Laack was appointed track manager with Bob Akright in 1962 starting his dedication to

Eastern Wisconsin Stock Cars. Laack was a long-term board member of the racing club holding the office of treasurer for many years. In the last 10 years, Laack was awarded the Dickie Berth Memorial Lifetime Member of EWSC Award for service above and beyond. On hand to award the new Laack award was Happy’s sons, Gary, past EWSC Sportsman Track Champion and Winged Super Modified driver, and John, a long time employee of EWSC. The first Happy Laack Award was given to Bill Hoftiezer who began racing with the club in 1967, served on the Board of Directors for years also as Treasurer and after “retiring” from his Chief Pit Steward position, came back to run the Club’s concession stand when EWSC moved to the Manitowoc County Expo in 2005.
In the self-starting Winged Super Modified 30-lap A-Main, Butch Hafemann of Campbellsport charged to the lead in the early laps with Lee Mohs of Waldo chasing him down. By lap three, Paul Pokorski of West Bend used the outside of the track to catch up to and pull along side of Mohs. A lap later, Pokorski passed Mohs coming down the front stretch to take over second place. It took another lap for Pokorski to reel in leader Hafemann. Pokorski pulled within striking distance as Hafemann threw his car into turn three. Pokorski, still on the outside groove, passed Hafemann for the lead coming out of turn four and then focused on charging out in front of the field. Just as lapped traffic came into play in lap eight, a yellow flag appeared and slowed the racing action. Pokorski lined up in front alone with Hafemann and Mohs directly behind him and Chuck Tuschl of Reedsville and Tim McMullen of Plymouth in the next row. When the green flag flew, Pokorski once again charged out in front with Hafemann behind him. Last years track champion McMullen followed Hafemann and took over third with Mohs and fast qualifier Pete Ostrowski of East Troy rounding out the top five. At the line in lap 12, McMullen pulled to the inside of Hafemann and took over second place by inches with Ostrowski charging directly behind them in fourth. As McMullen took over second, leader Pokorski held a third-track lead over the field and was approaching lapped traffic again. At the half-way point in lap 15, a final yellow flag appeared when contact between Ostrowski and Scott Mohs of Plymouth sent both cars to the pits. Pokorski set the pace for the final half of the race with McMullen and Hafemann ready behind him to take over. When the green flag flew to restart the race, Pokorski charged out in front again focused on a win. McMullen chased after the leader with Hafemann chasing him. As the laps clicked off, Pokorski charged threw the corners and down the straightaways to win his fourth Modified A-Main of the season. McMullen followed in second with Hafemann in third. Steve Bricker of Two Rivers made a late-lap pass to finish fourth with Tuschl rounding out the top five.

Dave Schaetzer of Sheboygan grabbed the early lead in the Limited Late Model A-Main with Dave Haag of Glenbeulah chasing him down. Point leader Dan Dippel of Plymouth pulled into third by lap three and began his battle with Haag for second. With leader Schaetzer, Haag and Dippel all running the outside of the track, the front runners charged around the Manitowoc track. In lap five, Dippel readjusted and threw his car to the inside groove. A lap later, Dippel pulled along side Haag and inched passed him at the line to take over second. Dippel set his sights on leader Schaetzer and again used the inside of the track to race side by side with him. Dippel pulled into the lead in lap eight and charged through the corners. With Schaetzer ahead of him, Haag began his campaign for second place. At the checkered flag, Dippel charged through to win his seventh feature of the season. Haag made one last effort coming out of turn four on the final lap to pull alongside Schaetzer. At the checkered flag, Schaetzer held onto second by inches with heat winner Haag and Scott Haugstad of Plymouth in third and fourth.

