driver, who usually waves and sometimes has his helmet off, as he salutes the fans. Joy's term is reminiscent of other cases where a term is named for the person who developed the idea (i.e., Gurney flap, Petty bar). Many local racetrack winners and series champions have saluted Kulwicki or his underdog spirit with a Polish victory lap, especially in his home state of Wisconsin. 2006 Milwaukee race winner Paul Menard (a Wisconsinite) celebrated his first Busch Series win with a Polish victory lap. Dale Earnhardt Jr. did a Polish victory lap after winning the 2001 MBNA Cal Ripken Jr. 400 at Dover Downs International Speedway in the first NASCAR Winston Cup Race following the September 11 attacks while holding a large American flag out the driver's side window. Jimmie Johnson celebrated a special win by doing a Polish victory lap on October 31, 2004 after winning the 2004 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The week before on October 24, tragedy struck when a Hendrick Motorsports airplane crashed outside of Martinsville, Virginia. Kurt Busch celebrated his 2005 win at Phoenix with a Polish victory lap. Busch watched his first NASCAR races at the track, and wanted to honor Kulwicki. Kyle Busch also did a Polish victory lap after his 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup win at Bristol, while Kurt repeated the act at that year's Atlanta race when he put his car in reverse, a practice dubbed "The Unwind Lap". In 2012, Tony Stewart did a Polish victory lap after finally winning for the first time at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the Kobalt Tools 400. In 2014, Earnhardt Jr. celebrated his Daytona 500 victory with a Polish victory lap. His second win of the 2014 season came on June 8 at Pocono, where he repeated it. He also performed the feat after winning the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 in October. In 2015, Denny Hamlin celebrated his Xfinity Series win in his home state track at Richmond International Raceway with a Polish victory lap, and completing it while performing a burnout. In the 2020 Season Finale 500, Johnson's final race as a full-time driver, he performed a Polish victory lap after finishing fifth as the highest non-championship-round driver. References Motorsport terminology Victory Articles containing video clips