The Vault
1974 – WRRA DRIVER’S STRIKE
Posted on: Monday January 19, 2026
DRIVER’S STRIKE? by Don Langenkamp
(reprinted from the Green Bay Press Gazette. Date unknown but estimated to be spring, 1974. From the Jack Peters collection)
The 1974 stock car racing season will get underway under the threat of strike by the Wolf River Racing Association Sunday at the Brown County Fairgrounds in De Pere.
At a meeting at the Swan Club in De Pere Saturday, operators of the De Pere and Shawano race tracks refused to meet demands by the Wolf River group without a return guarantee for at least 20 cars present at every race from that organization.
“This is what we figured would happen,” said Wolf River president Jim Fischer of Green Bay. “We figured it would all be cut and dried before we came in here.”
Fischer said no special meeting would be called to discuss a strike before next Sunday, but added, “It’s very possible we’ll talk about staying away at our next regular meeting in May.”
A large segment of the approximately 100 drivers at the meeting were not members of the Wolf River organization. The sentiment of the independents was one of impatience toward the Wolf River group.
“Do the tracks need the endorsement of Wolf River to open this year?” asked one independent driver.
Roger “The Bear” Regeth (Vercauteren family photo)
One of the area’s top drivers is Appleton’s Roger Regeth, the defending champion at De Pere. Regeth was a member of the Wolf River group last year but is now racing without any club affiliation. “Most of the Wolf River drivers won’t stay away,” Regeth predicted. “They can’t afford to, and they don’t want me to pick up an extra couple of hundred dollars at a race.”
De Pere promoter Jack Peters and Ed Aschenbrenner, spokesperson for the Shawano Fair Board, presented cost outlays for last season which, they say, showed why the driver’s purse couldn’t be boosted from 50 to 60 per cent this year.
A recent counter-proposal by the Wolf River drivers for a smaller percentage increase and point fund to be paid to all drivers earning points at the end of the season also was refused – without the 20-car guarantee to the promoters.
“we have an average of 40 cars from the club at every race in De Pere and Shawano,” Fischer said. “But we don’t want to guarantee it. If it rains, or we have a lot of breakdowns, we don’t meet the guarantee and lose our point fund money.”
Aschenbrenner called for a broader representation of drivers, suggesting two from each heat to discuss matters with track officials. According to Regeth, the point fund money paid at the end of the year isn’t worth the trouble of a strike.
“The top point driver made $93 and I had $86 last year,”he said. “It’s just not worth it. If it was $600 or so, it would be a different story.”
The racing season could open a week hence with independent drivers. Fischer says he’s leaving the decision up to his members on an individual basis until the May meeting. He also says he’s staying away.