup Series. Awesome video as always, S1ap.

[@Mister_Matt_X]

I agree with what you said he did pretty great on the subject and hope to see more What If’s from S1ap... sure Iceberg did it for Dale and had a bit of depth and try to give us clues but I think S1ap does it with more depth... Sure there’s ton of what if’s about this sport and that butterfly effect left a big gap on all the drivers we’ve lost overtime. Sure there’s the Different History Wiki page about Alan, Dale Sr and a few others... Griffdawg and SonicRules 831 did a Dale Earnhardt survives scenario in the NR2003 computer game which is pretty decent but somethings of their personal what if scenarios was like “Ok umm I’m sorry what?” Like a guardrail across Bristols pit roads... definitely weird...

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

In many ways, Alan Kulwicki is the Dirk Nowitzki of NASCAR, and not just because they both have a European surname ending in the letter I. Both of them only won a single championship each, but both did so as huge underdogs, beating all-time greats to get there. And their single Championship win each is worth far more than other people's 2-3+ titles in the history books and HOF discussions. The scale of their achievement to win just one Championship puts them far above people who won way more than they did. Obviously in Alan's case, we'll never know if he could have won a second or third title. And hey, Slap makes a pretty convincing case for Alan becoming a multi-time champion if he was still with us. I mean, what's just as fascinating to me is where AK could've gone into 1993 and beyond. Surely he picks up more sponsorships and more investment, maybe they start running a second or even third car down the line and AK gets to hire teammates and expand the operation, then after he retires as a driver, he keeps going as team owner. Imagine all of that, and all the drivers who might've got the chance to drive for him, and profit from all that experience and knowledge and resources for themselves. Even if AK himself doesn't win another title, I'm unshakeably certain he would've continued winning races at the very least, and who knows, maybe he ends up winning more championships as a legendary team owner, operating a dynasty like Rick Hendrick, Jack Roush, Joe Gibbs or Richard Childress. Wild, man. The Polish Prince will always be a King in our hearts. 💖

[@youtdan]

It’s always a good day when s1ap uploads

[@danpalmer4820]

I don't think that the #28 was an option for Rudd in 1994. Yates wanted Irvan, and he got him. Great video.

[@veggieoilerfan2940]

Ernie Irvan had actually joined Robert Yates’ 28 team late in 1993 after leaving the Morgan-McClure Motorsports team. Therefore Robert Yates Racing really wouldn’t have had any potential job opening for Ricky Rudd at the start of the 1994 season.

[@sheliahtahaalaoui1035]

Loved Alan. Very hard thing to do when you grow up in Hueytown, Alabama. Your neighbors are the Allison's, Neil Bonnet. It was a rough road but there was something about Alan, the underdogm

[@Bandana_Boi]

Slapshoes, you're Nascar's equivalent of Secret Base. Keep up the incredible work dude, I absolutely love learning the history.

[@ryanmorrison3699]

Fun Fact: The car Bill Elliott blew over at Talladega in 1996 is in a museum in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

[@JeffBrown781]

I never really gave thought to just how connected Bill Elliott and the elder Bodine brothers were through the Kulwicki fallout. The whole thing is a convoluted web of sorts that goes through the Junior Johnson organization. Bill and the #11 team were a dream-team arrangement, and that '92 swing-and-miss really sent them reeling. Junior had divorced and remarried, and with two little kids on the way, he seemed to have new priorities. Bill was leaving a sinking ship. Brett Bodine inherited said sinking ship for '95. After Alan's death, Hooters presented the Kulwickis with their own heir apparent, Loy Allen, Jr., who'd run some ARCA races with Hooters backing. Their plan was for Loy to drive the #7, with Loy's dad ultimately buying the operation. Gerry Kulwicki, who had guidance from Felix Sabates, opted not to sell to the Allens, losing the Hooters deal in the process. That opened the door for Geoff Bodine, who had his own earlier stint in the #11 Bud car, to purchase the #7 team from the Kulwicki family. Loy Allen and Hooters went to TriStar Motorsports in '94, then moved teams in '95 to...Junior Johnson's #27, replacing McDonald's. Loy made it only a few weeks into the year before being fired. After '95, Junior (who supposedly said "two things I'm never gonna have again, an old lady or an old race car") sold the #11 to Brett and the #27 to David Blair. Bonus #1: Todd Bodine made starts in '96 for Bill Elliott (after Bill broke his leg at Talladega) and in the #27 David Blair car. Bonus #2: Johnson had a partnership in '94 with Travis Carter, who owned the #23 Camel/Smokin' Joe's car. Hut Stricklin, who ran Johnson's #27 in '93, was farmed out to the #23 car for Carter in '94. Jimmy Spencer replaced him, then went to the #23 car in '95. Brett Bodine was replaced at King Racing (the #26) by Steve Kinser, who was fired when he struggled to adapt to Cup cars. Who replaced Kinser? Hut Stricklin.

