Kulwicki Spotlight: Evan Goetz Carrying Wenatchee 200 Momentum Into the Summer

Evan Goetz can’t stop watching last weekend’s Wenatchee 200.

It’s an understandable feeling for the 16-year-old Kulwicki Driver Development Program finalist from Okanogan, Washington. For Goetz, the Wenatchee 200 presented by Plumb Perfect is now the biggest win of his young racing career.

RELATED: Evan Goetz Cashes In on $26,000 Payday At Wenatchee 200

“It’s pretty awesome,” Goetz told Racing America. “I keep watching videos of it, and it just gets better and better each time I watch it. I’ve still got a lot of stuff to improve at that track, but it’s a huge deal for me and my team.”

Goetz’s team is a smaller crew, working with Jefferson Racing. That makes winning a big-money race such as the Wenatchee 200 that much sweeter. The $26,000 payday will be pivotal for Goetz heading into the second half of the 2024 season.

“Our team is a pretty small team. If we weren’t racing with Jefferson Racing, it would be totally different. It’s me, my grandpa, my dad and one of our buddies, Skyler. That’s our crew. That’s our entire crew. We’ve got a small team, and it’s a huge deal when we win big money.”

REPRESENTING THE NORTHWEST

The large purse on offer at the Wenatchee 200 also brought some competition from beyond the Northwestern United States to the Washington quarter-mile. Competitors such as Bubba Pollard, Jacob Gomes and Michael Atwell made the trek to East Wenatchee.

Goetz winning kept the Wenatchee 200 trophy in the Northwest, and added another KDDP connection to the event’s history. Kole Raz, a KDDP finalist in 2021, won the event in 2023.

“We definitely don’t get as much attention as back east,” said Goetz. “A lot of people don’t understand that us Northwest guys, especially the top ones, we can go back east and compete with the big dogs.

“It’s just totally different tracks, different promotions, but I think if the Northwest guys could go back east and had a couple of races at certain tracks with the big guys like Bubba Pollard and Stephen Nasse, we could do well.”

Evan Goetz celebrates after winning the Wenatchee 200. (Photo credit: Shari Garber)

RACING WITH RESPECT

Despite his youth, Goetz has already formed quite the resume in the Northwest. At 14 years old, Goetz won the Northwest Super Late Model Series’ Leonard Evans 150 at Wenatchee Valley. He won two more NWSLMS races in 2023, including the Fall Classic 125 at Tri-City Raceway against a field with nearly 40 entries.

However, Goetz has valued racing with respect just as much as competing for wins.

“The biggest thing for me was earning the guys’ respect on the track,” explained Goetz. “I’m a young kid. I go out there and try to race as clean as possible to get the guys’ respect so that when I’m racing with them for the top spot, they’re going to race me clean.”

Along with the Northwest Super Late Model Series and select other Super Late Model events for the remainder of the 2024 season, Goetz will also compete at Wenatchee Valley and Stateline Speedway in Pro Late Model competition throughout the year. In fact, Goetz will be at Stateline this weekend.

He hopes the success last weekend will offer momentum heading into Stateline and the rest of the season.

“We’ve got a race this weekend at Stateline. I’m feeling pretty confident. We learned a lot at Wenatchee. Obviously, Stateline is a little bit different, but when the confidence goes up, I’m going to drive better.”

REACHING OUT TO HELP CHILDREN

Goetz’s focus off the track this season in carrying Alan Kulwicki’s legacy has been working with children. It’s something he enjoys and hopes to do much more of throughout the year.

“I’m mainly focused on kids,” said Goetz. “I really like helping people. I like helping kids, I like making kids happy. That’s our main focus this year, helping out kids that need help.

Part of those plans in the near future include a visit at Okanogan’s Virginia Grainger Elementary School, with giveaways and the chance to see and interact with Goetz and his race car as part of the event.

“I’m going to head down to Virginia Grainger Elementary School in Okanogan and give away some bikes and do autographs and stuff. Let the kids sit in my race car, we’re still working on it to find some more stuff to do.”

-Photo credit: Shari Garber, Northwest Super Late Model Series