by Chris Budzban
August 20, 2009; Sturgeon Bay, WI - With only 2 weeks remaining in the 2009 season at Prestige Yacht Coatings Thunderhill Raceway, the points battles are going to be interesting to say the least.

In the IMCA modifieds, New Franken's Shawn Kilgore currently holds a 3 point lead over 6-time and defending champion "Felix" Todd Dart. Kilgore's lead shrunk significantly after last Saturday's feature, where he pulled off the track and Dart came home with a 2nd place finish. Kilgore is looking for his 1st career title in the modifieds, he was the track champion in the IMCA stock cars in 2003 & 2005. Jeremy Jacobs and Jay Matthias are 21 and 25 points back, respectively.

Green Bay's Mike Pierrard is also looking for his 1st career track title in the IMCA stock car division. Mike holds an 18 point lead over Pat Davister. Pierrard was a co-champion in the street stock division in 2005 with Von Eytcheson. Trailing Davister by 3 points in the standings is Troy Muench, with Shawn Havel and Dave Bouche tied for fourth place.

With a 2nd place finish last week, New Franken's Brad Lautenbach overtook the points lead in the IMCA northern sport mod division from Cory Cochart. Lautenbach is in his sophomore season of racing in the division, and coming off a runner-up performance in the points last season at Thunderhill. He holds a 2 point advantage over Cochart, and an 11 point advantage over Bernie Reinhardt.

Kewaunee's Frank Paul has the IMCA hobby stocks pretty much in hand, holding a 26 point lead over Brandon Peterson. Paul is a veteran of the hobby stock division, also seeking his 1st career track title.

The same goes for Green Bay's Jeremy Wiitala in the NEW super stock division (formerly the street stocks). With a 33 point advantage over James Anderson, Wiitala will capture the title by starting the features the final two weeks. Wiitala has 1 career track title at Thunderhill in the now defunct bomber division.

The 4 cylinder division also has a very tight race heading toward the end of the season. Sturgeon Bay's Kipp Burlo has a 1 point lead over Kasey Gross, both competitors are seeking their 1st career track titles.

Racing gets underway on Saturday evening at 6pm with IMCA modifieds, stock cars, hobby stocks, northern sport mods, NEW super stocks and 4 cylinders in action. For more information, visit www.racethunderhill.com or call (920) 713-7052.