Deaths of Alan Kulwicki, Davey Allison Made for NASCAR Dark Times in 1992

• Within a stretch of four months in 1993, stock car racing was robbed of two of its brightest stars, impacting both the short- and long-term future of the sport.

• Alan Kulwicki and three colleagues were killed April 1, 1993 when their private plane crashed while attempting to land in Kingsport, Tenn., for that weekend’s Cup race at Bristol.

• Davey Allison died July 13 of that year after crashing his helicopter in the infield at Talladega Superspeedway.

Alan Kulwicki and Davey Allison were among the drivers battling for the 1992 NASCAR Cup Series championship, a tense fight eventually won by Kulwicki.

Kulwicki led the most laps in the season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and that made the difference as he edged race winner Bill Elliott for the championship. Allison also was in the running for the title but crashed during the race.

Before the summer of the next year was over, both Allison and Kulwicki would be dead, the victims of aeronautical accidents.

Within a stretch of four months, stock car racing was robbed of two of its brightest stars, impacting both the short- and long-term future of the sport.

Kulwicki, a fiercely independent driver who stormed in from the Midwest to upset the order of things, won the title in 1992 driving for his own underfunded team. Famously, he did things “My way,” declining offers to drive for better-financed and proven teams.

Kulwicki and three colleagues were killed April 1, 1993 when their private plane crashed while attempting to land in Kingsport, Tenn., for that weekend’s Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The weather was poor that night, and there was icing on the plane’s wings. At the track the next day, the team’s transporter made a lap around the track as a silent salute to Kulwicki before leaving the speedway.

Allison died July 13 of that year after crashing his helicopter in the infield at Talladega Superspeedway. Allison was flying with fellow Alabama driver Red Farmer, and they were planning to attend a test at the Talladega track. Farmer was seriously injured.

Allison’s death plunged the state of Alabama, long the home of the extended Allison family, into a state of grief not seen since the death of former University of Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, a legend of the game.

Allison, 32, had scored 19 Cup wins and was seen as a future Cup champion. He had followed his father, champion Bobby Allison, into the sport.

Kulwicki, 38, won five Cup races and probably would have been a championship contender for years to come.