Kulwicki Driver Development Program Awards Banquet Hosts NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Title Contender Layne Riggs

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title contender Layne Riggs is this year’s VIP guest at the Dec. 15 Kulwicki Driver Development Program’s 11th anniversary awards dinner which will once again have an air of suspense surrounding it.

Like last year, the five finalists known as “Underbirds”, won’t know who won the 2026 competition until the banquet. This year’s “Underbirds”, alphabetically, are North Carolina’s Michael Bumgarner and Carson Haislip, Virginia’s Chase Johnson and Ryley Music, and Wisconsin’s Penn Sauter.

Prior to the much-anticipated announcement, Riggs will participate in a “Tire Side Chat” with sportscaster and journalist Mike Massaro, who was an interviewer of this year’s finalists while serving as RFK Racing’s communications director.

Like 1992 NASCAR Cup champion and NASCAR Hall of Fame member Alan Kulwicki, Riggs possesses an engineering degree. A North Carolina native, Riggs was a recipient of the prestigious Alan Kulwicki Memorial Scholarship, receiving his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from UNC-Charlotte in December 2024. That’s the same year he was named Sunoco Rookie of the Year in NASCAR’s Truck Series. Two years earlier, he was the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion.

Veteran motorsports radio and television broadcaster Wendy Venturini is hosting the program that will be streamed live on Racing America beginning at 6:30 p.m. The event begins at 5 p.m. in Charlotte Motor Speedway’s The Speedway Club ballroom. Admission is $80 per person.

For more information, email the Kulwicki Driver Development Program at kddpinfo@gmail.com or go to the Banquet page at the programs website at kulwickiddp.com/banquet

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 50 drivers from 18 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 $1,044,902 in scholarships and championship awards. Overall, the 10 classes have competed in 1,514 races, produced 238 victories, and 750 top-five and 1,098 top-10 finishes. Ty Majeski, the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, was the program’s inaugural winner.

-Kulwicki Driver Development Program Release
-Photo credit: Front Row Motorsports