Back among Kulwicki finalists, Van Der Geest has familiar foes
The 2024 class of the Alan Kulwicki Driver Development program has its usual Wisconsin touch and Midwest feel.
In addition to returning finalist Levon Van Der Geest of Merrill, the group of seven announced Tuesday include a pair of drivers from neighboring states who’ll spend much of the season racing with him: Ty Fredrickson of Webster, Minnesota, and Max Kahler of Caledonia, Illinois.
The KDDP honors the legacy of Alan Kulwicki, the late 1992 NASCAR champion from Wisconsin, while helping young stock-car drivers pursue their dreams with financial support and career guidance.
Kulwicki’s path as an outsider who built his own team out of necessity and then turned the underdog outfit into a championship winner is considered one of the most inspirational stories in NASCAR history.
The program, which launched ahead of the 2015 racing season, has essentially been funded by the Kulwicki estate but has been searching for additional outside backing.
Van Der Geest is a 19-year-old engineering student at UW-Milwaukee, Kulwicki’s alma mater, and was part of the final seven last year.
The Merrill native plans an extensive super late model schedule, as he has run in recent seasons, including the ASA Midwest Tour.
Before making the move to super late models, Van der Geest was a champion on the Midwest Truck Series and at age 15 won the series’ race at the Milwaukee Mile to become the historic track’s youngest winner.
Fredrickson, who turned 15 over the weekend, is the son of two-time Midwest Tour champion Dan Fredrickson. He burst onto the scene last season, stepping from Legends cars to his father’s super late models and doing nothing but impress in a limited schedule. This season the younger Fredrickson plans to race the full Midwest Tour schedule.
Kahler, 20, was a KDDP semifinalist in 2021 after winning the National Short Track Championship at the venerable – and since closed – Rockford Speedway. In addition to the full Midwest Tour schedule, he plans to compete in the Alive for Five Series at Dells Raceway Park and in the Slinger Nationals.
The seven finalists will receive a stipend of $7,777 (a nod to Kulwicki’s car number, 7) as well as assistance in marketing, publicity, sponsor development and industry networking.
The winner will collect a prize seven times the original amount, $54,439.
Braden Berge of Elkhorn, Jevin Guralski of Wausau and Kendrick Kreyer of Wisconsin Dells were among the semifinalists.
Finalists compete for the title based on their top 15 finishes on the racetrack but also are judged on how well they represent KDDP and help to keep alive the legacy of Kulwicki, who died in a plane crash in 1993 and was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2019.
Also making the cut were: Chase Burda, 19, of Lapeer, Michigan; Derek Gluchacki, 22, of Dartmouth, Massachusetts; Evan Goetz, 16, of Okanogan, Washington; and Brandon Varney, 26, of Auburn, Maine.
Three young racers from Kulwicki’s home state have come out on top in the KDDP competition, Luke Fenhaus of Wausau (2021), Alex Prunty of Lomira (2016) and Ty Majeski of Seymour (2015).