Sport: Auto Racing
Born: April 10, 1944
Town: Woodbury, New Jersey
Donald Keith Ulrich was born April 10, 1944 in Woodbury, NJ. His father worked for the government during World War II and he was literally in the Garden State three days—just passin’ through, as he liked to say. The family landed in California in 1950 and that’s where Donald grew up with three brothers and a sister in a religious home. The Ulrich boys were fans of dirt track races and listened to the Indy 500 on the radio. In 1956, they watched an unknown 21-year-old Texan crush the field in a midget racer. His name was AJ Foyt. From that point on, Donny was “DK.”
When DK was 27, he started his own racing team. He bought a Ford Torino on a payment plan from a dealership, rebuilt it for racing, and was the team’s primary driver in the 1970s. His first sponsor was a muffler shop in San Bernadino. The owner gave him a 1945 bus that served as his team’s living quarters.
DK competed in 273 races and notched four Top 20 finishes in a row at the Daytona 500 between 1976 and 1979. He finished in the Top 15 in Winston Cup standings three of those four years, but not in 1978 after a crash at Darlington. NASCAR official found a bottle of nitrous oxide in the wreck and suspended him for the remainder of the season.
As sponsor support increased, DK recruited other drivers and had an eye for young talent. At various times, his team employed Mark Martin, Sterling Marlin, Ted Musgrave and Morgan Shepherd. In 1988, Ernie Irvan drove for DK and was runner-up for Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors. The last time DK got behind the wheel was in 1992, and the age of 48. His best finish was fourth at Dover Downs in the spring of 1981.
During the 1970s and 80s, DK was married to Carolyn Rudd, who brought two young sons into the marriage, Geoff and Bryan. Bryan, better known as Skeet Ulrich, would find success as an actor and is best known for his roles in the Scream franchise. DK and Carolyn met through her brother, Ricky Rudd. Their dad, Alvin, ran Al Rudd Auto Parts. DK had two other children, Tammy and Danny.
In 1991, DK landed Jasper Engines as a full-time sponsor and Musgrave drove for him. Four years later, DK sold his racing team to Jasper Motorsports. He stayed in the racing business as a partner in ETA Logistics, a company that transports vehicles and support staff from race to race.
DK enjoyed life on the NASCAR too much to call it quits despite having never crossed the finish line first. A great storyteller, he liked to say that, although he never won a race, he never lost a party.