The Scoop
MEET THE VANDER LOOP’S – ONE OF RACING’S BUSIEST FAMILIES
Posted on: Thursday May 27, 2021
Little Chute high school’s Cody Vander Loop poses with his Wisconsin Sport Truck. Vander Loop is the defending champion at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna, Wisconsin.
If you attend a stock car race at any dirt or asphalt track in Wisconsin in 2021 odds are strong that you’ll see a Vander Loop family member racing at some point this year.
Thing is if you’re at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna on a Thursday night you’ll likely need a score card to keep track of all of the team members.
There are a total of four Vander Loop’s (Cody, Kasey, J.J. and Jerry) and on Thursday nights you can throw in Jerry Van Handel into the mix as well. Sport trucks are one main division the Vander Loop teens are involved in. For 2021 you can add IMCA northern sportmods and a Midwest sport truck into their respective resumes.
We’ll start with Cody Vander Loop. At 17, Cody will be a senior at Little Chute high school next fall. Cody is the defending sport truck champion in WIR’s ‘Thursday Night Thunder’ action. Cody is defending his title on WIR’s quarter-mile. A sold field of 22 trucks took to the season opening race May 20 which was won by Kyle Quella. “We’ve got our same truck as last year,” Cody explained. We replaced a lot of stuff on it and freshened everything up basically during the off season.”
Among Cody’s chief competitors for the WIR title defense include Quella, and a few others Cody expects to be in the thick of things weekly. “Bobby Wautier is right in the mix of it too,” Cody explained. “Kylee Vandermoss and Mike Byrge have been running well too along with Jason (Van Handel) and my brother (Kasey Vander Loop).”
Cody will also be running the balance of the Midwest Truck series tour after the team obtained a truck driven a year ago by Van Der Geest Racing. “Our first race with the Midwest Truck will be May 31 at Golden Sands Speedway (Plover, Wisconsin),” Cody said. “We want to run every race in that series if we can. I think we have eight of them on the schedule. We’re looking forward to racing with the series on WIR’s half mile for the Dixieland race in August too. We’ll be sure and get some practice in before that race.”
According to Cody Vander Loop he plans on running with the Midwest Truck series full time in 2022 and ‘see what happens from there’ in terms of the future of his racing career. Cody will get some additional pit crew members to assist him with his Midwest truck effort. “In addition to my regular family pit crew we’ll have Brett Van Horn, Bobby and Paul Wautier and even Ty Majeski in our corner helping out with that effort,” Cody said. “I’ll take all the help I can get.”
Kasey Vander Loop poses next to his number 2 sport truck. Kasey mixes it up with brother Cody and cousins J.J. and Jerry in the sport truck class.
Cody’s younger brother, 16-year-old Kasey Vander Loop isn’t afraid to trade some paint with his sibling on occasion. While Cody sports the number 4 on his trucks Kasey’s doors are splashed with number 2. “This is my 3rd year in the sport trucks,” Kasey said. “Once in a while we may get into it with each other a little bit on the track but never anything too serious.”
According to Kasey he likes racing on the asphalt. “I like the pavement and plan on sticking with it down the road.” Chris Vander Loop is the father of Cody and Kasey Vander Loop and for the most part head up the racing operations with Jay Vander Loop. “We’ve got Keith, Blaine and Drew Habeck who help us out and Rob Vandermoss too,” Kasey said. “They all chip in and lend a hand.”
J.J. Vander Loop with his number 72 sport truck.
Cody and Kasey’s cousins are J.J. (15) and Jerry (14) Vander Loop. They both wheel sport trucks on WIR’s quarter-mile and in the division’s traveling series. J.J.’s sport truck is number 72 while Jerry’s sport truck has number 7 on the doors.
Jerry Vander Loop poses with his number 7 sport truck.
Jerry and J.J. are also getting their shoes muddy on Friday nights where they play on the dirt at Outagamie Speedway in Seymour. Both brothers wheel IMCA northern sportmods. “Racing on the dirt is a totally different world than on the pavement,” said J.J. Vander Loop. “In the corners you don’t even really drive through them you sort of slide. It really didn’t feel normal at first to turn the wheel right to go left but we are getting used to it now after we’ve got a few weeks under our belt.”
Jerry Vander Loop with his IMCA northern sportmod.
For Jerry, he enjoys racing both surfaces but has taken a liking early on to the dirt track scene. “It seems like there is a little more action on the dirt,” Jerry said. “you can pass another car a little bit quicker. My brother and I are still starting in the back and learning as we go.”
J.J. Vander Loop poses with his IMCA northern sportmod.
