D.J. Weltmeyer comes from a family of legendary Chicagoland race car drivers. Thursday night at Grundy County Speedway, he added another page to their book of memorable achievements.
Weltmeyer won the 100-lap Star Spangled Summer Bash for super late models. It came with a stunning comeback after an early-race mechanical problem.
While running fourth, the Kouts, Ind., native had an overflow hose snap. Gasoline began spraying from his No. 16 car, causing a yellow flag. Weltmeyer had to go to the pits.
After a quick repair, Weltmeyer returned to the track and re-started at the back of a talent-loaded pack. One by one he deftly worked his way back to the front. On lap 80, he made what would be the winning pass on race-long leader Rick Bickle Jr.
Weltmeyer went on to beat Bickle by 3.337 seconds. Paul Shafer Jr., was third, followed by Ricky Baker, Michael Atwell and Larry Schuler.
"I can't say enough about this crew," Weltmeyer said. "And also, the sponsors, the supporters who are on the back. This car worked from the get-go, and we were able to pace ourselves a little bit.
"When the time was right, the time was right. We tried to be as clean as possible and get there. Then we were able to sneak away a little bit."
It was a race to be remembered by the fans in the stands - and not just for the magnitude of the comeback. Weltmeyer was driving a No. 16 car with the same lettering and same yellow color as the one his father drove to track championships all around Chicagoland for more than two decades.
For Weltmeyer, it was memorable for a couple of reasons.
"My uncle Bobby (Weltmeyer) is here," Weltmeyer said. "My dad (Dave Weltmeyer) is here. He's still helping me. He's in his 70s, and he's in there every day. He drives 50 miles to and from home. We call each other every day.
"He's my best friend. And being able to run this (paint) scheme... He said I could run it as long as he didn't have to mess with it. Jim Eriks (from Highland Body Shop) jumped on board and said, 'Absolutely, yes.' And it just worked out. It looks awesome."
The event - part of the Six-Pack Summer Shootout Series - drew six former Grundy County Speedway tracks champions, as well as top competitors from the midwest.
Bickle started on the pole after setting the ninth-fastest qualifying time. He wasted no time jumping into the lead, with nine-time track titlist Eddie Hoffman in close pursuit.
Weltmeyer, the 2022 Grundy champion, started eighth after setting fast qualifying time. He was already working toward the front when adversity struck fast.
"The overflow hose, I guess, popped off or rotted off. I'm not sure," Weltmeyer said. "So my crew dealt with that as quick as could be. They just reminded me, 'Keep calm.'
"We were able to pick through traffic a little bit after we got back out there. I just wanted to keep all four fenders on it, while we were trying to come back."
Weltmeyer went from 14th on lap 8, to second place on lap 42. When he finally caught up to Bickle, they were just about to encounter lapped cars.
"I don't think it hurt me as bad as it did him," Weltmeyer said of Bickle. "There were a couple of times there where we gained a little bit of space on him. We were able to let him know we were there. Even though we didn't touch him, he saw us.
"He raced me clean and hard. I can't ask for anything more than that. Once we got a lane on him, he gave me the lane. So thanks to him. Paul Shafer gave me a lane. There were a lot of guys who when we were working our way through could have been a lot more difficult. I really appreciate my fellow racers."
Dad, meanwhile, had a bird's-eye view of the yellow No. 16 that was legendary in the Chicago area in the during the late 1970s and 1980s.
"I'll tell you what, I don't think I ever drove from the back to the front after breaking," Dave Weltmeyer said. "He passed a lot of good cars on his own, with no yellow flags. The car was working great, and D.J. did a great job.
"We've been struggling for a couple of years now, and to come back and do something like this makes it all worthwhile. I was thrilled to death."
And even emotional.
"Oh, yeah, I was crying a little bit," Dave Weltmeyer said. "I had a tear in my eye. Once it sunk in that he had won this race, as hard as he worked, I had a couple of tears. They were tears of joy."
For Bickle, it was a great run - just not enough.
"I knew we were really good in practice on old tires," Bickle said. "But for some reason (during qualifying) the new tires never got hold of anything until the last corner.
"I knew we'd be good in the race, and we were for the first 60 laps. Then it just went away. I was trying to save as much as I could, but the No. 16 was definitely hooked up.
"I'm happy for him to win. They are a great family. I like them as well."
Scott Dunning won the Midwest Pavement Midgets Series feature race with a wire-to-wire 25-lap run. But it was far from easy.
Most of the way, Dunning had Chase Locke in close pursuit. Locke tried the high side a couple of times, but Dunning never lost his grip on the bottom.
A yellow with four laps remaining created a bit of drama behind him. Michael Lewis made a late pass on Locke to claim second, while Dezi Pedregon, Billy Hulbert and Jim Anderson completed the top six.
"I didn't really like that yellow," Dunning said. "But I did know that I fire off really well. I knew if I could get a little bit of a lead, I could probably hold them off those last four laps."
For Dunning, who has been a solid competitor in both the late model and Mid-Am class at Grundy, the win was his first in a midget.
"It was amazing," Dunning said. "I knew those guys were back there the whole time. The people that David Ward brings out, they are such good drivers. I'm just happy to be here. It's been a long time coming."
Dominic Matts earned the first pure stocks feature of his career by passing Garrett Evans with just two laps remaining. Matts came from the 11th starting spot, mixing power with patience. Mason Meister finished second, followed by Evans, Dan Schmeissing, points leader Matt Ciara, and Mike Glenn.
"These cars are set up to get out of the corner really well," Matts said. "So I went in really good, and that's just how I made my way up to the front.
"This is my second year of racing. Last year we came close. Last week we were in a three-wide finish. This week I got the win, and my very first feature win feels amazing."