August 7, 2004; Sturgeon Bay, WI. - The threat of possible rain showers in the area could not stop the race events at Thunderhill on Saturday night. Mild weather added to perfect track conditions equalled another successful race night at Thunderhill Raceway on Saturday night.  

In the Budweiser IMCA Modifieds, Luxemburg’s Jay Matthias earned his second feature victory of the year. Matt Junio, Casco, won his second T Simon Jewelers IMCA Stock Car feature of 2004. May’s Sports Center IMCA Hobby Stock Tom Brumlic, Denmark, scored his fifth feature win. Rookie Todd Polster, Baileys Harbor, won his second feature and Sport Four Chad Williams of Brussels came away with his sixth feature victory. Bill Boettcher was the night’s sponsor, giving fans the opportunity to see their favorite drivers with out-of-the-car driver introductions.

In the Budweiser IMCA Modified main event, Tony Herbst of Sturgeon Bay paced the early laps from his front row starting spot. Local favorite Darrell Massart of Brussels quickly grabbed the runner-up spot away from Sturgeon Bay’s Billy LeMieux and Luxemburg’s Scott Derenne. Massart put his sights on Herbst in the lead position, but could not quite get position on the young driver. An early race restart after the first caution bunched the field and it was Luxemburg’s Jay Matthias that shot his way past race leaders Herbst and Massart. Matthias had the outside groove mastered and took his #8 mod from his fourth-row start to the front in only six laps.

Matthias survived three more cautions and clenched the win over the challenges of points leader Jeremy Jacobs of Algoma and Benji LaCrosse of Luxemburg. At the line, it would be LaCrosse with the runner-up spot followed by Dan
Ratajczak of Frog Station. Jacobs and Sean Jerovetz, Suamico, rounded out the top-five finishers. Earlier heat winners included Scott Derenne, Massart, and Billy LeMieux.

Chris Hendricks of Green Bay paced the field of T Simon Jewelers IMCA Stock Cars in the early going of the feature event, but it was Casco’s Matt Junio that prevailed in the 18-lap event. Junio had to shoot the gap for a three-wide pass between front runners Don Aregoni of Sturgeon Bay and Jamie Suchocki of Kewaunee to get to the front. Junio was able to take the lead from second year driver Hendricks on the fifth circuit.

Junio’s efforts paid off as he held off last year’s champion Shawn Kilgore of Kewaunee and went on for a close win, his second of the year. Kilgore was forced to settle for second best, with veteran Craig Paque, Algoma, right in their tracks. Troy Muench of Green Bay and Jeff “Pepe” Vlies, Brussels finished fourth and fifth on the night. Heat winners in the Stock class included Hendricks, earning his first career win, along with Kilgore and Dave Bouche of Algoma.

The May’s Sports Center IMCA Hobby Stock feature event appeared to be “snake bit” as several cautions and realignments delayed a respectable start for the young drivers. When the green flew, it was earlier heat race winner Jeff Lautenbach of Sturgeon Bay that took the initial lead. Last year’s points champ Joe Hegnet, Sturgeon Bay, and Algoma’s Evan Madden snatched the race lead and set the gait for mid-race. Madden eventually caught Hegnet, passing him with only seven laps to go using the outside groove. But it was the hotshoe racer Tom Brumlic, of Denmark that advanced to victory ahead of Madden with three laps remaining. Madden scored the runner-up spot with Marcus Moede filling out
the top three spots. Points leader Ed Anschutz and Hegnet rounded out the top five. Lautenbach and a sweeping Brumlic won their respective heat events.

AmericInn Street Stock feature winner, rookie driver Todd Polster, Baileys Harbor, claimed his second feature win of the season on Saturday night. Polster, starting from the pole, survived several early race cautions, one of them involving a dozen cars on the fast clay oval. The “big one” happened on the third lap when fast traffic was unable to check up for a slower driver up front. Luckily, no one was injured but three drivers were sidelined. Those put out of the event included Sturgeon Bay drivers James Iverson, John Sternard and Dennis Weidner. Divisional veteran Von Eytcheson, Forestville, battled hard against rookie Kevin Damrow of Manitowoc through much of the race for the number two spot, eventually finishing second and third at the checkers. Taking fourth and fifth were Aaron Thornton, Maplewood, and Pulaski’s Darren Otto. Earlier heat winners were Michael King Jr., Little Chute, Polster, and Weidner.

In the Sport 4 division, feature winner Chad Williams, Brussels, raced a perfect outside groove putting his car three-wide and walked away with his sixth feature win of the season. Milwaukee’s Ken Malcore finished second, followed by Green Bay’s Butch Beyers. Malcore took home his fourth heat win and is the defending points champions from 2003.

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. The card will also include two of the raceway's regular divisions, IMCA-style Modifieds and Stock Cars, with increased winner's purses for both classes. It'll be possible for the Late Model overall winner to pocket $2,500 in feature earnings, while the Modifieds will race for $700 to win and the Stock Cars $350. Feature qualifying Late Models will compete in not one, but two 25 lap main events, with $1,000 going to the winner of each. A clean sweep of both headliners will be worth an additional $500 bonus, bringing the winner's share to a possible $2,500 total

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

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.

This week’s Thursday night event is sponsored by Kelsey’s Racing!

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 - Jay Matthias, Luxemburg; Benji LaCrosse, Luxemburg; Dan Ratajczak, Frog Station; Jeremy Jacobs, Algoma; Sean Jerovetz, Suamico; Darrell Massart, Brussels; Chris Derenne, Luxemburg; Randy LeMieux Jr., Sturgeon Bay; George Henkel, Sturgeon Bay; Kevin Sternard, Sturgeon Bay.
10 lap heats - 1)Scott Derenne, Luxemburg; Ratajczak; 2)Massart; Chris Derenne; 3)Billy LeMieux, Sturgeon Bay; Jarred Siefert, Green Bay.

18 lap T Simon Jewelers IMCA Stock Car feature - Matt Junio, Casco; Shawn Kilgore, Kewaunee; Craig Paque, Algoma; Troy Muench - R, Green Bay; Jeff Vlies, Brussels; Charlie Kroll, Algoma; Chris Hendricks, Green Bay; Mark Derenne, Kewaunee; Rick Mahlberg, Denmark; Corey Haen, Sturgeon Bay.
10 lap heats - 1)Hendricks; Mahlberg; 2) Kilgore; Junio; 3)Dave Bouche, Algoma; Vlies.

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

15 lap AmericInn Street Stock feature - Todd Polster - R, Baileys Harbor; Von Eytcheson, Forestville;
Kevin Damrow - R, Manitowoc; Aaron Thornton, Maplewood; Darren Otto, Pulaski; Jeremy Wiitala, Green Bay; Scott Reinhardt, Sturgeon Bay; Mike King Jr. - R, Little Chute; James Anderson, Sturgeon Bay; Tim Lautenbach - R, Sturgeon Bay.
10 lap heats 1) King; Wiitala; 2)Polster; Thornton; 3)Dennis Weidner, Sturgeon Bay; Eytcheson.

10 lap Sport Four feature - Chad Williams, Brussels; Ken Malcore, Algoma; Butch Beyers - R, Green Bay; James VanDenBogart - R, Green Bay; Jon Beilfuss Jr. - R, Sturgeon Bay; Charlie Gross - R, Gleason.
8 lap heat - Malcore; Williams.