Hall of Famer Alan Kulwicki’s Ties to Maine Racing
Monday, April 1st marks the 31st anniversary of Alan Kulwicki’s death. Kulwicki is a NASCAR Hall of Famer who defined what it was to be a successful underdog in the sport of auto racing. He went from having nothing to becoming the 1992 NASCAR Cup Series champion as both an owner and driver.
While Kulwicki was a native of Greenfield, Wisconsin; his legacy has definitely touched the state of Maine.
The most visible way that Kulwicki’s legacy lives on today is through the Alan Kulwicki Driver Development program. The program was founded by Kulwicki’s family and friends. His publicist, Tom Roberts, has since led the program to remember the fallen champion and help out young racers by giving their careers a boost. The program invites young drivers to apply for the scholarship and then 15 finalists are chosen. That field is narrowed down to seven semi finalists and each of those recipients are awarded $7,777 towards their racing activities. A champion is decided at the end of each season and that honoree is awarded seven times the standard award for a total scholarship of $54,439. The sevens are a nod to Kulwicki’s car number in Cup racing.
The program’s first season was 2015. Current NASCAR Truck Series competitor Ty Majeski was awarded the overall scholarship, but Maine was represented by Jay native Dave Farrington, Jr. who was one of the class of seven. Farrington repeated this fete in 2016 as well.
In 2017, John Peters was a semi-finalist. Ironically, he is now instrumental in awarding a racing scholarship in honor of his late father “Grand National” Greg, known as GNG’s Gift. Both father and son Peters were very well known throughout the pit area at the now closed Beech Ridge Motor Speedway.
Ellsworth native Wyatt Alexander was in the class of seven for the 2021 program, Kate Re was in the same group for 2022 and Max Cookson followed in their footsteps for the 2023 season.
Cookson was able to go one step further than his fellow Mainers by capturing the overall scholarship for the 2023 season.
For 2024, PASS Modified champion Brandon Varney has earned his way into the final seven of the program.
That makes a total of six drivers from Maine to have been honored as one of the seven finalists throughout the history of the program.
The Kulwicki Driver Development program is not the only tie that the late racer has to Maine.
Brady Andrews, the grandson of Kulwicki’s longtime Cup Series crew chief Paul Andrews has won at the Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in a car built by short track standout Dave Cameron.
Scarborough’s Joe Bessey, who represented Maine in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions as both an owner and driver, looked up to Kulwicki in his career. Both men moved to North Carolina to pursue their racing teams. Bessey talked at length about this inspiration in a 1993 TNN television interview and used Kulwicki’s #7 as his ARCA number as a tribute. In three career ARCA starts, Bessey had three top three finishes including a victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
So while Alan Kulwicki may have never raced within Maine borders, his legacy within the state lives on today.
