Monday, April 10th, 2006, Sturgeon Bay, WI - With the Forest County Potowatomi Thunderhill opener slated for April 29th, drivers and crews are preparing for the upcoming season. Some drivers are going for the repeat, while others are taking the venture into the next class.

Todd Dart will be sticking around to try and capture his unprecedented 6th title in the Tri-County Heating IMCA Modifieds. He will have a hand full of contenders for his title including, Sean Jerovetz, Jared Siefert, and Benji Lacrosse. “I think that Jay Matthias, Benji Lacrosse, Jeremy Jacobs, and Sean Jerovetz will be the top competition in the Mods; on any given night, they are a threat to win. I think that other drivers want to beat you even more when you have won numerous track championships.” Felix Dart, when asked who the top drivers in the division would be. The pre-season favorite for the rookie of the year title has to be 2-time IMCA Stockcar champ Shawn Kilgore.

With Kilgore going to the Modifieds; the Budweiser IMCA Stockcar division is wide open. Craig Paque is a three-time champion of the class, but has a lot of competition for the upcoming season. Matt Junio looks to improve on his second place finish in 2005. The rookie of the year should be an exciting one to watch. The rookies include, 2005 Luxemburg Hobby Stock champion Tony Schlei, and 2005 Thunderhill Street Stock champion Mike Pierrard; other rookies in the class are Todd Polster and Tyler Smith. When asked about the tough competition in the rookie class, Tony Schlei responded, “The rookie class this year is going to be exceptionally tough. I just hope to be competitive this year. Northeast Wisconsin has some of the greatest IMCA stockcar drivers in the nation.”

Eddie Anschutz will be gunning for his third Olson Fabrication IMCA Hobby Stock championship at Thunderhill. Anschutz will not go uncontested, as he will have 2-time Luxemburg Hobby Stock champ Keith Kickbusch to deal with. Tom Brumlic and Dave DeGrave are also looking to steal the crown from Anschutz. “I think Keith Kickbusch will be the guy to have the best shot at me. He really improved his equipment. He spent time and money on his car, and I think he could be the guy to beat.”

Von Eytcheson will be looking to capture his second consecutive title in the D.C. Custom Drilling and Blasting Street Stocks. Aaron Thornton will be coming back to try and capture his second street stock championship. Also trying to shoot down Eytcheson’s repeat are Scott Reinhardt and Scott Iverson.

The S&R Truck 4-cylinder division will be wide open this year, with Tyler Smith going to the IMCA Stockcar division. The leading candidates for the crown are Jeremy Dubois, Kip Burlo, Tom Zastrow and Kenny Malcore. Malcore is already a two-time champion in the class.

The Bombers will be running a full year in the 2006 season. Dan Merkle will be returning with a new car. Merkle was the 2005 champion. Contenders to the title will be Jason Jandrin and Adam Nowak.

The Forest County Potowatomi Thunderhill is located at the John Miles Fair Park in Sturgeon Bay. For more information call (920)743-7052. The website is www.racethunderhill.com