Kulwicki Spotlight: Ty Fredrickson Impressing Early During 2024 Season

Ty Fredrickson may be the youngest of this year’s seven Kulwicki Driver Development Program finalists, but that hasn’t stopped him from already making an impression on the race track.

The 15-year-old from Minnesota already has a win in the 2024 season, scoring the victory in the Dells Icebreaker in April. The race came down to a late-race duel with Ryan Farrell and Casey Johnson. Fredrickson took the lead for good on a restart with six laps to go.

“It was really awesome, because the top three raced around lapped cars,” recounted Fredrickson. “We were going all over the place. Then that yellow came out, and I was able to make it work on the top. It was super fun.”

It was only a matter of time before Fredrickson scored the first major Super Late Model victory of his career, but even he was surprised to see it come at Dells Raceway Park.

“I didn’t think it was going to come at the Dells,” said Fredrickson. “That’s one of the harder tracks I’ve been to, it’s taken me the longest to get the track down.

“We had a really good run on the last night of Speedweeks, so I knew the momentum was there. I just didn’t think it would be so soon in the season. It was a great confidence booster to knock the first one off, the first race in the Midwest with a win.”

It doesn’t hurt to have his father, Dan Fredrickson, working side-by-side with him along the way. A two-time ASA Midwest Tour champion with 15 career wins in the series, there is plenty of knowledge he can bestow.

“He’s got around 20 years of experience, so he definitely knows what he’s doing. I’m 100 percent confident of what he does to the car when I give him feedback. I know it will make the car better. We’re a pretty good duo, and I think we’re going to be pretty good this year.”

Photo credit: Will Bellamy, Racing America

REPRESENTING THE MIDWEST

It’s always a special honor for drivers who are named to the Kulwicki Driver Development Program to carry on the legacy of the 1992 NASCAR Cup Series Champion. However, wearing that badge while hailing from the Midwest makes it extra special.

Kulwicki cut his teeth at tracks like Slinger Speedway, Wisconsin International Raceway and Madison International Speedway – tracks where Fredrickson will race throughout the 2024 season while competing on the ASA Midwest Tour.

“I’m super honored to honor Alan’s legacy. He was a blue-collar race car driver who made it purely on talent, hard work and dedication. I was able to race at Slinger, one of his stomping grounds when he was racing Late Models.”

This year, Fredrickson is one of three Midwest drivers on the list of KDDP finalists, alongside Max Kahler and Levon Van Der Geest. There is no doubt they will be competing against each other throughout the year on the track while also battling for the Kulwicki Cup.

“It’s super cool to be along with two other Midwest guys, Levon Van Der Geest and Max Kahler. I’m going to be racing them for a long time, and I’m looking forward to it.”

TAKING THE NEXT STEP

The focal point for Fredrickson this season is the ASA Midwest Tour. He has already impressed with the series, finishing third in last year’s Oktoberfest 200 at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway. On Sunday at Madison, Fredrickson set fast time in qualifying and finished sixth in the Joe Shear Classic 200, a big bounceback after being tangled up in an incident during the season opener at Slinger.

“The biggest goal I have is to do really good on the Midwest Tour. We had a little bit of a rough start at Slinger, but that’s about how everyone’s first time at Slinger goes. My goal is to stay consistent, top threes everywhere we go, and do the best we can. Maybe win some races here and there and have a good time.”

Fredrickson enjoyed plenty of success in Legend Cars while climbing the racing ladder, but he says the biggest adjustment in racing Super Late Models has come with the stiffer opposition he now faces on the track.

“I’d say the competition. I went from racing a bunch of kids around my age in Legend Cars. Now I’m racing Ty Majeski, who finishes top 10 in the Truck about every week. The competition, I’d say, is definitely the biggest jump.”

When the ASA Midwest Tour visits his home state of Minnesota and Elko Speedway for the Thunderstruck 93 on September 21, Fredrickson and his team will also make it a special night for several families.

“For Thunderstruck, which is a Midwest Tour race at Elko in September, we are setting up an event for the families of people with ALS,” said Fredrickson. ”We’re going to bring five of them out, show them behind the scenes, give them a pit walk. There are suites there, we’ve got catering, they’re going to have a good time at the race track.”

-Photo credit: Will Bellamy, Racing America