There is no question that Anthony Danta drove the wheels off his No. 11 car.
There is no question he earned and deserved the $2,100 first prize.
But the Orland Park native made sure to paint a complete picture after his victory Friday in the 30-lap late model feature at Grundy County Speedway.
“We’ve just been trying to get the car better,” Danta said with a smile. “We made a step in the right direction. But we got lucky there.
“Sometimes being lucky is better than being good, you know what I’m saying? We’ll take it however we can get it.”
Danta took away one of the biggest first-place payoffs ever awarded for a 30-lap race at Grundy.
Following Paul Shafer Jr.’s third straight victory on May 14, track management added a $200 bounty to the regular $1,000 winner’s share for the following week. By Friday afternoon, various contributors built the bounty up to $1,100.
Nathan Kelly, who started near the front, led for much of the race. But between laps 20 and 25, Ricky Baker appeared to be reeling him in. Danta was running in third place, just in front of Shafer. Then a yellow flag tightened the field.
When the race restarted, the top two collided between Turns 3 and 4, bringing out another yellow. That left Danta as the new leader.
Danta still had to deal with Shafer, and for four laps, they were in close quarters. Danta beat Shafer to the finish line by 0.554 seconds. Larry Schuler finished third, ahead of Eddie Hoffman, Jim Weber and Clay Curts.
For Danta, it was his first win since 2019. He missed the entire 2020 season due to a back injury. Blake Brown drove the Lisa Trgovich-owned car in his place.
“It’s pretty special,” Danta said. “Sometimes, you take it for granted. Six years ago I’d win regularly. It’s not as easy as it used to be.
“It’s cool that they put up that money. I’m happy for Lisa and all of the guys who worked so hard on the car to finally get one.”
Had Shafer won the race, he would have claimed the bounty, and another would have been installed for the following Friday.
“Having the bounty was good for the racetrack,” Shafer said. “It got a lot of publicity and a lot of people were looking.
“Good job, to Anthony Danta. He ran a really good race. I was all over him, most of the time, trying to get him. It didn’t pan out. But that’s the way it goes sometimes. That’s why they call it racing.”
Dear uncle: Mid-American competitor Tristan Batson had an important text message to send after his first career feature victory.
Former Grundy late model champion Tracy Schuler, his uncle, had taken the night off.
“Oh, he gives me all sorts of advice,” Batson said, laughing. “He critiques everything I do, from the line I take to where I brake. And then he does a lot of setup with the car. He’s a really smart guy. He looks at everything.
“Having the right people around you really helps.”
Batson, a Joliet resident, took the lead from John Ventrello with nine laps remaining. He beat Aaron Shelton by 1.169 seconds. Blake Brown was third, ahead of Ventrello and Marqus Hoover.
Earlier, Batson survived a skirmish with Kenny Benson.
“We about went over the No. 19 car,” Batson said. “They got checked up and I had nowhere to go. I just rode over his wheel. I almost rode over his whole car. I thought we were done from there.
“But actually, it seemed to help. Blake and Shelton, those guys are really fast. I just got to the front faster than they did.”
Victory lane: The Midwest Super Cup series held a special 30-lap feature paying $1,000 to win. The top prize went to 13-year-old Landon Hocking, who defeated Rob Baaske by 5.173 seconds. Jacob Senerchia was third.
Randy Weese put on a power show for the second straight week, outrunning Eddie Ligue in the street stock feature. Dan Schmeissing beat out Ryan Lagestee in the 4-cylinder feature.