Thunderhill Raceway Race Reports |

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Jerovetz Sweeps to Last Lap Win at Thunderhill
By Tom Wagner |
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July 1, 2006; Sturgeon Bay, WI. -
Sean Jerovetz went from third to first on the final corner to
win a chaotic IMCA Modified headliner Saturday night at the
Potawatomi Thunderhill Raceway in Sturgeon Bay.
The win was Jerovetz's first of the season, a trend followed
by most divisions on the night. Scott Pagels in the IMCA
Stock Cars, Tony Everard in the 4 Cylinders and Ryan Eickert
in the Bombers all captured their first wins of 2006.
Breaking the trend were Aaron Thornton in the Street Stocks,
who won for the fifth time, and Ed Anschutz, now a
three-time winner in the IMCA Hobby Stock point races.
The dramatic finish to the Modified feature capped a rugged
race that saw no less than seven cautions. Chris Derenne led
early, winning a three-wide battle for the lead at the
initial drop of the green. Benji LaCrosse entered the night
as the point leader, and looked to be on the way to
extending that lead as he slipped into second on a lap four
restart.
LaCrosse would take command just one lap later, with Jared
Siefert following. Yellow flags kept popping up, with the
lead duo consistently taking command when racing resumed.
The worst incident happened at lap 10 as five cars, Derenne,
Shawn Kilgore, Randy LeMieux, Art Siefert and Randie Back,
ended up slammed together in the first turn. Only Kilgore
was done for the night.
After a late caution, Jared Siefert took up the charge to
the inside of LaCrosse. The two were side by side at times,
with Jerovetz following in their wake. LaCrosse took the
white flag as the leader, and held the spot until they came
to final corner. It was then that Jerovetz went for the win.
He popped to the extreme outside through three and four. It
was nearly three-wide as they headed out of the turn toward
the flagstand.
As Jerovetz pulled ahead out of four, it turned into mayhem
behind him as LaCrosse was suddenly sideways in front of the
charging pack. Cars scattered in all directions as the
checkers flew.
When the dust settled, it was Jerovetz clutching the trophy
with Siefert second. Dan Ratajczak had run in the top four
most of the way, and picked up third. Scott Boyea started in
the last row and came through the carnage for fourth. Jay
Matthias and Todd Dart were scored next in line, both
rallying from the back after pit lane visits through the
course of the event.
Drama at the front of the pack came a little earlier in the
contest for the IMCA Stock Cars. Pagels took the lead early,
only to lose it to Rick Mahlberg at lap seven. Pagels kept
the pressure on, with Mike Wietor, B.J. Soquet and Charlie
Kroll tight behind him. When Mahlberg went for a slide in
the third turn on lap 12, Pagels found himself back on top
for good.
While he's won in other divisions, the victory was his first
in an IMCA sanctioned class. Pat Davister made a late charge
to second, with Soquet, Kroll, Wieter and Jeff Vlies
rounding out the top six.
The Street Stocks turned in another sensational, but less
controversial finish. John Sternard took control from Thom
Terrien on the second lap. Sternard settled in on the bottom
line, and looked to be headed to a win until a late caution
set up an unusual twist of fate.
Thornton was running the low line as well, with Scott
Reinhardt to the outside. The lap before the yellow,
Reinhardt had edged into second, meaning Reinhardt would be
inside and Thornton outside for the restart. Taken out of
his preferred line, Thornton was forced to use the outside,
which turned out to be his ticket to the win as he passed
Sternard on the final lap.
Without the caution, Thornton stays low and Sternard
possibly wins. Instead, he settled for second with Reinhardt
third. Jeremy Wiitala, Chilton regular Ryan Brandes and Von
Eytcheson all carded top six runs.
A two car duel for the IMCA Hobby Stock win turned into a
solo affair thanks to Jeff Lautenbach's right tire.
Lautenbach had motored to the outside of Duane Mertens on
the second lap, with Anschutz following three laps later.
The two broke free, but Anschutz, the state point leader,
found that taking the lead would be no easy task.
He could get no closer than two car-lengths until the 8th
lap when Lautenbach swerved high out of the racing groove
with a flat right rear. From there, it was Anschutz in a
cake walk. He snapped Keith Kickbusch's two-week win streak
in the process. Kickbusch attained second late in the
contest and couldn't catch the leader, but his runner-up
finish locked the two in a tie for the division point lead.
Everard held off constant pressure from Kenny Malcore, Tom
Zastrow and Jeff Dubois en route to the 4 Cylinder win. Kip
Burlo joined the lead four-some late as the leaders crossed
the line nose to tail.
Eickert's Bomber win came at the expense of Mike Jost, who
he passed with just three laps to go.
Saturday night, NAPA Auto Parts will sponsor the show. The
Raceway's six divisions will be in action along with the
annual Powder Puff races. The night will be capped off with
fireworks. Racing starts each week at 6:00 PM. For more
information, visit the track's website at
www.racethunderhill.com.
Potawatomi Thunderhill Raceway Results 7/1/2006
IMCA Modified 20 Lap Feature
Sean Jerovetz, Little Suamico - Jared Siefert, Green Bay -
Dan Ratajczak, Frog Station - Scott Boyea, Abrams - Jay
Matthias, DePere - Todd Dart, Algoma
Semi-Feature
Randy LeMieux, Jr, Sturgeon Bay - James Tebon, Algoma - Art
Siefert, Green Bay - Boyea
Heat 1
Tony Herbst, Sturgeon Bay - Benji LaCrosse, Luxemburg
Heat 2
Jerovetz - Dave Zeitler, Luxemburg
Heat 3
Chris Derenne, Luxemburg - Bill LeMieux, Sturgeon Bay
IMCA Stock Car 18 Lap Feature
Scott Pagels, Egg Harbor - Pat Davister, Luxemburg - B.J.
Soquet, Luxemburg - Charlie Kroll, Forestville - Mike Wietor,
Green Bay - Jeff Vlies, Kewaunee
Semi-Feature
Todd Polster, Baileys Harbor - Dave Davister, Luxemburg -
Craig Paque, Algoma - Dave Bouche, Algoma
Heat 1
Rick Mahlberg, Denmark - Matt Junio, Casco
Heat 2
Shawn Havel, Brussels - Vlies
Heat 3
Wietor - Kroll
Street Stock 15 Lap Feature
Aaron Thornton, Maplewood - John Sternard, Green Bay - Scott
Reinhardt, Baileys Harbor - Jeremy Wiitala, Green Bay - Ryan
Brandes, Brillion - Von Eytcheson, Forestville
Heat 1
Eytcheson - Jesse Behnke, Brillion
Heat 2
Thornton - Brandes
IMCA Hobby Stock 15 Lap Feature
Ed Anschutz, Algoma - Keith Kickbusch, Kewaunee - Duane
Mertens, Luxemburg - Marcus Moede, Casco - Brandon Peterson,
Sturgeon Bay - Roger LaViolette, Forestville
Heat
Mertens - Anschutz
4 Cylinder 12 Lap Feature
Tony Everard, Green Bay - Ken Malcore, Milwaukee - Jeremy
DuBois, Sturgeon Bay - Tom Zastrow, Sturgeon Bay - Kip Burlo,
Sturgeon Bay - Nick Everard, Green Bay
Heat
Zastrow - Tony Everard
Bomber Feature
Ryan Eickert, Brillion - Rob Waechter, Jr, Ellisville - Dan
Merkle, Egg Harbor - Mike Jost, Sturgeon Bay - Brian
Belleau, Algoma
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