Kulwicki Spotlight: Hoar Ready to Go Racing, Represent KDDP in 2025

When Taylor Hoar learned she had been named one of this year’s Kulwicki Driver Development Program finalists, it was a surreal and emotional moment.

“I almost thought I was getting a call like I had done something wrong, because I just didn’t think that I was getting in,” Hoar told Racing America. “So when I was let know that I was in, I cried because I was just so excited and so emotional just to know that I was in.

“I was doubting myself that I was going to be one of the five, especially going down from seven finalists to five this year. I felt like my odds were a little bit shorter, so to find out that I got in was such an honor and just so relieving and so many emotions were flowing.”

RELATED: Hoar Becomes First Vermont Resident Ever Selected For Kulwicki Driver Development Program

Now comes the spotlight of being one of five drivers competing for this year’s Kulwicki Cup. However, that’s nothing unfamiliar for the Vermont native.

A Family Tradition

Along with racing at Thunder Road International Speedbowl and in the Wall’s Platinum Late Model Series at White Mountain Motorpsorts Park, Taylor Hoar is racing select races in the Milton CAT American-Canadian Tour in 2025. The Hoar name is packed with history in the series.

Taylor’s father, Brian Hoar, is an eight-time ACT champion. That gives Taylor an invaluable mentor in her corner, as well as big shoes to fill.

“I mean, there’s just so much knowledge that he spews off every time we’re at the track that I just don’t know that I would get from anyone else,” said Hoar. “Just everything he has to say, you know Every time we go to a different track, he has stories to tell and he has little tips and tricks.

“It’s just so helpful because I don’t know that I would have someone to be able to tell me those things if he wasn’t there. I think it’s helped the learning curve a ton. He made it look so easy, really, when he raced. It’s almost a bit humbling, definitely, but it’s been really nice and I love having him and all of his knowledge in my corner.”

Inspiring Young Women

When she’s on the track, Hoar doesn’t like to consider herself a female driver in a male-dominated sport.

“I don’t like to think of myself as anything different out there. I kind of just like to say that when my helmet goes on. You don’t know who’s out there, and my car won’t know if I’m female or male. I like to just think that I wouldn’t want anyone to race me differently in a good or a bad way. I don’t want to go be that girl. I just want to be a racer.”

However, she recognizes the platform that distinction gives her. It has even helped her off the track with one of her other passions, gymnastics.

Before embarking on her racing career, Hoar enjoyed gymnastics as “her” sport in the family. Now, she is able to give back by coaching gymnastics.

“Racing and being a female in the sport, you’re already kind of a leader and a role model,” said Hoar. “I’ve really had to learn to embrace that role, but I really got to embrace it in a bigger way with gymnastics because I had to be the adult. With racing, I can still be young a little bit. At practice, I had to be the boss and the adult.

“It was still really fun to get to encourage those girls to work hard, do their best. It was just really fun for me to see them do well and do a sport I still love.”

Some of the lessons she learned during her gymnastic career have also helped her on the race track.

“Focus is a big one, because when you go for those routines or put that helmet on, it’s that same kind of focus,” Hoar explained. “You’re drowning out everything else in the world and your focus on your job and what you’re doing.

“Also, there’s the work ethic. I was in the gym, I want to say it was 25 hours a week when I was training heavy. It was a big commitment and a big physical commitment, too. Racing also asks that of you, too. It’s helped me continue in the gym and work hard off the track, knowing I’ll perform better on the track because I’m using those little tips and tricks from gymnastics.”

Itching to Get On Track

It has been a frustrating start to the season for racers throughout the Northeastern United States. While Hoar planned to race at Oxford Plains Speedway and Thunder Road with ACT, both of those events have been rained out in the last two weeks.

That brings her attention to this weekend’s Coastal Clash 150 at Star Speedway. She is eager to return to Star with lessons learned from a chance to race there last year which proved to be a mighty struggle.

“Last year, we went with just my mom, dad and my brother, so it was a bit of an on-a-whim decision to go,” said Hoar. “Unfortunately, we got the set-up all wrong, and we realized it afterwards. I was basically dirt-tracking it around. It was a learning experience, learning to drive a very, very loose race car.

“I’m really excited to go back, but hopefully, knock on wood, hopefully a better race car. I’m just excited to get back there. It’s just still a very small short track, just like Thunder Road is. It’s not as high banked, but it’s just a weird track. There’s almost two corners each corner. I’m really excited to get back there and just give it a try with a better car.”

Giving Back Through Racing

An invaluable aspect of the Kulwicki Driver Development Program is using the platform to advance Kulwicki’s legacy, on and off the track.Hoar is already an ambassador for the sport in her community, and hopes to broaden those efforts in 2025.

“We’ve already started with Race to Read,” said Hoar. “It’s a non-profit literacy program at Thunder Road. I’ve been one of their drivers for the past four years, which is just so rewarding and fun.

“It kind of encourages kids to fill out a reading log throughout the summer. They get to come out on the track during driver introductions or say ‘Drivers, start your engines’ or just so many little incentives that they get to do. It’s really fun to meet these kids because, you know, we are NASCAR drivers to them. It is really cool to get to inspire them and be role models to them.

“We will be working with Camp Ta-Kum-Tu,” Hoar added. “It’s a camp for kids with cancer or who have been through cancer, just starting their process in remission, all sorts of different cancer, unfortunately. It’s very local to us, it’s just five minutes down the road for us.

“We’ve worked with them in the past. Last year, we got to bring our race cars to their camp for their “Rev Your Engines” week. It was just so fun to meet these kids and so inspiring, really.

“I don’t want to say we wouldn’t have known it, but these kids just act like this is their every day. They’re so normal and it’s so inspiring to see how strong they are and how resilient they are, day-to-day. It was really inspiring and I’m excited to get to work with them again this year.

“O last charity that we’re going to work with is the food bank that is local to us. We’re going to donate some money and do some good drives, get some bins of food and anything we can do to help them. It’s really inspiring and kind of gives me another reason to want to go back to the race track so I can help people off the track.”

-Photo provided by Kulwicki Driver Development Program