July 24, 2004; Sturgeon Bay, WI. -   Picture perfect weather and perfect track conditions added up to another successful race night at Thunderhill Raceway on Saturday night.  In the Budweiser IMCA Modifieds, the fast, multi-lane
track conditions led to some great side-by-side action as Algoma’s Jeremy Jacobs squeezed by with his second feature win of the season. 

Jeff “Pepe” Vlies, Brussels, won his first T Simon Jewelers IMCA Stock Car feature of the year.  May’s Sports Center IMCA Hobby Stock Joe Hegnet, Sturgeon Bay, took home his first main event win in only his sixth night out this year.  AmericInn Street Stock Aaron Thornton, Maplewood, won his fourth feature of the year and Sport Four Ken Malcore came away with his fifth feature victory.  STAR 97.7 FM was the night’s sponsor, helping to provide race fans with pre-race entertainment.

In the Budweiser IMCA Modifieds, outside pole start Tony Herbst, Sturgeon Bay, three-wheeled his mod to the race lead ahead of Scott Boyea of Abrams.   Rookie driver James Tebon, Algoma, grabbed the inside groove, blowing past Herbst on lap five of the 18-lap event.  Points leader Jeremy Jacobs shadowed Tebon
along with Sturgeon Bay’s Kevin Sternard.  The three new race leaders circled the track without problems through much of mid-race.  Caution flew for a three car accident taking Randy LeMieux and Jay Matthias out of contention.  Todd
Dart was also involved but was able to restart from the rear of the field.

A strong showing by Sternard up front allowed him to challenge Jacobs in the closing laps as both drivers appeared to see who was going to go after Tebon for the win.  With only two laps to go, Tebon skimmed a tire on the inside of
the track, breaking his left front suspension.  Tebon held on to the bottom of the track for just one more circuit as Jacobs was there to take advantage of the miscue.   On the last lap, Tebon’s car went high out of the racing groove, taking the next place car of Kevin Sternard with him.

At the checkers, it was Jacobs taking the much needed win.  Baileys Harbor’s Mike Cole climbed to second with Sean Jerovetz laying claim to third.  Doug Maurer finished fourth and Scott “Scooter” Boyea took fifth.  Heat winners were
Scott Derenne, along with Darrell Massart and Billy LeMieux.  Algoma’s Todd Dart won the semi-feature.

T Simon Jewelers IMCA Stock Car driver Jeff”Pepe” Vlies looked like he was shot out of a cannon in Saturday night’s feature event, taking his car to the bottom in a hair raising 3-wide pass for the lead on the opening lap.  Dave Bouche and Charlie Kroll battled for second from the start as the three set the pace early in the event.   Last week’s points leader Troy Muench of Green Bay came up through the ranks to go after the fourth place car of Craig Paque, but fell victim to a track barrier tire.   Muench spun to the inside and was out for the night.  Bouche and Kroll could not catch the faster Vlies and had to settle for second and third behind Vlies.  It was Vlies’ first feature win of 2004 at Thunderhill.  Paque held on for a fourth place finish just ahead of Bernie Reinhardt.  Heat winners for the night included Larry Ingebretsen, B.J.Soquet
and Troy Muench.  Tony Bouche won the semi-feature.

In the May’s Sports Center IMCA Hobby Stock feature event, 2003 track champion Joe Hegnet, Sturgeon Bay, came off his pole position and blew away the competition, leading every lap of the 15-lap event. Algoma’s Evan Madden made his way up to second place early on and within two laps, fell victim to points leader Ed Anschutz, also from Algoma.   Anschutz passed Madden on lap six, but it was too late to catch the fleeing Hegnet.   Hegnet took the win, his first of
the season.  Anschutz was second followed by Madden.  Keith Kickbusch and Marcus Moede rounded out the top five.  Hegnet and Dave Lane won their respective heat events.

AmericInn Street Stock feature winner Aaron Thornton, Maplewood, survived several cautions and subsequent restarts and eventually took his street stock to his fourth feature win on Saturday night.  It was a hard fought battle from the sixth row for Thornton.   Early race leader John Sternard, Sturgeon Bay, looked good at the start but was passed by rookie Kevin Damrow of Manitowoc after a lap three restart.  Damrow and Sternard looked to be the pair to beat with point leaders Thornton and Von Eytcheson, Forestville right on their back bumpers.  A late race restart with Damrow on the point was just too much for the rookie as he was challenged by Thornton and Von Eytcheson at the same time.  On
the last lap, Damrow spun from his third place spot and scattered the field taking the checkers.  Thornton took home the win, followed by Jeremy Wiitala, Scott Reinhardt, Eytcheson and Mike Pierrard.  Earlier heat winners were Thom Terrien, Todd Polster and Wiitala.

