Champions crowned at
Thunderhill! September 16, 2000; Sturgeon Bay, WI. - A cool, breezy night for the final night of racing for the 2000 season at the Thunder Hill Speedway on Victory Lane Racing Supplies Championship night. Division champions were also crowned Saturday night. The IMCA Modified feature took the track with rookie contender Jeremy Jacobs setting the pace followed by Rick LeMieux, Shawn Olson, James Iverson, Bill LeMieux, and Jared Siefert. The race was 3 laps old when the first of several cautions slowed the race. On the second caution, a lap later, point leader, Todd Dart, had to pit with a flat tire, and restart in the back. Another altercation would damage the front of his car and made for an anxious race as he had to keep nine places ahead of Randie Back to win a second track title. Back was running in the lead pack and looking for his first career title. Through all the cautions, Jacobs continued to lead the way despite pressure from LeMieux. On lap 8, Olson took over the runner up spot with Buck Schmelzer moving up into third place. Dave Zeitler moved into the top four. A couple more spins brought out cautions and forced a time limit race. After the final restart on lap 11. Schmelzer moved from third place to the outside and into the lead. The leaders were scrambling for the final finishing spots on the final lap, but Schmelzer held on to win his second feature of the year. Zeitler inched into the runner up spot with Olson taking third. Back finished in fourth place. Dan Ratajczak came from the back of the field to finish in fifth and Jacobs rounded out the top six. In the point chase, Back with a fourth place finish had earned him 37 points and a total of 579 marks for the season. Dart finished the race in 14th place, with 27 points, that brought his season total to 579, giving the track co-champions in the division 2000. It is the second title for Dart, having won in 1998. It is the first career title for Back. The IMCA Stock Car division also had a point chase to decide. Benji LaCrosse held an 18 point margin over Jay Matthias and had to finish 17th or better to clinch his first career title. An opening lap caution settled all drivers down to run a non stop event with Shawn Kilgore taking the lead followed by Greg Gretz, Wally Lhost, Dave Pavlik, Joe LeBotte and Scott Karcz. Lhost moved to the front, taking second on lap 3 and moved into the lead on lap 5. Gretz followed into the runner up spot and the pair of rookie drivers pulled away from the pack. Matt Junio and Pavlik broke from the pack on lap 8 and started to close in on the leaders. Jay Matthias was moving through traffic, running in 8th place at the mid point of the race. LaCrosse, starting in the back of the field, nursed a sour engine, running in 15th place. On lap 11, Matthias looped his car in turn 2 and pulled back into line in last place. Back in front, Pavlik moved to the front and took over the runner up spot on lap 11. It took a couple more laps to pull right behind the leader. The pair pulled away in their own race for the lead for the rest of the race. Lhost was able to match Pavlik move for move to hold onto the top spot. Gretz was in a battle for third with LeBotte, Junio and Craig Paque. Pavlik was pressuring for the top spot near the end and just as the white flag was to appear, his car suddenly pulled right and off the track outside turn three with a flat. Lhost took the white and led the final lap alone to win his first career division feature. Gretz inherited the runner up spot and held on to take his best finish of the year. LeBotte and Paque were right behind with Junio taking fifth and Pat Davister rounding out the top six. LaCrosse limped his car home in 13th place to clinch his first career track championship by a 598 - 575 margin over Matthias, who finished 18th. The Street Stock division took the green with the track championship already decided. With the pressure off, it was flat out racing for a non stop race. Corey Haen set the pace for the opening 3 laps before Jeff Vlies snuck through in turn four to take the lead on lap 4. Rick Johnson pulled into the runner up spot on the next lap and the leaders started to pull the field. Haen, James Tebon and Gary Reinhardt were right behind battling for third. On lap 10, the 2000 track champ, Gregg Siebold moved into fourth place and set out after the leaders. Vlies held off Johnson to claim his second feature win of the year. Siebold took until the final lap to catch and pass Haen for the third place finish. Aaron Thornton took fifth place and Travis Van Straten rounded out the top six. By starting his heat race, Siebold clinched the track championship. He became the first repeat champion in the division, having won the title in 1996. The Bomber feature was the final race for the season with Shawn Graf taking the lead at the start followed by Thom Terrien, Rick Sternard, Jody Annoye and Tracy Koontz. On lap 5, Koontz moved into the top spot just before a caution bunched the field and changed the leaders. Graf, running second and Todd Polster, who had just moved into third, were both forced to pit for tires. This put Sternerd, Annoye and Jeremy Wiitala right behind. Several cautions over the next couple laps shifted the leaders again and set up a 5 lap dash to the finish. Koontz was involved in one of the cautions which allowed Annoys to power into the top spot on lap 7. He was still the leader for the final restart with Wiitala now running in second followed by Lucas Long, Sternard and John Knudson. As the field was coming for the white flag, Wiitala found an opening to the inside and pulled alongside for the lead. He finished the pass on the final lap to record his fourth feature win of the year. Annoye settled for the runner up finish with Long taking third. Knudson finished fourth with Polster, recovering from the early laps, to finish fifth. Scott Reinhardt rounded out the top six. Despite a crash that ended his final feature run early, Greg Soukup had clinched the track championship before the race started and finished the year with a 629 - 616 margin over feature winner, Jeremy Wiitala. It was Soukup's first career track championship. This was the final regular race for the season at the Thunder Hill Speedway. The staff and management would like to THANK all of the sponsors, drivers, crews and fans for the strong support throughout the season. Watch for a May 2001, for the 9th season opener at the Hill. RESULTS IMCA MODIFIED: IMCA STOCK CARS: STREET STOCKS BOMBERS |