[@ClassicNortheastAutoRacing]

By my count, Jimmy Spencer replaced Hut Stricklin in a Cup ride four different times, including three straight: Rod Osterlund's #57 (1990), Bobby Allison's #12 (late 1992), Junior Johnson's #27 (1994), and Travis Carter's #23 (1995). It took Kenny Bernstein shutting his Cup team down at the end of the 1995 season to finally break the cycle. If there isn't a good video yet about Hut and Jimmy, there should be.

[@JeffBrown781]

@@ClassicNortheastAutoRacing That's pretty incredible, really...the stars aligned just perfectly for their careers to match up like that. Stricklin was believed to have a lot of potential based on how he raced Davey straight-up in their youth, but he never really got into a ride at a particularly good time for that team.

[@richardlong6097]

Great idea for a video. It's nice that quality is the only concern on this channel, not pounding every penny available. I live not far from the airport and while the field has long since healed over, what happened on that piece a dirt will never be forgotten. Most guys still fly in there, but there is a closer (to BMS) but smaller airport some guys use. At least until Jr had his incident.

[@micky2549]

7:33 - that's a nice touch. Respect to Corey and team for that idea. One thing - all the small sponsor stickers (moroso, gumout, diehard, champion, etc), what happened to them? Hope everyone is doing good

[@frankf2902]

Basically, instead of getting a sticker on the car, those companies now get some variety of digital promotion/compensation (if I remember an old Bob pockrass tweet correctly). Basically, those small contingency sponsors were dropping out since they were getting a really small return on investment, and in 2018 or so they switched to this virtual model where companies pay for… I really don’t know what but it’s on the internet lol instead of getting a sticker on the door

[@danielfoster3642]

So far, it looks like there's a potential for a sequel in 2032, "How Tony Stewart kinda Ruined NASCAR in the 2020s" discussing newer owner-drivers like Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin and BJ McLeod. Let's hope that isn't the case, and they end up being successful in the long term.

[@rowdycmoore]

Hamlin seems to be going more the Dale Earnhardt route though, not driving his own car and still driving for Joe Gibbs while being a co-owner with Michael Jordan.

[@danielfoster3642]

@@rowdycmoore Good point.

[@Mister_Matt_X]

@@rowdycmoore One thing for sure is that we've never got a chance to see Dale Earnhardt driving for his own team... oh wait that actually happened in the 1980s till the early 1990s and only race in certain tracks in the Xfinity series part time.... Imagine if Dale raced for his OWN team DEI in Cup...? That's something to spectate. As a matter of fact there's a lot to spectate about Dale Earnhardt and what his ambitions were leading up into the 2001 season..... Holy.... I just made another alternate universe or another alternate timeline! My mind is blown!!!! Time to spectate like ALOT!!!!!

[@RichJordan3]

Good to see the videos back, feels like the season has now truly begun. Well done. I remember those early 90's seasons as a 10 year old, but was always in love the black 3, not so much Allan

[@joshuasill1141]

Amen, if it wasn't Kulwicki in his #7 then it was Davey Allison in his #28 Texaco/Havoline Ford Thunderbird before it was all black, Mark Martin in his #6 Valvoline or Folger's Coffee ride, then Rusty Wallace in the #2 Miller Genuine Draft ride.

[@danielsummey4144]

Dude I love your take. The one that most people don’t want to think of… Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. Sure, he didn’t leave RCR to go there, but I think that’s what he was planning. Had Dale survived Daytona it’s possible he ends up at DEI one day and they too go bankrupt.

[@ElFuego35]

Eh, I doubt it for the fact unlike these, he delegated the tasks of running the day to day operations of DEI to others, even when he was alive. Dale Sr. also built it so that DEI was a multicar operation, while all of these were single car teams. Multiple Cars meant having multiple sponsors, meaning having more money, and the benefits of having the economy of scales.

[@Mister_Matt_X]

I thought of a DEI scenario too... DEI was a definite roller coaster ride without Dale Sr. sure up to that point in the 2001 Daytona 500 DEI was on trajectory up to that point they had 4 championships in the lower series and two of them are the truck series from 1996 and 1998 by Ron Hornaday and Back to back xfinity titles in 1998 and 1999 both by Dale Jr. But the question I ask is how many Cup series championships and wins would DEI would’ve scored if Dale Sr. survived his crash and going into the 2001 Cup season and beyond? They were a championship contender in 03 by Dale Jr. and he was 207 points away from Kenseth and Kenseth performed with one win, 11 top 5s and 25 top 10s and then next year in 04 NASCAR jinxed the championship... I think from the resources I gathered about DEI is that Dale Sr. raced for his own team in the Xfinity Series from 1984 to 1994 but he won a few races in DEIs early foundation years Dale won the Xfinity races at Daytona in 86, 90, 91, 92, 93 and 94 but keep in mind he never won the xfinity series title but he ran in the Xfinity series part time at tracks like Charlotte, Rockingham and Darlington. Whatever the case is on why he raced in Xfinity part time will remain a question unanswered… I think that Sr. did that to use it as a side hustle on race weekends…

[@EclecticHillbilly]

@@ElFuego35 Actually, Elliott was a 2 car team for a while. Jerry Nadeau drove the second car.

