Two Wisconsin racers are among seven competing for the $54,000 Kulwicki program top prize
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While it’s unlikely anyone will ever take quite the same path as Alan Kulwicki from local racer to college-educated engineer to NASCAR to champion, Wisconsin driver Riley Stenjem and Levon Van Der Geest will at least have matched a couple of steps.
Stenjem, a Milwaukee School of Engineering graduate from Utica, and Van Der Geest, a Merrill native studying automotive engineering at UW-Milwaukee, Kulwicki’s alma mater, have been selected as finalists in the eighth annual Kulwicki Driver Development Program.
The KDDP honors the legacy of Kulwicki – who left Greenfield to make a go of it in NASCAR and won the 1992 championship against long odds – while helping young stock-car drivers pursue their dreams.
The seven finalists were announced Monday.
Each 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 earn seven times that amount ($54,439).
Stenjem, 23, finished third in the TUNDRA super late model series last year after winning the 2021 title, and he placed sixth in the KDDP standings. Stenjem, who was tutored by inaugural KDDP winner Ty Majeski, plans to run the ASA Midwest Tour this season plus some other big events in the region.
Van Der Geest, who turns 19 next week, finished sixth in Midwest Tour standings last year. 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.
In addition to their on-track performance, finalists are judged by an advisory board 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.
The Kulwicki estate has provided more than $760,000 in funding over the course of the KDDP. But for the first time executive director Tom Roberts has said the KDDP is searching for a presenting sponsor for the future.
In its first seven seasons, the KDDP has assisted a total of 38 driers from 17 states and two Canadian provinces, who have combined for 178 wins in their combined, 1,105 starts and top-five finishes in more than half.
Three of the seven champions have come from Wisconsin: Luke Fenhaus of Wausau (2021), Alex Prunty of Lomira (2016) and Majeski of Seymour (2015).
A list of 54 applicants was trimmed to 15 semifinalists announced in February and then the final seven.
The other finalists are: Jackson Boone, 23, Franklin, Tennessee, third in 2022 Kulwicki Cup standings; Jacob Borst, 18, Elon, North Carolina; 2022 KDDP semifinalist; Max Cookson, 20, Palmyra, Maine; Haeden Plybon, 19, Spokane, Washington, fourth in 2022 KDDP; and Evan Shotko, 19, Coopersville, Michigan, 2022 KDDP runner-up.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin racers are Kulwicki Driver Development Program finalists
