GRUENEBERG and BIERMAN PURCHASE MID-AMERICAN STOCK CAR SERIES

Mid American Stock Car Series
October 22, 2014

Dave Grueneberg and Dawn Bierman of Brooklyn, Wisconsin, are purchasing the Mid-American Stock Car Series.

Most people look forward to retirement and being able to spend time fishing, golfing, traveling, or finishing projects around the house. But that scenario doesn’t describe Dave Grueneberg who recently retired from the University of Wisconsin-Madison after thirty-seven years.

So when it was recently announced that he had purchased the traveling racing series from Doug and Julie Strasburg it had some people scratching their heads. After all he was retiring, right?

“I saw this as a great opportunity,” said Grueneberg, who has been involved in local racing for most of his adult life including the past ten years as general manager at Madison International Speedway. “I’m not one to sit around and like staying busy.” You see, last year he also embarked on a new venture when he purchased Dave’s White Rock Tavern on Highway 14 near Brooklyn, Wisconsin.

“Doug and Julie are good people and have done a wonderful job with the series. It’s made up of a great group of drivers from throughout the Midwest and I’m really excited about working with them to continue moving this series forward.”

“We want to see the Mid-American Stock Car Series continue and will help any way we can,” noted Strasburg. “We want people to remember where Mid-American came from and what’s most important about this series is its character. We’ve worked hard to build that and keep it that way, and I think Dave will bring some new ideas and he, like us, has a passion for racing.”

The series was born over twenty years ago when Gary Vercauteran brought things together in 1993. He led the series until he passed away unexpectedly in 2005. Long-time employees Doug and Julie Strasburg stepped forward to take over the series in 2006. Prior to that Doug had done just about everything with MASCS including starter, technical director, and competition director while Julie did much of the admin duties as well as riding heard on the "troops" in the trenches.

“We started working for Gary back in 1994 in the second year of the series,” said Doug. “We did a little bit of everything…sometimes all at the same time.”

The Mid-American Stock Car Series has been known for exciting racing with talented drivers and Grueneberg plans to offer much of the same. “What’s nice about this series is the competitive balance between seasoned veterans and young drivers trying to make a name for themselves. There is a real tradition here thanks to Gary's vision over twenty years ago.”

For example, drivers such as Eddie Hoffman, Jeff Storm, Bill Prietzel, and James Swan have all been past series champions with Swan leading the way with five titles.

So is Grueneberg planning on making any major changes to the series? “The first thing I am going to do is get all of the drivers together and listen to them. I have a vision of how I would like to grow this series, but what’s most important is getting the guys together and getting their feedback. The series has also been blessed with some very loyal sponsors and tracks over the years and I’m looking forward to working with all of them.”

“What we want fans to say when the series comes to their track is that they saw close, competitive and exciting racing. We want to put on a good show and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that happens.”

Traditionally at seasons end, Mid-Am officials and the 'Team Advisory Committee' get together to review the season and look to future. Dave will take advantage of the tradition to kick off the Grueneberg era. The meeting will be held at 11:00 a.m. Sunday, November 2nd. Location is the VFW Post in Stoughton, WI. Immediately following the Committee meeting at 1:30, Dave is requesting anyone interested in being involved in the Mid-Am 2015 season and beyond join him to discuss the future. The VFW Post is located just south of Hwy 51 on Veteran's Road (Hwy A) on the east edge of Stoughton, WI.

Drivers, teams, sponsors and fans are encouraged to stay tuned for further updates. Questions regarding the Mid-American Stock Car Series can be directed to Grueneberg at 608.513.2278.

Dave Grueneberg
P.O. Box 169
Oregon, WI. 53575
608 - 513 - 2278