Dart Makes Feature Win A Sweet One In First 2004 Win At Thunderhill Raceway
Saturday, June 19, 2004
By Dan Lewis

(Thunderhill Raceway - Sturgeon Bay, WI)  Defending 2003 track champion, Todd Dart worked his way to the front of the Budweiser IMCA Modified feature event Saturday night at Thunderhill Raceway with surgical precision.  It was the first feature win of the season for the Algoma driver.  In the T Simon Jewelers IMCA Stock Car main event, Dave Bouche chalked up the win.  Denmark’s Tom Brumlic took home the May’s Sports Center IMCA Hobby Stock feature event checkers for a second consecutive race night.  Jeremy Wiitala won the AmericInn Street Stock feature and Ken Malcore won the Sport 4 main.

In the Budweiser IMCA Modifieds, rookie James Tebon led the opening circuit but fell victim to Green Bay’s Randie Back for the second go round.  Back held the charge for the next four laps including an early race restart.  On the sixth lap, Todd Dart grabbed the inside position and took the lead.  Dart had his hands full with second-year driver Benji LaCrosse on his rear bumper for most of the remainder of the race, but Dart held on for the win.  It was a sweet win for Dart on "Dairy Queen Night", one of his sponsors.  LaCrosse finished second with Jeremy Jacobs finishing third.  Dan Ratajczak and Back rounded out the top five.  Heat winners included Back, Tony Herbst and Tebon.

T Simon Jewelers IMCA Stock Car Dave Bouche, Algoma, took advantage of miscues by early feature race leaders Tony Bouche and Shawn Kilgore and went on to win the main event.  Bouche had to hold off challenges by Don Aregoni and Troy Muench to earn the win.  Muench was able to catch Bouche, but was unable to pass him in the closing laps.  Bouche took home the win with Muench taking the runner-up position.  Charlie Kroll finished third after an earlier heat win.  Mike Wietor and Jeff Vlies finished fourth and fifth in the main.  Other heat winners were Dave Bouche and Tony Bouche.  With the second place finish, Muench slipped into the points lead in his inaugural year in the Stock Car class.

In the May’s Sports Center IMCA Hobby Stock feature event, Carl Laughlin grabbed the early lead from his second row starting spot.  Laughlin looked strong in the early going but was overpowered by Evan Madden by lap six.  Madden had to car to beat, and it was Tom Brumlic that stepped up the plate and made the final pass for the lead with only five laps to go.  Brumlic won his second feature in as many nights with a win on Friday night at Luxemburg.  Madden and Laughlin held on to finish second and third in the feature.  Keith Kickbusch finished fourth and Brandon Peterson, fifth.  It was Peterson’s best finish of the season.  Heat winners included Wayne Moore and Kickbusch.

In the AmericInn Street Stock feature event, veteran Darren Otto of Pulaski took the early race lead over last week’s feature winner Todd Polster.  Otto and Polster battled it out for the lead for half of the race, but it was Green Bay’s Jeremy Wiitala pass of the race leaders on the eighth lap that proved to be the last lead change.  Wiitala won the event, followed by Otto and Polster. 

Points leader Von Eytcheson finished fourth and Aaron Thornton was fifth.  Thornton and Faron Bielke won the earlier heat races.

In the Sport 4 division, defending track champ Ken Malcore won his second feature race of the season over Brussels’ Chad Williams.  Points leader James VanDenBogart, of Green Bay continues to hold a slim lead in the points race with a third-place finish.  VanDenBogart won the heat race.

Budweiser IMCA Modified, T Simon Jewelers IMCA Stock Car, May’s Sports Center IMCA Hobby Stock, AmericInn Street Stock divisions along with the Sport-4 class compete weekly on Saturday nights, with competition getting underway at 6 p.m.

Next week’s event is sponsored by Sonny’s Pizzeria of Sturgeon Bay, hosting the Fan Photo Night at Thunderhill Raceway!

A special night of racing has been slated for Wednesday night, August 11 when the Forest County Potawatomi-sponsored 2nd Annual Dirt Late Model ShootOut opens the Door County Fair.   Thunderhill Raceway is located at John Miles Park, the site of the Door County Fairgrounds, just off Highways 42/57, and west on County Trunk T.   For more information call 920-743-7052 or 920-746-0387, the track phone number.   The track’s website is www.racethunderhill.com. 

