Five Late Model competitors from three regions of the United States have been selected as the finalists in this year’s Kulwicki Driver Development Program. Representing the Southeast, New England and the Midwest, the finalists will be known as “Underbirds” this year in honor of the name given to Alan Kulwicki’ team and Ford Thunderbird that he drove to the 1992 NASCAR Cup championship. This year’s “Underbirds” range in age from 17 to 25, and are from Wisconsin, Georgia, Vermont, Illinois and Massachusetts.
The five “Underbirds” in alphabetical order are:
Seth Christensen from Pendergrass, Ga. Last year the 17-year-old competitor recorded three victories, 10 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in
14 races. He is the first Georgia resident selected as a finalist for the Kulwicki Driver Development Program since Cody Haskins in 2017.
This year, he plans to expand his season with JC Motorsports and FR8 Racing, competing in Pro Late Model and Super Late Model races. He
has participated in the Food Allergy Resource and Education Teen Advisory Group since 2022.
Noah Eisenhower from Freeport, Ill. The 19-year-old Pro Late Model Racer is pursuing a motorsports engineering degree at Purdue University.
A cousin of the nation’s 34 th president, he is the second driver from Illinois to be selected as a finalist. In 15 races last year, he produced three
victories, five top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. Prior to 2024, he was the 2018 INEX Illinois State Champion and the 2021 Rookie of the Year at
Dells Raceway Park in Juneau County, Wis. This year, he plans to compete in the All Star Challenge Series and various Pro Late Model
races in the Midwest. Away from the track, he volunteers with the Freeport Vietnow Chapter.
Derek Gluchacki from Dartmouth, Mass. The 23-year-old competitor was the runner-up for the 2024 Kulwicki Cup. He is the only returning finalist
from the previous season. Last year, he won the North East Classic for the third consecutive year. He produced four straight victories, one of which was an American-Canadian Tour race. He also won the Full Fender Throwdown at New London-Waterford Speedbowl in his eventdebut. Off the track, he works with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Taylor Hoar from South Hero, Vermont. The 22-year-old Hoar is the first finalist from Vermont. The daughter of eight-time American-Canadian Tour champion Brian Hoar, she is the first female finalist in the program since Kate Re in 2022. Hoar made her Late Model debut in 2024 with five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in 22 races. Last year, she became the first female to record a podium finish at Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vermont, in more than a decade. The same feat applied to the Milk Bowl where she qualified without the use of provisional. She is the recipient of the Ed Carrol Memorial Sportsmanship Award. This year, she plans to compete in selected ACT races and the weekly events at Thunder Road. Last year, she and her brother took their race cars to Camp Ta-Kum-Ta for a day. The summer camp is for children who are battling cancer or are in remission.
Bryce Miller from Columbus, Wis. With the 25-year-old University of Wisconsin-Green Bay graduate’s selection as a finalist, he keeps the streak alive of a Wisconsin native being a participant in the program every year since its inaugural season in 2015. Last year, he recorded three victories, three top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in 20 races. In 2023, he was the NASCAR Weekly Late Model champion at Hawkeye Downs Speedway in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His other racing honors include 2020 Rookie of the Year in the Midwest Truck Series and recipient of the “Faster Than a Speeding Bullet” award at 2022 Oktoberfest at LaCrosse Fairground Speedway in West Salem, Wis. In 2021, he won the Crate Oktoberfest feature. This year with his family-owned Super Late Model team, he plans to compete in the ASA Midwest Tour, the Alive for 5 Series, and Tundra Super Late Model events. Off the track, Miller’s participation in two mission trips while in high school led him to co-find a volunteer group in college known as “The Change Makers.”
KDDP is the only driver development program that pays its participants. Each driver will receive $7,000 in monies, goods and services. During the season the drivers will receive training sessions that focus on fitness, interviews, media presentation and social media so they will be better prepared to take their careers tothe next level. Throughout the season, the five finalists will compete against each other for $30,000 in monies, goods and services to be divided among the top three finishers at the end of the season. Each driver is required to compete in a minimumof 14 races.
KDDP: Created in 2014 by Alan Kulwicki’s family to perpetuate the NASCAR Hall of Fame member and 1992 NASCAR Cup champion’s legacy, the Kulwicki Driver Development Program has had 46 drivers from 17 states and two Canadian provinces compete in the North American initiative. Even though the program was suspended in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, it still has awarded $979,902 in stipends and championship awards. Overall, the nine classes have competed in 1,438 races, produced 230 victories, and 719 top-five and 1,018 top-10 finishes. Ty Majeski, the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, was the program’sinaugural winner.
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