2000 Co-Champ Randie Back Showed He Is Really Back!
By Dan Lewis

May 15, 2004; Sturgeon Bay, WI. -   Saturday night’s race event at Thunderhill Raceway came pretty close to being a washout with the wet track conditions early today and poor drying conditions. But the race fans came out in good numbers to watch over 100 cars compete and those same race fans were treated to some fine racing tonight and were on their way home by 9:30 pm.

In the Budweiser IMCA Modifieds, Green Bay’s Randie Back was back in
championship form, taking the feature win over Mike Cole and Jay Matthias. Cole and Matthias battled hard and went wheel-to-wheel several times, allowing Back to keep his well earned lead. At the finish, it was Back, followed by Cole and Matthias. Benji LaCrosse continues on through the 2004 season with a slim points lead with a fourth place feature finish while Dan Ratajczak rounded out the top-five.

Shawn Kilgore, Kewaunee, took home first place in the T Simon Jewelers IMCA Stock Car feature event. Jeff Vlies and Corey Haen took up valuable track time, and had to fight through traffic to get up to second and third place. Kilgore grabbed such a lead, that no one could catch him. Vlies and Haen were able to hold on to second and third place while Ryan LeMieux and Dave Bouche battled it out for fourth and fifth.

Tom Brumlic won the May’s Sports Center IMCA Hobby Stock feature, followed by Evan Madden and Eddie Anschutz.  Wayne Moore and Dave DeGrave rounded out the top five.   At the end of the feature event, four of the top seven finishing drivers were disqualified due to the same rule infraction.  About mid-week, IMCA’s Brett Root ruled that the infractions were NOT of the type to allow for disqualification, but each of the drivers would receive a warning by IMCA.  With this ruling from IMCA, the four drivers will receive all earned points for the night.   

The AmericInn Street Stock feature event was won by Brian Ambrosius of Pulaski. Ambrosius fought hard for the lead several times with Mike Pierrard. The lead changed several times before Ambrosius finally set the finish ahead of Pierrard. Kevin Damrow finished a patient third with Scott Reinhardt and Jeremy Wiitala taking fourth and fifth.

James Vandenboogart took home the Sport 4 feature victory after taking the lead away from the defending track champion Ken Malcore. Malcore was able to take the heat win earlier in the evening.

IMCA Modified, IMCA Stock Car, IMCA Hobby Stock, 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 the Potawatomi Fan Appreciation Night with special $5.00 ADMISSIONS!

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 - Randie Back, Green Bay; Mike Cole, Baileys Harbor; Jay Matthias, DePere; Benji LaCrosse, Luxemburg; Dan Ratajczak, Frog Station; Jared Siefert, Green Bay; Jerry Wenzel, Two Rivers; R.M. Van Pay, Green Bay; Randy LeMieux Jr., Sturgeon Bay; Jeremy Jacobs, Algoma.

12 lap semi-feature - Todd Dart, Algoma; Jeremy Jacobs, Algoma; Bill LeMieux, Sturgeon Bay.

10 lap heats 1) Back; Van Pay; 2) Ratajczak; Darrell Massart, Brussels; 3) Matthias; Cole.

20 lap T Simon Jewlers IMCA Stock Car feature - Shawn Kilgore, Kewaunee; Jeff Vlies, Brussels; Corey Haen; Ryan LeMieux, Sturgeon Bay; Dave Bouche, Algoma; B.J. Soquet, Green Bay; Mike Wietor, Green Bay; Craig Paque, Algoma; Troy Muench, Green Bay; Charlie Kroll, Algoma.

12 lap semi-feature - Gary Reinhardt, Fish Creek; Dave Davister, Luxemburg; Jamie Suchocki, Kewaunee..

10 lap heats 1) Kilgore; Tracy Koontz, Brussels; 2) Haen; Wietor; 3) Vlies; Dave Bouche.

15 lap May’s Sports Center May's Sports Center IMCA Hobby Stock feature - Tom Brumlic, Evan Madden, Algoma; Ed Anschutz, Algoma; Wayne Moore, Sturgeon Bay; Dave DeGrave; Maynard Hegnet, Sturgeon Bay; Keith Kickbusch, Kewaunee; Dave Lane, Green Bay; Marcus Moede, Casco; Brandon Peterson, Sturgeon Bay.
 
10 lap heats 1) Brumlic; Moore; 2) Madden; Anschutz.

15 lap AmericInn Street Stock feature - Brian Ambrosius, Pulaski; Mike Pierrard, Green Bay; Kevin Damrow, Manitowoc; Scott Reinhardt, Baileys Harbor; Jeremy Wiitala, Green Bay; Dennis Weidner, Sturgeon Bay; James Iverson; Shawn VanOoyen, Appleton; Von Eytcheson, Forestville; Todd Wagner, Brussels.

10 lap semi-feature - Bill Kelsey; Thom Terrien, Green Bay; Don Polcen, Sturgeon Bay.

10 lap heats 1) Mike King Jr., Appleton; Wiitala; 2) James Iverson; Aaron Thornton, Sturgeon Bay; 3) Pierrard; Reinhardt.

10 lap Sport Four feature - James Vandenboogart; Ken Malcore, Algoma; Jon Beilfuss Jr.; Don Mahlberg, Green Bay; Adam Rex; Charlie Gross.

8 lap heat 1) Vandenboogart; Malcore.