KDDP Point Standing Update Finds Butcher in Fourth Place October 4, 2017 Regional CONCORD, NC – With only the month of October remaining to determine the winner in the 2017 edition of the Kulwicki Driver Development Program (KDDP) competition, a mere 21 points separate the top three drivers. Lakeville, Minnesotas Michael Ostdiek leads with 859 points, followed by Marietta, Georgias Cody Haskins with 842 points and Greeley, Colorados Brett Yackey with 838 points. Porters Lake, Nova Scotia’s Cole Butcher holds down the fourth spot with 607 points. After the second of three judging periods has been completed by the KDDPs advisory board, here is the way the 2017 standings stack up: Michael Ostdiek – 859 Cody Haskins – 842 Brett Yackey – 838 Cole Butcher – 607 Justin Mondeik – 533 Braison Bennett – 515 John Peters – 427 Its certainly the tightest battle in our programs three-year history, said KDDP Executive Director Tom Roberts. At this time during our inaugural 2015 season, Ty Majeski enjoyed a 99-point lead over second place and last season Alex Prunty held an 81-point advantage. This one looks like its definitely going down to the wire. With only a handful of actual racing events remaining on the drivers schedules, their off-track activities have never been more important. As I have said so many times, whats so cool and unique about our program is that the on-track performance is only one aspect that enters into the equation in winning the championship. Since our last points update, I have been so impressed with how all of our drivers have ramped up their efforts, both on and off the track. It will be extremely interesting to see what the next few weeks hold as the drivers make their final moves in trying to score as many points as possible. The organizations board members will convene one final time during the first 10 days of November for a final round of voting. The 2017 Kulwicki Cup Champion will be officially announced on November 15. The champion will receive a check for $54,439 and a unique Kulwicki Cup trophy at the organizations annual awards banquet in Charlotte in December. The KDDP points system is based on a combination of judging input from members of the advisory board and the drivers on-track performance. Voters are asked to rank the drivers from first to seventh in their job of representing the organization and points (from 70 for first to 10 for seventh) are awarded for those rankings. Each voter is given 10 discretionary bonus points to award the drivers for exceptional contributions to the program. Community engagement, program representation, and social media activities account for much of those points. The remainder of the points come from actual racing statistics. Race wins award 10 points, with 2nd-5th-place finishes getting 6 points, 6th-10th 4 points, 11th-15th 2 points and 15th-plus 1 point. Here is a look at the current on-track competition points through October 1: Brett Yackey – 96 (3 wins) Michael Ostdiek – 90 (3 wins) Cody Haskins – 90 (1 win) Braison Bennett – 88 (1 win) Cole Butcher – 87 (2 wins) Justin Mondeik – 60 John Peters – 53 For the third and final round of voting, the two regular-season judging points are averaged (however, bonus points continue to accrue) and added to the final votes judging points. The overall competition points (maximum 150 points for 15 wins) will be applied and the driver with the largest points total will be the 2017 Kulwicki Cup champion. The 2017 Kulwicki Cup Champion will be officially crowned during the annual KDDP Awards Banquet, set for Thursday, December 14 (celebrating what would have been Alan Kulwickis 63rd birthday) in The Speedway Club at Charlotte Motor Speedway. NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Mark Martin will be the featured speaker for the evening and Speed51.com will provide a free live streaming broadcast of the event. source – KDDP communications
