He didn`t leave this world pinned under a flaming race car , victim of a holocaust . He perished on a Tennessee hillside . He had no control over destiny . He was not driving. He brought more that one new dimension to NASCAR racing .

He held a mechanical engineering degree . He didn`t brag , but was proud of it . "I think the good ol` boy image of stock car racing is changing ," he would say . "Maybe I have helped in some small way ."
Kulwicki came into the big leagues of racing much like he came into life-with little or nothing . By the time he reached 8th grade , death had claimed both his mother and brother . His father raised him . He began racing when he was in high school . 

He joined NASCAR in 1985.  He had his own car,  but no sponsor.  He ran 5 races. The next year he ran 23 races-his own car,  a minor sponsor- and won Rookie of the year.  He won his first Winston Cup race at Phoenix in the fall of 1988.  He would win 4 more over the next 4 years. He thought of every little detail.  If something bothered him, he avoided it. 

But what happened on the night of April 1st , he never figured on. If he had,  he would have avoided the ride .

We will always remember him with the polish victory lap.