The Grand National A-Main started with a lot of action with a red flag after lap one for fast qualifier Brian Gilles of Plymouth whose car rolled over in turn one. Three laps later, another red flag came out for Brad Ruh of Elkhart Lake with his car on fire. As the green flag restarted the race, Tim Warner of Malone charged into the lead again with Mike Bastian of Manitowoc and Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake directly behind him. Bastian wasted no time and pulled inside Warner to cross the scoring line in lap six with only inches separating the two cars. Two laps later, a yellow flag appeared, relining up Bastian in the front and Warner and Bob Cullen of Chilton in the first row behind him. Muehlbauer and Jason Winkler of New Holstein completed the second row. After the green flag flew, Cullen charged into second and set his sights on leader Bastian. By lap 12, Cullen pulled inside Bastian in a hard-fought battle for the lead. As Bastian and Cullen charged around the track side by side in a clean battle for the win, Warner and Brett Wenzel of Two Rivers charged after them. When another yellow flag halted the racing action in lap 14, Bastian held the top spot but Cullen was forced to the pits with a flat tire, leaving Warner and Wenzel in the first full row. Just as the green flag flew, a three wide battle for second began as Gilles, who had made his way back from his rollover, tucked between Wenzel and Warner as the three raced into turns one and two. Wenzel and Warner broke free of Gilles and raced side by side for two more laps until Wenzel headed to the pits with mechanical problems on a final restart. As the field lined up for a two-lap dash to the checkered, Bastian once again jumped out into the lead with Gilles and Warner charging side by side at the line for the white flag. Bastian charged through the checkered flag to win his fifth A-Main of the season. Point leader Gilles followed in second with Andy Fuhrmann of Brillion making late-lap passes to finish third. Heat winner Cullen came back after the flat tire to charge back through the field to finish fourth with heat winner Dale Damrow of Sheboygan finishing fifth.

In the Mighty 4 A-Main, Amber Rabe of Plymouth charged out to the lead in the first lap of the 15-lap race with Mark Kuhfuss of Howards Grove chasing her down. Without any yellows to halt the racing action, Rabe secured a healthy lead over the field as she approached lapped traffic by lap five. Four laps later, Rabe was slowed down slightly by multiple lapped cars as Kuhfuss began catching up to her. By lap 12, Rabe and Kuhfuss charged out in front with lapped traffic behind them. Rabe held a solid line and left the door closed to Kuhfuss as the two drivers charged around the track. As Rabe and Kuhfuss raced to complete the final lap, Rabe drifted slightly higher coming out of turn four than the laps before giving Kuhfuss an opening to pull inside Rabe for the final stretch of the race. Rabe regrouped and focused down the front stretch. Rabe and Kuhfuss charged side by side to the checkered flag with Rabe holding on by a bumper at the line to win her first A-Main of the season. Heat winner Kuhfuss finished second with Josh Torrison of Sheboygan and Jacob Meyer of Plymouth following in third and fourth.

In the first Twin 15-lap A-Main in the Eastern 8 division, Mike TeStroete of Sheboygan Falls grabbed the early lead with first Bret Koehler of Two Rivers and then Adam Krepline of Manitowoc chasing him down. TeStroete held a solid lead when his tire went flat and he headed to the pits on the first yellow flag in lap seven. Krepline lined up in front with Mark Vranak and Mike Kaufmann of Newton in the row behind him. Vranak jumped into the lead as the green flag restarted the race with Josh Schroeder of Manitowoc pulling into second and Sandra Meyer of Plymouth moving into third. When a second yellow flag appeared for debris, Vranak once again charged into the lead with Schroeder again in second and Kaufmann jumping passed two cars to settle into third. A lap later, Kaufmann continue his charge and moved into second behind leader Vranak. At the checkered flag, Vranak won his first A-Main of the season with Kaufmann, Meyer, heat winner Schroeder and Jacob Phillips rounding out the top five.