In the Sport 4 division, feature winner Ken Malcore, Milwaukee, kept his points chase alive with a win over Chad Williams, Brussels, and Butch Beyers of Green Bay.   Malcore is the defending track champion in the Sport 4 division. 
Williams took home the heat win.

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. 

Saturday night, August 14th will be a night off for the local drivers during the Door County Fair.  During Door County Fair Week, one of two special nights of racing has been slated for Wednesday night, August 11th when the Forest
County Potawatomi-sponsored 2nd Annual Dirt Late Model ShootOut opens the Door County Fair.  Late Models, IMCA Mods and IMCA Stocks will be featured. 

A second night of racing will be on tap on Thursday, August 12, when all five exciting divisions compete under the lights for the Door County Fair crowd.  Points will be awarded for the Thursday night event.

Next week’s Saturday night event is sponsored by Coldwell Banker/Door County Horizon!

   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 - Jeremy Jacobs, Algoma; Mike Cole,
Baileys Harbor; Sean Jerovetz, Suamico; Doug Maurer, DePere; Scott Boyea,
Abrams; Todd Dart, Algoma; Jared Siefert, Green Bay; Tim VanDeHei - R, Green Bay;
Chris Derenne, Luxemburg; Billy LeMieux, Sturgeon Bay.
 10 lap semi-feature - Dart; Jerovetz, Siefert.
 10 lap heats 1)Scott Derenne, Luxemburg; Dean Maurer, DePere; 2)Darrell
Massart, Brussels; Jacobs; 3)Billy LeMieux; James Tebon, Algoma.

 18 lap T Simon Jewelers IMCA Stock Car feature - Jeff Vlies, Brussels; Dave Bouche, Algoma; Charlie Kroll, Algoma; Craig Paque, Algoma; Bernie Reinhardt, Sturgeon Bay; Larry Ingebretsen, Luxemburg; Matt Junio, Casco; B.J. Soquet, Green Bay; Ryan LeMieux - R, Sturgeon Bay; Shawn Havel - R, Brussels.
 10 lap semi-feature - Tony Bouche, Algoma; Corey Haen, Sturgeon Bay; Brett Wenzel, Two Rivers.
 10 lap heats - 1) Ingebretsen; Vlies; 2)Soquet; Junio; 3)Muench; Derenne.

 15 lap May’s Sports Center IMCA Hobby Stock feature - Joe Hegnet, Sturgeon Bay; Ed Anschutz, Algoma; Evan Madden, Algoma; Keith Kickbusch - R, Kewaunee; Marcus Moede, Casco; Dave Lane, Green Bay; Mark Mincheski, Denmark; Tom Brumlic - R, Denmark; Maynard Hegnet - R, Sturgeon Bay; Kevin Laughlin, Sturgeon Bay.
 10 lap heats 1) Hegnet; Roger LaViolette - R, Sturgeon Bay; 2) Lane; Jeff Lautenbach, Sturgeon Bay.

 15 lap AmericInn Street Stock feature - Aaron Thornton - R, Maplewood; Jeremy Wiitala, Green Bay; Scott Reinhardt, Sturgeon Bay; Von Eytcheson, Forestville; Mike Pierrard - R, Green Bay; Scott Iverson, Sturgeon Bay; Thom Terrien, Green Bay; James Iverson, Sturgeon Bay; Todd Wagner, Brussels; Kevin Damrow - R,
Manitowoc.
 10 lap heats 1)Terrien; Eytcheson; 2)Polster; Scott Iverson; 3)Wiitala; John Sternard, Sturgeon Bay.

 10 lap Sport Four feature - Ken Malcore, Algoma; Chad Williams, Brussels; Butch Beyers - R, Green Bay; Tim Jorgenson - R, Oneida; James VanDenBogart - R, Green Bay; Gene Sternard - R, New Franken.
 8 lap heat - Williams, Butch Beyers.