J.J. and Jerry have gotten some good advice from someone who knows a thing or two about racing on the dirt – their 80-year-old grandfather Jerry Muenster. At 80, Jerry still wheels an IMCA modified Saturday nights at Shawano Speedway. “Grandpa’s advice to us is to try not to hit other drivers and always race them clean,” Jerry said. “That’s the way we’ll begin to earn respect from the other competitors.”
At 40 years of age, Jason Van Handel could almost be considered ‘family’ to the Vander Loop’s. “I do a lot of painting and stuff for Ken’s Sports and got to know Jay and Chris over the past few years,” said Van Handel, who was the WIR sport truck champion in 2004. “I thought I’d get back into racing these sport trucks to help the kids out a little bit and teach them a thing or two. We all help each other on race nights. A lot has changed with these trucks since I last raced them but one thing that has remained the same is there is great camaraderie within the sport truck class. Everyone is still willing to help one another out. And that’s really cool.”
In addition to Ken’s Sports and Van Handel Auto Body, Ludwig Performance is a supporter of the racing teams along with Dynamic Designs.
COLEMAN RETURNS – Long retired super late model pilot Dick Coleman of Menominee, Michigan will return to action at Norway (MI) Speedway’s season opening race Friday, May 28.
Coleman will wheel the Coleman Racing Products 119 a few times in ’21 with other drivers taking the wheel at different times, including Ryan Hood and former NASCAR driver Johnny Sauter for the prestigious Stateline Challenge race Friday, July 2.
The Coca Cola late model title will be wide open in ’21 as 2020 champion Dan Lindsley of Vulcan has announced he will not run a full schedule this year. Other defending track champs include Upper Pine Creek’s Ryan Wender (Auto Value super stock), Crivitz, Wisconsin’s Preston Weddel (141 auto stock car), Hermansville’s Dean Bellmore (MC Signs & Graphics 4 banger), Kingsford’s Brent Barglind (Ken’s Sports sport truck) and Kingsford’s Austin McConnell (spectator eliminator). Time trials begin at 5:30 p.m. with the first race at 7 p.m.
ARCA MIDWEST TOUR NOTEBOOK – The second race of the ARCA Midwest Tour’s 2021 campaign takes place during the ‘Salute The Troops 100” at Jefferson (WI) Speedway Saturday May 29 Known as Wisconsin’s ‘Action Track,’ The bullring will host qualifying beginning at 5 p.m. with the first race at 7 p.m.
OUTAGAMIE DIRT KINGS – The Dirt Kings late model tour swings into Outagamie Speedway in Seymour Friday, May 28. Last Sunday Green Bay native ‘Rocket Ron’ Berna captured his first tour win in 43 series attempts after winning the tour event at Gravity Park USA in Chilton. Veterans will be honored on Old Glory Honor Flight Night and a massive fireworks display will cap the program off.
The tracks regular classes (IMCA modifieds, stock cars, northern sportmods, Unified street stocks and 4 cylinders) will all be in action. Gates open at 4 p.m. with racing getting underway at 6:30 p.m. You can check outagamiespeedway.com for further information.
NATHAN BOUCHE MEMORIAL – The Hill Raceway in Sturgeon Bay will host the Nathan Bouche Memorial race Sunday May 30 at John Miles Park in Sturgeon Bay. The race honors a former racer and son of Algoma racing legend Tony Bouche. Nathan Bouche passed away in 2004.
Modifieds, a division that doesn’t compete weekly at the The Hill, will make a return appearance Sunday. The track’s regular divisions will also be in action (sport modifieds, stock cars, street stocks and four cylinders). Retired or active service members will be admitted free of charge all season long with I.D. Gates open at 3 p.m. with the first green flag flying at 5 p.m. You can check out The Hill’s Facebook page for further information.
THE ‘BURG OFF THIS WEEKEND – A reminder there will be no racing at The ‘Burg Speedway in Luxemburg Wisconsin on Memorial day weekend. Racing will resume at the third-mile, clay oval at the Kewaunee County Fairgrounds Sunday, June 6 with racing starting at 5 p.m.
141 SPEEDWAY NOTEBOOK – 141 Speedway in Francis Creek will host a Dirt Doubleheader weekend of racing this holiday weekend. On Saturday the track will host $1,000-to-win for IMCA stock cars. Sunday the powerful 850-horsepower, winged outlaw IRA sprinters will invade the high-banked, quarter-mile clay oval. Joining the sprinters on the card Sunday will be the wingless sprints and legends. Racing gets underway at 6 p.m. both nights.