In the second leg of the Eastern 8 Twins, Schroeder charged into the early lead before the only yellow flag relined up the field in lap three. Schroeder set the pace out in front alone with Krepline and Kaufmann lined up behind him. When the green flag flew, Kaufmann charged on the high side of the track to take over the lead in the next lap. Krepline did not let Kaufmann settle into the lead as Krepline tucked his car to the inside of Kaufmann a lap later to race side by side with him down the front stretch and take the lead by a bumper in lap five. As Kaufmann chased him down, Krepline charged around the track and through the checkered flag to win his third A-Main of the season. Kaufmann followed in second with TeStroete and Phillips in third and fourth.

After calculating the “Twin Points”, Kaufmann, finishing second in both races, placed first in the overall finish. Krepline was awarded second with Vranak, Phillips and Schroeder rounding out the top five.

Join Eastern Wisconsin Stock Cars on Saturday, August 5th for the rescheduled Peter’s Pantry Night at the Races with the Winged Super Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Grand Nationals, Mighty 4 and Eastern 8 divisions at the Manitowoc County Expo.

Summary: M/R Racing Equipment & APEX Track Supply -  Christmas in July / LEGENDS of EWSC/MSC Night

Winged Super Modified:
Fast Qualifier: # 7 Pete Ostrowski – East Troy 14.759
A-Main (30 laps): Paul Pokorski, West Bend; Tim McMullen, Plymouth; Butch Hafemann, Campbellsport; Steve Bricker, Two Rivers; Chuck Tuschl, Reedsville; Lee Mohs, Waldo; Bob Brion, Plymouth; Brad Swendrowski, Milwaukee; Tyler Hansen, Manitowoc; Dan Kruschke, Glenbeulah;
Heat # 1 (10 laps): Dave Deicher, Plymouth; Tuschl; Pokorski; Billy Hafemann, Waldo;
Heat # 2 (10 laps): Ostrowski; Bricker; Scott Mohs, Plymouth; Butch Hafemann;

Limited Late Model:
A-Main (15 laps): Dan Dippel, Plymouth; Dave Schaetzer, Sheboygan; Dave Haag, Glenbeulah; Scott Haugstad, Plymouth;
Heat # 1 (10 laps): Haag; Dippel; Schaetzer;

Grand National:
Fast Qualifier: # 7 Brian Gilles – Plymouth 19.366
A-Main (20 laps): Mike Bastian, Manitowoc; Brian Gilles, Plymouth; Andy Fuhrmann, Brillion; Bob Cullen, Chilton; Dale Damrow, Sheboygan; Bob Peter, Howards Grove; Tim Warner, Malone; Brian Goetsch, Sheboygan; Jim Brooks, Fredonia; Chad Kistner, New Holstein;
Heat # 1 (10 laps): Damrow; Kistner; Duane Dippel, Cleveland;
Heat # 2 (10 laps): Jason Winkler, New Holstein; Gregg Haese, Two Rivers; Warner;
Heat # 3 (10 laps): Cullen; Gilles; Andy Fuhrmann, Brillion;

All American Mighty 4’s:
A-Main # 1 (15 laps): Amber Rabe, Plymouth; Mark Kuhfuss, Howards Grove; Josh Torrison, Sheboygan; Jacob Meyer, Plymouth; Josh Gierke, Kiel; Tim Simon, St. Peter; Jason Swoboda, Two Rivers; Kyle Resch, Manitowoc;
Heat # 1 (6 laps): Simon; Gierke; Torrison;
Heat # 2 (6 laps): Kuhfuss; Rabe; Meyer;

Eastern 8’s: Overall Twin 15 A-Main Finish: Mike Kaufmann, Newton; Adam Krepline, Manitowoc; Mark Vranak; Jacob Phillips, Green Bay; Josh Schroeder, Manitowoc;
A-Main # 1 (15 laps): Vranak; Kaufmann; Sandra Meyer, Plymouth; Schroeder;
A-Main # 2 (15 laps): Krepline; Kaufmann; Mike TeStroete, Sheboygan Falls; Phillips;
Heat # 1 (6 laps): Schroeder; Krepline; Kaufmann;