The Scoop
KEN’S SPORTS – SERVING UP MOTORSPORTS FUN SINCE 1968
Posted on: Thursday March 12, 2026
Jerry Vander Loop, a third-generation family member, works sales and handles the advertising at Ken’s Sports.
Whether it’s pounding the trails or skimming along on the water, Ken’s Sports has been serving up motorsports fun since 1968.
Nearly six decades ago, 82-year-old Ken Vander Loop and his wife, Mary launched Ken’s Sports in an at-that-time very modest Standard Oil Service Station on the corner of “OO” and “N” in Little Chute. What was initially just a snowmobile sales and parts store has mushroomed over the decades into a booming business selling and servicing not only sleds, but UTV’s, ATV’s, motorcycles and boats with 58 full-time employees and one dozen part-timers in 2026.
The sport of snowmobiling was just coming into its prime and the Vander Loops decided to supplement the service station business by selling snowmobiles. Ken’s first venture was as a dealer of the Skiroule brand and shortly thereafter Rupp was added. In 1972, the Arctic Cat franchise became available when Stumpf Ford decided to sell out that portion of their business. And, in 1982 the largest snowmobile line was also added. In the early 1970’s, there were approximately 150 manufacturers trying to get in on the ground floor of the snowmobile industry.
“We started selling boats around 1975,” said Ken. “We started out with Evinrude and eventually added a bunch more brands like Mercury, Honda and Crestliner, Mirro-Craft, Sunchaser, Cypress Cay, Triton and Bayliner boats and pontoons. Things really took off from there.”
National dirt late model Hall of Famer Pete Parker flew the Ken’s Sports colors in 1978. Parker is shown here after at win in De Pere at the Brown County Fairgrounds. (Vercauteren family photo)
Ken’s Sports has also always been a major player in supporting the local and regional motorsports community. “One of the first drivers we ever sponsored was Pete Parker (Kaukauna) in the mid-to-late 1970’s,” Ken recalled. “Pete’s dad Mel approached me about sponsoring Pete. I didn’t have any extra cash laying around at the time. We were just starting out. We had a Yamaha motorcycle on the floor. We traded out that motorcycle to Pete’s dad for sponsorship on Pete’s race car. Pete ran dirt mainly, but also did have a couple of seasons where he raced on the pavement at WIR, too.”
In additon to Suzuki and Yamaha products, Kawasaki motorcycles, ATV’s and Jet Skis were later introduced at Ken’s. By 1989, Victory Motorcycles were added to round out the product lines that are currently carried. “Things really started to take off for us in the 1980’s with the addition of the bikes,” said Jay Vander Loop. Jay runs the day-to-day operations with his two brothers Scott and Chris. “Then, when the internet evolved obviously we have been able to take our company to the next level.”
Despite a lack of snow in Wisconsin in recent years, sales of snowmobiles remain strong at Ken’s.
In addition to bikes, boats & motorcycles, the soaring popularity of both ATV’s and later UTV’s (mainly side-by-sides) really helped put Ken’s on more of a global map.
By 1999, the business had outgrown its “OO” location and a new facility was built on Highway “JJ”, just off of County Road “N”, about a mile out of Little Chute. While Ken is still on-site, he enjoys restoring tractors and occasionally purchasing and restoring an old snowmobile that he originally sold back in the early 1970’s. Mary is also still active in the business while showing third generation grandson, Dan Vander Loop, what’s involved in running the office. Scott’s wife and Dan’s Mom, Karen, rounds out the team by heading up the Clothing Department.
“When in Wisconsin we were still getting plenty of snow seven or eight years ago, snowmobiling remained truly a way of life in our state,” said Jay Vander Loop. “It seemed like everybody had either one or two sleds. With a combination of the soaring costs of the sleds, combined with less snow it seems each year, the industry of side-by-sides really began to explode. And these days, those are probably our number one seller. We still sell snowmobiles, but it’s just not as big as it was years ago is all. But UTV’s, with the availability to use them to plow snow, are the only machine you can truly use 12 months out of the year.”
Another reason for the popularity of the UTV’s is the fact that many townships to the north permit UTV’s on the roads. “Our sales have expanded well past just Wisconsin with our website, too,” said Jerry Vander Loop, a third-generation family member working at the business. “We’re not just a one season dealer of sorts. We’ve got that fun stuff that can sell 12 months out of the year. We also sell to out-of-state folks in Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. We sell boats to customers in Ohio, Georgia, Maine, New York and even California.”
Helmets, clothing and other “gear” are also popular sellers at Ken’s 12 months a year.
Jerry got his start working at Ken’s at 10-years-old. “I was still in elementary school, and during the winter months on Saturdays I’d come to the store and sell helmets and jackets to people,” Jerry recalled. “It seemed like we got a lot more snow eight or nine years ago.” One of Jerry’s tasks at Ken’s is managing the business’ website and Facebook pages. “I organize all of the ads that we run, and we’ve got a solid inventory of used stuff as well,” Jerry added, noting that Facebook marketplace is another avenue where sales are made.
Ken added: “The internet has changed our business significantly. It’s not uncommon to sell things out of state. 10 percent of our retail is out of state. 20 to 25 percent of our retail reaches 2 to 3 hours away and beyond. Yet, our local retail is still strong.”
To no one’s surprise, the Vander Loop family remain avid racers locally. Jay’s boys, Jerry and J.J. Vander Loop, compete both on the pavement at nearby Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna as well as the area dirt tracks. Ken’s three other grandsons, Cody, Kasey and Brady do more pavement racing. “Cody is now transitioning out of the truck deal, and is going to race a super late model a lot more and travel a little bit,” Ken said. “He’ll still run some at WIR. Kasey and Brady are still at it in the sport trucks, too. Our entire family loves racing, and we can’t wait until the tracks open.”
Freedom’s Cody Vander Loop scored a 3rd place, podium finish in “The Bear 96” TUNDRA super late model series opener at WIR in Kaukauna May 17, 2025.
Jerry and J.J. have additional family members with deep roots in the local racing community. The ageless Jerry Muenster and Jerry’s son Eddie Muenster are the boys grandpa and uncle, respectively.
Ken added: “We enjoy working with the racing community. They are our clientele. They are good people. We see them every night we’re at the track. We can say they are our customers. The racing family remains a tight-knit group. I’m proud of my three boys and the job they’ve done here as owner/managers.”
To learn more about Ken’s Sports, check out their website kenssportsgreenbay.com. Or better yet, pop in some time. The physical GPS address is W 2520 County Road JJ in Kaukauna, Wisconsin.