The Vault
ICONIC SIX-FOOT TROPHY FROM SCOTT HANSEN’S ’77 WIN RETURNS TO LUXEMBURG
Posted on: Friday July 11, 2025
This 6-foot-tall trophy that Green Bay native Scott Hansen won in 1977 during Fritz Van’s Midwest Open will be put on display at the Luxemburg Racing Hall of Fame at Luxy Raceway at the Kewaunee County Fairgrounds July 18.
A nearly 50-year-old piece of Luxemburg, Wisconsin racing history hardware is coming home.
On August 6, 1977 a then 22-year-old racer from Green Bay named Scott Hansen scored his very first career late model feature win in Fritz Van’s promoted “Midwest Open” at Luxemburg Speedway.
In addition to winning the $1,000 top prize, Hansen won a giant, 6-foot trophy. The hardware was so big, the trophy had to be laid down so it would fit in Hansen’s large orange-colored school-bus hauler.
“That night was sure a fun one,” Hansen recalled. “The car was still in primer, and we had a duct-taped 53 on the car. In 1977, $1,000 was a lot of money back then. And there were some pretty tough customers I raced against to get that win.”
That trophy will be returned to the Luxemburg Speedway Hall of Fame at Luxy Raceway Friday, July 18. The Hall of Fame is located underneath the grandstands at Luxemburg. “We’re obviously very thrilled to be getting a true piece of Luxemburg Racing history to be added to the Hall of Fame,” said Steve Haen, track historian.
Hansen would go on to win five straight Fox River Racing Club (FRRC) super late model titles at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. He was also a five-time Milwaukee Mile winner, as well as rookie-of-the-year in both the ARTGO Challenge series and ASA series.
Hansen wrapped up his storied career wheeling a NASCAR Craftsman truck owned by Kenny Schrader.
Below is the recap penned by Van following Hansen’s victory. The story appeared in Midwest Racing News. Racing action gets underway at Luxy Raceway July 18 at 7 p.m. at the Kewaunee County Fairgrounds.
HANSEN COLLECTS $1,000 FOR WIN IN MIDWEST OPEN AT LUXEMBURG by Fritz Van
(LUXEMBURG, WI) Aug. 6 – Twenty-two-year-old Scott Hansen of Green Bay, came through with the first victory of his blossoming three-year late model career here Saturday night and he picked a good time to do it, winning the 50-lap Midwest Open Championship race and the $1,000 first prize.
Hansen, driving a 1973 Camaro, started outside fellow-townsman Roger Perret in the front row and the youngster looked at the back end of Perret’s 1969 Camaro for 31 laps before he and Appleton’s J.J. Smith finally slipped through on the inside when Perret went high coming out of turn two.
From then on, it was the veteran Smith dogging his less experienced opponent, probing for the slightest mistake by Hansen. But Hansen drove a flawless race and Smith found it impossible to pass him on the outside at the speed he was going on the short, third-mile clay track.
Up until three days before the $7,000 event, Hansen wasn’t even among the 42-car field. It was only when engine problems plagued one of the entrants that Hansen was invited to fill the opening. He wasn’t sorry.
Nevertheless, although J.J. lost out by less than a car-length in one last desperate surge, the colorful Appleton star still came out of it with $750 for his efforts. Perret ended up a surprising third in the oldest car in the meet, pocketing $500. Milwaukee’s Larry Ninneman was fourth.
Several highly-touted drivers would not seem to get untracked after posting faster times than the leaders and thus starting in the back.
Medina’s Jerry Smith, who leads at three tracks, came up from the last row of the 16-car finale to finish fifth, with three other veterans Axel Dahlberg, Tom Steuding and Pete Parker finishing behind them in that order.
Earlier, Parker had shattered the Luxemburg track record with a 17.92 second lap.
Green Bay drivers made it a clean sweep of both feature and semi as another last minute entry into the field, Jim Jahnke, drove to a quarter-lap triumph over Beaver Dam’s Ed Kulka in the latter event.
A crowd of 2,155 turned out for the show, despite the fact that the Green Bay Packers were playing their pre-season opener, just 20 miles away.
SUMMARY
50-LAP FEATURE – Scott Hansen, Green Bay; J.J. Smith, Appleton; Roger Perret, Green Bay; Larry Ninneman, Milwaukee; Jerry Smith, Medina; Axel Dahlberg, Mauston; Tom Stueding, Altoona; Pete Parker, Kaukauna; Dave Bruggink, Sheboygan; Bill Strom, West Allis
20-LAP SEMI-FEATURE – Jim Jahnke, Green Bay; Ed Kulka, Beaver Dam; Bob Menor, Wausaukee; Ron Fryer, Racine; Lowell Bennett, Greenville; Butch Georgenson, Little Sturgeon
5-LAP CONSOLATION – Dennis Wolfgram, Sturgeon Bay; Wenzel Sternard, Sturgeon Bay