Four new Y2K feature winners at
Thunderhill! June 17, 2000; Sturgeon Bay, WI. - Another cool night but four exciting Miller Lite features produced four first time winners Saturday night at Thunder Hill.
Randy LeMieux led the opening lap of the IMCA Modified feature but a caution quickly slowed the pace. Randie Back flew into the top spot on the restart and led until a caution on lap 4 slowed the race for the second time for a multi car spin. Back took off on the restart and pulled away from the field leaving the race for the runner up spot. LeMieux was in control while Buck Schmelzer, Brad Anderegg, Todd Dart and Doug Maurer were working to the front. Back, LeMieux and Schmelzer were running the high groove and Dart was making moves in the inside line and moved into the runner up spot on lap11. Back had built a large lead but Dart had help closing the gap with a final race caution for a 2 car incident in front of the grandstand on lap 12. The final 8 laps were hard fought by both drivers as they pulled away from the pack again. Back set the pace and again hooked up wide with Dart inside. After a couple laps, Dart also moved wide and pulled up on Back. The final 4 laps, the drivers swapped the lead back and forth bringing the crowd to their feet. On the final lap, Back ducked inside Dart out of turn 4 for the white, He carded to much speed into turn 1 and slipped wide, allowing Dart to move inside and take the lead out of turn 2. Back tried again coming for the finish, but Dart held off the challenge and collected his first feature of the season and became the sixth different feature winner this season at the Hill. Back was a close second with point leader, Maurer taking third. LeMieux held on for the fourth place finish with Schmelzer fifth and Jared Siefert in sixth.
Mark Derenne pulled off the pole into the lead of the Stock Car main followed by Scott Karcz, Wally Lhost, Eric VanIten, Brett Wenzel and Dave Pavlik. Karcz moved into the top spot on lap 3 and led until lap 5, when VanIten pulled of a daring three wide move entering turn three moving from fourth into the lead out of turn four. Once in front, he continued to set a burning pace and built a near half lap lead before the lone caution of the race appeared on lap 17, setting up a 3 lap dash. Karcz, Lhost, Derenne and Wenzel were still in line behind but the rest of the pack was still bunched up, now with a chance to separate over the final laps. VanIten took off on the restart and was not challenged as he collected his first feature win of the season. Karcz and Lhost held their positions in the lineup to the finish. Larry Karcz, Jr was able to sneak through traffic to pick up a top 4 finish. Jason Geyer and Russ Tuttle rounded out the top six finishers.
Tom Daubner took off from the front row in the Street Stock main followed by Jay Naze, Jeff Vlies, Mike Soukup, Corey Haen and Aaron Thornton. Daubner pulled away until a caution on lap 6 bunched the pack. Daubner continued to set the pace after the restart with Soukup moving into the runner up spot. Mike Coel worked his way through traffic to challenge the front runners just after the mid point of the contest. Coel moved into second on lap 12 and started to close the gap on the leader. Coel moved along side the leader on the final lap, but a lose tire on the track, after the white flag, ended the trip to the front, ending the race a lap early, giving Daubner his first feature win of the season. Coel was second followed by Naze, Thornton and Vlies, Kevin Jandrin rounded out the top six.
The Bomber division started 20 cars but several cautions helped cut that number down with a total of 6 cautions slowing the pace. Ford Malvitz led the opening 2 laps before spinning in turn one, turning the lead over to Rick Sternard. Roger LaViolette moved into the top spot on lap 5 but a crash in front of the grandstand took him and third place, Don Aregoni out of the race. Scott Reinhardt inherited the lead and set the pace for 2 laps before Greg Soukup pulled into the top spot.
Reinhardt pressured the leader, but the race was cut short when Sternard had a flat tire out of turn two. Running in a pack of cars, he could not get out of the way, and the car got sideways entering turn three. The wheel broke off the car which sent him into a roll over. He was not injured but the time limit expired on the enduro type contest with Soukup the winner, for his first feature win of the year. Reinhardt took second with James Bosman third. Tom Frea was fourth with Tracy Koontz and point leader, Wayne Moore rounding out the top six. Next week the Bomber will be the highlight division with the drivers introduced before the feature event. RESULTS IMCA MODIFIED: IMCA STOCK CARS: STREET STOCKS BOMBERS |