[@Mister_Matt_X]

⁠@@ElFuego35 That's something to spectate as well... like trying to figure out how much was when DEI had a 3 car Cup team going into 2001... with Dale being the owner driver on the track but never raced for his own team in Cup or the Truck Series (when it first established in 1995) but for the Xfinity series part time from the 1980s till the early 1990s. Maybe he raced part time in the Xfinity series just to use the engines for his Cup Series cars that lead him to his 7 championships... Dale did something in the sport that as S1ap said "took the concept to new heights..." so there's some speculation....

[@EclecticHillbilly]

Strange that nobody ever seems to speculate on what would've happened if Robbie Moroso had lived.

[@bhumiriady]

I see new S1apSh0es video, instant like from me. Also, your video made me know more about how Alan Kulwicki's championship resulted in the growth of owner-drivers in the 90s.^^

[@robbiecrawford9325]

My first race was Daytona that year! What a season that was. It saw the rise of the rebellion and next year the crush of the empire

[@aldouscoroza]

Oh my God, S1ap is probably one of the Great NASCAR Historians on KZbin along with Brock Beard and nascarman history. Thanks S1ap This is something I never knew about Alan Kulwicki

[@WorldwideWyatt]

Nobody will ever duplicate what Alan Kulwicki did.

[@justinburton918]

Kluwicki championship brought cars owners in during the 90's. At a time when corporate sponsorship was growing exponentially. This championship gave hope to new cars that they might have a chance in the sport.

[@athleticgeek8997]

Rudd at DEI is something intriguing for me to think about. While I agree if he would’ve just stuck at Hendrick maybe I could’ve seen my favorite win a championship (and more likely be worthy of the hall of fame at this point) would’ve been the right way to go in hindsight. However, thinking about him being at DEI and how great their plate program was has me thinking that if he would’ve just cut his loses in 1999 when he was at his lowest as an owner driver he could’ve gotten a few wins at plate tracks. His lack of a win at one seems to be one of the big marks against him going to the Hall of Fame without a championship.

[@Laws0n_30]

Does anyone else listen to these videos while trying to sleep. This guys voice is so southing

[@kennyB0990]

He really opened the door to bringing in actual Engineers to Nascar teams.

[@jasonjohnson4028]

Good video as always. In an alternate timeline, Rudd, Davey Allison, Kulwicki, and Adam Petty would shake things up for sure. I always like the 🐓.

[@DavidJameson89]

A reason that Alan was more successful could be because he probably felt more pressure to succeed. One factor that can’t be overlooked is that Alan HAD to succeed to stay in the sport, because he wasn’t a known, established driver yet so he wasn’t guaranteed a sponsor. Bill, Darrell, Ricky and Geoff were all established drivers who already won races and made a name for themselves with another team. If their own team didn’t work out, they could just go drive for another owner who would love to hire them.

[@Kylora2112]

Alan Kulwicki was like the band leader frontman musician who wrote all the songs for his band and got mega success, while the rest were like his incredibly talented musician bandmates who thought that because they were great musicians they could do it, too. But there's more to music than just being able to shred on stage. They didn't have the songwriting, the charisma, the connections, etc. Alan knew what the hell he was doing.

[@JRC99]

It always comes back to the 1992 Hooters 500

[@seannolan9857]

Whoever ends up in the #28 has an excellent shot at the '94 title without any injuries, but I'm not so sure about '99. The circumstances of Irvan's injury and Jarrett replacing him led to a unique scenario which led to Yates opening a second car for '96 (fun fact: DJ was intending to go the owner-driver route in '96 if Yates hadn't done that. Jarrett would probably have ended his career with 4 wins in that universe!) If that hadn't happened, they likely don't start a second car in '96, and knowing Yates' conservatism, they might not have joined the multi-car train until it was too late, ruining their chances in the late '90's.

