McCormick Master of Modified Action at Door County Speedway!
LaCrosse Wins Thriller in Stocks!
By Dave Panske

June 29, 2002; Sturgeon Bay, WI. - Finally, after a season long battle with the weather, the start of the big July 4th holiday week brought a perfect night for racing at the Door County Speedway Saturday night. Three of the four feature winners were first timers this season.

Photo Highlights

Tim McCormick (#14) won a thrilling IMCA Mod feature Saturday night, It was his first career division feature win. Before one lap could be complete, half the field was gone in the Bomber feature Saturday night. This happened on the second try at starting the race. The #79 car (on side) Brandon Peterson got mixed up with 4 other cars and rolled on the back chute. Scott Reinhardt (#11) also involved. No one injured.

The IMCA stockers were first up for their feature with Jeff Vlies quickly working from the inside third row to the lead after one. Gary Reinhardt, Pat Davister, Wally Lhost, Larry Ingebretson and Benji Lacrosse were tucked behind. The first caution of the race flew on lap 6, when Davister lost the handle in turn two, collecting three other cars, including point leader, Larry Karcz, Jr.

LaCrosse was now behind Vlies for the restart, and he immediately went to work on the division rookie contender. It took until lap 11, for LaCrosse to get the inside line to work and he pulled into the top spot. He was opening a lead on the pack when the final caution for a lone spin closed the field up for the final time. Over the final 5 laps, the to six cars ran tight with LaCrosse able to hold off all challenges to pick up his first feature win of the season. Vlies took the runner up finish with Joe LeBotte alongside in third. Craig Paque and Bernie Reinhardt were side by side for 4th and 5th with Shawn Kilgore rounding out the top six.

Marty Beilke took off from the front row to the top spot in the Street feature. Kevin Brungraber, Scott Iverson, James Tebon, Jeremy Wiitala, Gregg Siebold and B.J. Soquet were tight behind. Beilke continued to lead the way, but the battle was right behind as the next six cars ran side by side and bumper to bumper for the entire race. Positions continued to be swapped throughout the non-stop race. Siebold, the defending champion, slowly picked his way to the front, moving into the runner up spot with 3 laps left. He pulled outside and challenged Beilke as the white flag appeared and 2 cars about to be lapped became part of the last lap action.

Current point leader, Kevin Sternard was now in the lead mix as well, and the leaders went into the final turn three wide with the lapped cars right in front as they came to the finish line. Siebold, on the outside, was able to nip Beilke at the line for his first feature win of the season. Beilke took the runner up spot just ahead of Sternard. Brungraber, Tebon and Wiitala slipped by under a blanket as well for the top six spots.

Tim McCormick pulled into the lead of the Modified main from the second row with Randie Back, Chris Derenne, Tony Herbst, Jeremy Jacobs and Todd Dart behind. By the mid point of the race, McCormick was setting an even pace at the front with Back, Derenne, Dart Jacobs, Bill LeMieux, and Jared Siefert in line behind. Just after half way, Dart decided to take his car outside and started to make in work, moving into the runner up spot with 6 laps left.

Lapped traffic caused several anxious moments for the front runners over the next couple laps, with McCormick holding the top spot throughout. Dart slipped back as far as fourth before the traffic thinned and he began to work the outside back to the front with three laps left. McCormick worked the traffic to perfection and was able to secure his first career division feature win. Dart made the return to the runner up spot with Back taking third followed by Jacobs, Siefert and Derenne. In the post race inspection, Back was DQ’d which put George Henkel into the sixth spot and moved him into the division point lead for the first time this season.

The Bombers closed the night with a lot of action before the race could get the first lap in the books. Several cars made contact on the first start, forcing several to pit lane and a complete restart. The second start saw another mix up on the back chute with several of the point leaders involved and forced out of the race. The car of Brandon Peterson rolled in the mix, and ended up on the side. He was OK , but the field was cut in half by the time the race finally took the green, and ran non-stop to the finish.

Joe Hegnet took the lead for 2 laps before point leader, Wayne Moore, took over and ran away from the pack for his second straight feature win. Dave Serrahn finished the run in second place with Greg Aregoni taking third, Hegnet was fourth, Evan Madden fifth and Ford Malvitz rounding out the top six.

SUMMARY

IMCA MODIFIED
20 Lap Feature l. Tim McCormick, Sturgeon Bay 2. Todd Dart, Algoma 3. Jeremy Jacobs, Algoma 4. Jared Siefert, Green Bay 5. Chris Derenne, Luxemburg 6. George Henkel, Sturgeon Bay
10 Lap Heats First l. Jacobs 2. Bill LeMieux, Sturgeon Bay
Second l. Jay Matthias, Green Bay 2. Darrell Massart, Brussels
Third l. Randy LeMieux, Sturgeon Bay 2. McCormick

IMCA STOCK CARS
20 Lap Feature l. Benji LaCrosse, Luxemburg 2. Jeff Vlies, Algoma 3. Joe LeBotte, Kewaunee 4. Craig Paque, Algoma 5. Bernie Reinhardt, Sturgeon Bay 6. Shawn Kilgore, Kewaunee
10 Lap Consy l. Kerry Douglas, Sister Bay 2. Russ Tuttle, Brussels 3. Brett Piontek, Green Bay 4. Tony Bouche, Algoma
10 Lap Heats First l. LaCrosse 2. Larry Karcz, Jr, Pulaski
Second l. Gary Reinhardt, Fish Creek 2. Don Aregoni, Sturgeon Bay
Third l. Vlies 2. Mark Derenne, Kewaunee

STREET STOCK
15 Lap Feature l. Gregg Siebold, Denmark 2. Marty Beilke, Sturgeon Bay 3. Kevin Sternard, Sturgeon Bay 4. Kevin Brungraber, Sturgeon Bay 5. Jeremy Wiitala, Green Bay 6. James Tebon, Algoma
10 Lap Heats First l. B.J. Soquet, Luxemburg 2. Siebold
Second l. Beilke 2. Charlie Kroll, Algoma

BOMBERS
15 Lap Feature l. Wayne Moore, Sturgeon Bay 2. Dave Serrahn, Algoma 3. Greg Aregoni, Sturgeon Bay 4. Joe Hegnet, Sturgeon Bay 5. Evan Madden, Algoma 6. Ford Malvitz, Sturgeon Bay
10 Lap Heats First l. Corey Haen, Carlsville 2. Aregoni
Second l. Moore 2. Scott Reinhardt, Baileys Harbor