RACE SUMMARY
20 lap Budweiser IMCA Modified Feature - Todd Dart, Algoma; Benji LaCrosse, Luxemburg; Jeremy Jacobs, Algoma; Dan Ratajczak, Frog Station; Randie Back, Green Bay; Mike Cole, Baileys Harbor; Tim VanDeHei, Green Bay; Jared Siefert, Green Bay; James Tebon, Algoma; Doug Maurer, DePere.

10 lap heats 1) Back; Sean Jerovetz, Suamico; 2) Tony Herbst, Sturgeon Bay; Ratajczak; 3) Tebon; Jacobs.

20 lap T Simon Jewelers IMCA Stock Car feature - Dave Bouche, Algoma; Troy Muench, Green Bay; Charlie Kroll, Algoma; Mike Wietor, Green Bay; Jeff Vlies, Brussels; Matt Junio, Casco; B.J. Soquet, Green Bay; Craig Paque, Algoma; Bernie Reinhardt, Sturgeon Bay; Don Aregoni, Sturgeon Bay.

10 lap heats 1) Kroll; Aregoni; 2) Dave Bouche; Muench; 3) Tony Bouche, Algoma; Shawn Kilgore, Kewaunee.

15 lap May’s Sports Center IMCA Hobby Stock feature - Tom Brumlic, Denmark; Evan Madden, Algoma; Carl Laughlin, Sturgeon Bay; Keith Kickbush, Kewaunee; Brandon Peterson, Sturgeon Bay; Ed Anschutz, Algoma; Wayne Moore, Sturgeon Bay; Marcus Moede, Casco; Mike Mueller, Green Bay; Roger LaViolette, Sturgeon Bay.

10 lap heats 1) Moore; Madden; 2) Kickbusch; Laughlin.

15 lap AmericInn Street Stock feature - Jeremy Wiitala, Green Bay; Darren Otto, Pulaski; Todd Polster, Baileys Harbor; Von Eytcheson, Forestville; Aaron Thornton, Maplewood; Scott Reinhardt, Sturgeon Bay; Kevin Damrow, Manitowoc; Brian Ambrosius, Pulaski; Mike Pierrard, Green Bay; Harley Simon, Seymour.

10 lap heats 1) Thornton; Thom Terrien, Green Bay. 2) Faron Beilke, Oneida; Otto. 

10 lap Sport Four feature - Ken Malcore, Algoma; Chad Williams, Brussels; James VanDenBogart, Green Bay; Ryan Johnson, Denmark; Tim Jorgenson.

8 lap heat 1) VanDenBogart; Williams.


2004 THUNDERHILL RACEWAY POINTS             
IMCA MODIFIEDS          Point
Rank/Car#   Name        Total
1   54  Benji   LaCrosse    203
2   73  Dan Ratajczak   195
3   66  Jared   Siefert 194
4   90  Jeremy  Jacobs  187
5   37  Sean    Jerovetz    184
6   3d  Todd    Dart    171
7   18  Randy   LeMieux Jr. 171
8    8m Jay Matthias    169
9   19  George  Henkel  168
10  22c Mike    Cole    161
11  38  Randie  Back    160
12  2   Darrell Massart 158
13   4T Tim VanDeHei    146
14  21  James   Tebon   143
15  22L Doug    Maurer  135
16  34  Jerry   Wenzel  132
17  43  Tony    Herbst  131
18  3L  Bill    LeMieux 129
19  10  Chris   Derenne 120
20  76  Kevin   Sternard    119
21  8J  Rick    Johnson 113
22  O7  Scott   Boyea   101
23  98  Scott   Derenne 94
24  OOrm    R.M.    VanPay  86
25  13  Jeff    Dubois  82
26  OOL Rick    LeMieux 76
27  84  Dave    Zeitler 75
28  36  Clyde   Skenadore   47
29  7   Rob Waechter    31
30  32  Lucas   Engels  22
31  34  Chad    Wilcox  16
32  67  Ronnie  Plog Jr.    13
33  11  Eugene  Gregorich   11
34  65  Dean    Maurer  11
35  82  Don Padgett 11