[@radixreuel7631]

"Two of my favorite things are my steering wheel and my Remington rifle." -Alan Kulwicki

[@frankf2902]

Now this is a hot take out of left field. Curious to see the reasoning tho, my mind is open

[@frankf2902]

Fished watching the video. Very interesting! It’s crazy how Alan’s owner/driver success was such an anomaly. HOWEVER. This video made a poor case of arguing that this “kinda ruined nascar in the 90s”. Yes, their foray into being owner/drivers didn’t pay off for DW, Elliott, or Bodine, but how does that ruin nascar? In retrospect it might’ve been cool to see the old timers still compete for titles in the late 90s, but like you said, if Rudd took the 28 in 1994 who knows when (or if) we would’ve seen DJ, and if Waltrip or Bodine took the 99 when would we have seen Jeff Burton? The late 90s was a passing of the torch, and while being an owner driver didn’t work in hindsight for a lot of older stars, their competitive spirit wouldn’t have let them sit by and let an opportunity go away, and I have no problem with that

[@kurtisbraun2347]

Dale Earnhardt was a team owner, but didn't drive for himself which i feel helped him a lot

[@Mister_Matt_X]

From the stats I found he actually did race in the xfinity series in a part time basis in the early days of DEI in the mid 80s till the early 90s and he mainly finished first at the season opener for the xfinity series at Daytona in 86, 90, 91, 92, 93, and 94… but he also raced at other tracks like Darlington, Charlotte, Rockingham and Talladega I think he was just doing this stuff to either get some extra money or just try to prove to everyone that DEI was going to be a successful team in the foreseeable future…

[@kerrylee4633]

Alan Kulwicki and the "Underbird" would not even qualify for the Chase under current rules. Fortunately we were able to experience one of the most exciting NASCAR seasons in history.

[@charliecurfman8859]

Thank you for your videos. Keeping the history alive. ❤

[@joshiles]

I'm glad you explained the SHR structure, some people can't understand that it's a partnership & Tony didn't go in to business for himself. He became a part of a struggling organization & helped improve on what they already had, that & Tony has been heavily involved in ownership for a long time, just not at the cup level until he got in the 14. MWR didn't quite make the cutoff date for this video I guess, but that's a slightly different story. I had no idea some of those guys ever tried to go it alone, well put together.

[@CGB_Crash]

Alan won as his own boss and everyone said "If that guy can do it I sure as hell can!". It took more than winning the cup, it was only after they all tried and failed to do it his way that they *truly* realized that Alan wasn't just "that guy".

[@johnboy4025]

I think that Jeff Gordon would still had a great career and multiple championships, but the competition would have been tighter because of the guys like Waltrip and Rudd etc being in good equipment.

[@mikec6678]

I believe the question was... Who made the biggest impact on the 90's? While I agree that Kulwicki was a bada$$ and has his place on the list, in my opinion, Jeff Gordon and Davey Allison are the two that made a bigger impact on the 90's. Davey was a generational talent and, if he hadn't died in a helicopter crash, who knows how many wins and how many championships he would've won. Jeff Gordon didn't just impact the 90's, his impact lasted until Jimmie Johnson retired. He talked Hendrick into putting Jimmie in the 48 and, 80+ wins and 7 championships later, Jimmie retired.

[@shannongrayRFK]

1993 we lost 2 of the best drivers Nascar would have ever seen Alan then Davey

[@paulmcwilliams1709]

It's too bad he didn't live to enjoy Winning the Championship. I believe that he would have won more Championships if he had lived. Rest in Peace Alan Kulwicki.

[@Freesavh1776]

Imagine how bad ass Allen's team would be today. WOW 😳

[@rtdreep]

S1apSh0es, thank you for another fascinating, well-researched, finely scripted, terrifically narrated work. You are the best at producing independent Nascar stories.

[@jmullis78ify]

Back then me and my dad went to an ASA race at Anderson speedway in Indiana. Right before the start of the race Alan flew into the parking lot in a helicopter and jumped in the #28 Hardee's car. He dominated the first 100 laps or so before going up in smoke with a blown engine. I'll never forget it.

[@charlespiro6917]

I don't know about Alan ruining NASCAR but people like you and estepp have been doing a good job and with NASCAR's blessing.

[@christiankallio8586]

Wow S1ap's talking about Nascar in 1992, I've never seen that before

[@gwizofthestars]

Fitting that Texas World Speedway is used for a segment featuring the winner of one of it's most unique races.

[@americanbadass88]

Kulwicki had one more championship run probably in 93-94 after that i honestly don't think he could battle the money aspect that started pouring in the sport in the late 90s early 00s.

[@Mtlmshr]

I like the way you put your videos together along with your commentary keep it going, good job!

[@rarbona]

I look forward to these videos on sunday more than I do the race. Thanks slap, your killing it!

[@foxwolf316]

forgot to mention 1994 is when bodine was also racing on hoosier tires that year, forgot that.

[@charliesrekas8057]

I was just coming to post this - can't ignore the Hoosier effect.