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LaCrosse Reigns At Thunderhill
April 28, 2007; Sturgeon Bay WI. - After a stellar 2006 season, Benji LaCrosse
is missing one thing from his championship resume - a title at the Potawatomi
Thunderhill Raceway.
The defending IMCA Modified National champion took a step on the way to
remedying that situation by topping the season opening feature at the third
mile clay oval Saturday night.
Joining LaCrosse in victory lane were Charlie Kroll in the IMCA Stock Cars,
Brandon Peterson in the IMCA Hobby Stocks, Aaron Thornton in the Street
Stocks, Ryan Eickert in the Thunderbombs and Shawn Matuszak in the 4 cylinder
class.
The modified headliner proved to be a bit of a rugged affair with five caution
periods scattered through the first half of the event. The first four
laps produced three yellows alone, with Dan Ratajczak pacing the field.
Opening night line-ups are decided by the luck of the draw. LaCrosse
started in the second row just behind Ratajczak, putting him in contention
from the outset.
Finding little success on the inside lane early, LaCrosse quickly swung to the
outside on a lap four restart. Gaining the outside advantage, he powered
around Ratajczak into the lead to stay on lap seven. Aiding the victor's
cause was a tight battle for second.
Todd Dart, Jay Matthias, James Tebon, Sean Jerovetz, Shawn Kilgore and Jeremy
Jacobs were all in contention at one time or another. Dart was able to
finally take control of the runner-up spot coming out of the final restart,
but was unable to catch LaCrosse. Dart, Matthias, Tebon and Jerovetz
registered top five finishes. Scott Boyea recovered from an early
pitstop to race from the back of the pack to sixth.
Kroll had a good starting spot in the IMCA Stock Feature, an advantage he
parlayed into a dominating run.
He raced to the outside of Dave Bouche and Jeff Vlies on the fourth lap, then
pulled away to a comfortable margin. Bouche tried to hold second, under
constant pressure from Shawn Havel and Matt Junio. Havel took the spot
with four laps left, but had no hope of running down Kroll.
Third place was settled by a matter of inches as Bouche held off Junio at the
line. Pat Davister topped Vlies in a battle for fifth.
Peterson's sure victory turned into the win that almost wasn't in the closing
stages of the IMCA Hobby Stock feature. He used his front row starting
spot to pull away to what appeared to be a safe margin.
But behind him, defending champ Keith Kickbusch had other ideas.
Kickbusch took second from Ed Anschutz on the seventh lap, and steadily closed
the gap on Peterson.
He caught him on the last lap, with time for one shot at a pass. On the
final corner, Peterson slipped high, with Kickbusch diving to the
inside. Now it was a drag race to the finish, with Peterson hanging on
by less than a car length.
Anschutz held third, followed by Dave DeGrave, Jared VanLanen and Marcus Moede
in the top six.
Call it a high speed chess match - the Street Stock feature saw the division's
probable title contenders duke it out from the drop of the green. Jeremy
Wiitala and Scott Reinhardt joined Thornton up front, passing the lead baton
back and forth until the 10th lap when Thornton took over for good.
The eventual pass for the lead came after a thrilling sequence - featuring
Reinhardt running the low line, Wiitala up high and Thornton trying to weave
his way through the middle.
At the line, it was Thornton, Reinhardt then Wiitala in close order, followed
by John Sternard, James Iverson and Dan Davister.
In the Thunderbombs, a spirted three-way battle for the lead between Eickert,
Brian Belleau and Robby Waechter turned into a twosome when Waechter bounced
off the second turn concrete on the seventh lap.
One circuit later, Eickert shot to the inside to pass Belleau and race away to
the win.
Matuszak passed Kip Burlo on the fourth lap, then was forced to hold him off
after a late caution to record his first career Thunderhill 4 cylinder feature
victory.
Saturday night, the Appliance Center will host the show, with spectator gates
opening at 4:30 and racing at 6:00. Potawatomi Thunderhill Raceway is
located at the John Miles Fair Park in Sturgeon Bay. For more
information, visit the track's website at www.racethunderhill.com.
IMCA MODIFIED 20 LAP FEATURE - Benji LaCrosse, Luxemburg; Todd
Dart, Algoma; Jay Matthias, Green Bay; James Tebon, Algoma;
Sean Jerovetz, Little Suamico; Scott Boyea, Abrams
Heat 1 - Shawn Kilgore, New Franken; Jerovetz
Heat 2 - LaCrosse; Boyea
Heat 3 - Jeremy Jacobs, Luxemburg; Tom Stark, Egg Harbor
IMCA STOCK CAR 18 LAP FEATURE - Charlie Kroll, Forestville; Shawn
Havel, Algoma; Dave Bouche, Algoma; Matt Junio, Casco; Pat
Davister, Luxemburg; Jeff Vlies, Kewaunee
Semi-feature - Cory Cochart, Kewaunee; Don Aregoni, Sturgeon Bay;
Troy Muench, Sturgeon Bay; Scott Pagels, Egg Harbor
Heat 1 - Davister; Havel
Heat 2 - Bouche, Kroll
Heat 3 - Vlies; Von Eytcheson, Forestville
Heat 4 - Bernie Reinhardt, Sturgeon Bay; Tony Schlei, Zion, IL
STREET STOCK 15 LAP FEATURE - Aaron Thornton, Maplewood; Scott
Reinhardt, Baileys Harbor; Jeremy Wiitala, Green Bay; John
Sternard, Sturgeon Bay; James Iverson, Green Bay; Dan Davister,
Sugarbush
Heat 1 - Thornton; Sternard
Heat 2 - Wiitala; Reinhardt
IMCA HOBBY STOCK 15 LAP FEATURE - Brandon Peterson, Sturgeon Bay;
Keith Kickbusch, Kewaunee; Ed Anschutz, Algoma; Dave DeGrave,
Luxemburg; Jared VanLanen, Green Bay; Marcus Moede, Casco
Heat 1 - DeGrave; Scott Boulanger, Luxemburg
Heat 2 - Jeff Lautenbach, Sturgeon Bay; Moede
4 CYLINDER 15 LAP FEATURE - Shawn Matuszak,
Pulaski; Kip Burlo, Sturgeon Bay; Jamie Miller, Suamico; Ian
Lassanske, Oconto; Tony Everard, Green Bay; Ben Daoust, Seymour
Heat 1 - Everard; Lassanske
Heat 2 - Matuszak; Jason Cornelius, Oneida
Heat 3 - Burlo; Miller
THUNDERBOMB 10 LAP FEATURE - Ryan Eickert, Brillion; Brian Belleau,
Algoma; Dan Merkle, Egg Harbor; Jesse Kroll, Forestville;
Amber Weidner, East Maplewood; Robby Waechter, Ellisville
Heat - Eickert; Merkle
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