MID-AMERICAN RETURNS TO ROCK THE VALLEY

Tom Wagner
Mid American Stock Car Series
May 7, 2014

(Fort Atkinson, WI) If you’re chatting with someone from the Mid-American Stock Car Series at the organization’s next event, don’t be surprised if the conversation turns a bit nostalgic.

This particular race will be a bit of a homecoming – a return to a race track with deep ties to the series origin – that will honor its founder in the process.

Saturday afternoon, May 10th, marks the return of MASCS to Wisconsin International Raceway (WIR) in Kaukauna, WI, and will feature the 25th running of the Vercauteren Memorial. Twenty six of the finest Mid-American Stock Cars representing six Upper Midwest states have pre-registered to once again thrill race fans at this exciting facility.

The MASCS/WIR combination is a natural when it comes to hosting the Memorial because of one common denominator; series founder Gary Vercauteren. Vercauteren became one of the most recognizable racing figures in the state, in part because of his public relations work at the track.

When he rolled out his fledging Mid-American series in 1993, its success was helped in large part by its inclusion in the track’s iconic Red, White and Blue series, giving it instant credibility. After the 2008 running, the Memorial was staged at various tracks, as the RW&B series shifted from a Saturday show to the track’s regular Thursday night offering. But this year, the natural combination of track, series and event, are together again.

It was Gary Vercauteren himself who initiated the first Vercauteren Memorial to honor his parents, Harold and Regina. The year was 1990, the venue was the tight quarter mile dirt track at the Calumet County Fairgrounds in Chilton, WI, and the cars were the “dirt track cousins” of the Mid-Ams; the Grand Nationals. Vercauteren was instrumental in the track’s reopening and the birth of the Grand National class; a blueprint he carried forward when the idea of a traveling mid-level paved series seemed like something to pursue. 22 years later, that idea proved to be a good one.

After three years at Chilton, the event moved to its long-running home at WIR, coinciding with the debut of the MASCS series that year. Illinois hot shoe, and future late model star, Eddie Hoffman captured the first running of the Memorial, repeating in 1995.

After his passing in 2005, the focus of the Memorial shifted to Gary for the 2006 running, with multi-time MASCS champ James Swan taking the checker.

The field for the Memorial’s return will include at least two former WIR winners; Bill Prietzel (1997 & 2004) and Mark Pluer (2000). Prietzel also won in 2010 when the race was held at Road America.

MASCS will share the Saturday stage with the exciting TUNDRA Super Late Model series. TUNDRA will, in effect, also have a Vercauteren flavor for its season debut as several entrants have Mid-Am experience. The list includes Brett Piontek, Maxwell Schultz, Eugene Gregorich, Jr, Travis Rodewald, Dan Church, and Ryan Farrell. Piontek won the Memorial when he was a MASCS regular in 2005.

The Vercauteren Memorial, as well as the MASCS preliminary heats, will be taped for telecast on “Sopwith Motorsports TV,” the popular short track program that airs in more than 50 million homes nationwide. Affiliate networks include TUFF TV, Untamed Sports TV, Time Warner Cable SportsChannel 32 of Wisconsin and online at Motorsportworld.TV.

MASCS and TUNDRA qualifying begin the day at 12:45, with the first green flag flying at 2:00. Completing the card will be WIR’s popular Sport Truck and Figure 8 divisions.

WIR is located at W1460 County Road KK just outside of Kaukauna, Wis. For more information visit www.wirmotorsports.com.

For more information on the Mid-American series, including new, results and the 2014 schedule, visit www.midamericanracing.com.