IMCA STOCK CARS         Point
Rank/Car#   Name        Total
1   52  Troy    Muench  195
2   11  Bernie  Reinhardt   193
3   17  Jeff    Vlies   192
4   8   Charlie Kroll   189
5   54  B.J.    Soquet  188
6   10J Matt    Junio   186
7    2p Craig   Paque   185
8   21  Dave    Bouche  185
9   76  Mike    Wietor  169
10   10K    Tracy   Koontz  166
11  90  Shawn   Kilgore 158
12  77  Chris   Hendricks   148
13  29  Corey   Haen    138
14  20R Gary    Reinhardt   119
15  97  Jamie   Suchocki    119
16  18L Ryan    LeMieux 118
17  73  Don Aregoni 117
18  25  Tony    Bouche  108
19  15g Kraig   Gretz   105
20  O5  Dave    Davister    103
21  12  Larry   Ingebretson 102
22  6   Rick    Mahlberg    96
23  71  Mark    Reinhard    89
24  4T  Shawn   Havel   70
25  19  Dave    Hoerning    69
26  2T  Travis  VanStraten  68
27  55  Shawn   Wagner  54
28  44  Pat Davister    46
29  53  Travis  Annoye  43
30  34  Brett   Wenzel  37
31  5f  Mike    Franzke 21
32  53  Brandon Mindak  14
33  7d  Mark    Derenne 11
34  53  Craig   Barrett 11

IMCA HOBBYSTOCKS    Point
Rank/Car#   Lame        Total
1   71  Ed  Anschutz    209
2   55  Wayne   Moore   202
3   47  Keith   Kickbush    199
4   2   Evan    Madden  197
5   9   Marcus  Moede   193
6   40d Dave    DeGrave 185
7   40  Tom Brumlic 181
8   10  Brandon Peterson    180
9   49  Roger   LaViolette  167
10  13  Keith   Peterson    165
11  56  Jeff    Lautenbach  165
12  88  Dave    Serrahn 159
13  18  Davin   Malvitz 156
14  53  Dwayne  Mertens 153
15  12  Carl    Laughlin    146
16  15  Maynard Hegnet  133
17  6   Dave    Lane    125
18  8   Derek   Moede   115
19  5   Joe Hegnet  79
20  75  Tony    Schlei  62
21  4   Mike    Mueller 32
22  20  Casey   Groessl 22
23  31  Jarred  VanLaanen   21

STREET STOCKS           Point
Rank/Car#   Name        Total
1   11v Von Eytcheson   219
2   51  Jeremy  Wiitala 213
3   95  Aaron   Thornton    207
4   25  Mike    Pierrard    196
5   12  Kevin   Damrow  193
6   11r Scott   Reinhardt   191
7   44  Dennis  Weidner 183
8   21  Mike    King Jr.    181
9   15  Brian   Ambrosius   177
10  73  James   Anderson    167
11  90b Faron   Beilke  162
12  76  John    Sternard    160
13  64  Don Polcen  159
14  50  James   Iverson 151
15  29  Scott   Iverson 149
16  75  Thom    Terrien 145
17  27  Darren  Otto    135
18  3p  Todd    Polster 125
19  23  Todd    Wagner  122
20  17s Harley  Simon   94
21  99  Kevin   Jandrin 82
22  65  Bill    Kelsey  80
23  3b  Mark    Brickner    72
24  14  Jamie   Berg    72
25  5   Joe Hegnet  52
26  38  Andrew  Schnable    43
27  52v Shawn   VanOoyen    33
28  98  Dave    Baenen  30
29  34  Jeremy  Schultz 27
30  24  Jerry   Denil   26
31  79  Joe Johnson 26
32  50  Steve   Grenier 24
33  90f Fred    Davister    21
34  33  Rick    Sternard    15
35  8   Dean    Bader   11
36  19  Chris   Konitzer    11
37  66  James   Brunette    11

SPORT 4s            Point
Rank/Car#   Name        Total
1   29J James   VanDenBogart    221
2   72  Jon Beilfuss Jr.    205
3   2   Ken Malcore 199
4   32  Chad    Williams    189
5   9   Charlie Gross   173
6   11  Adam    Rex 167
7   1   Don Mahlberg    105
8   8   Tyler   Smith   70
9   18j Tim Jorgenson   69
10  6   Ryan    Johnson 69
11  8   Gene    Sternard    64
12  115 D.J.    Jorgenson   64
13  16d Ben Daoust  38
14  10  Mike    Hanson  37
15  15  Todd    Smith   37
16  O1B Butch   Beyers  36
17  17  Greg    Banker  35
18  10  Tom Zastrow 34
19  15  Bob Skippon 32