American Racing News Vol 1, Issue 2 Issue 6 | Page 19

to work hard and do whatever we can to climb
this mountain to get where we want to go. I
think we’re definitely on the right path.”
Welch’s journey started more than 15 years
ago, working as a crew member on Beal’s Top
Alcohol Funny Car as a teenager. From that
point, his dream became to drive a nitro Funny
Car, something that finally came to fruition for
the 33-year-old Welch in 2015 thanks to Beal
and AutoAnything.com. He raced in Las Vegas
and Pomona to close out 2015, but took another

step this year when he qualified for eliminations
for the first time in Norwalk.
“We completely overhauled and upgraded our
parts and engine set-up in the offseason,”
Welch said. “It’s taken a couple of races to it
honed in and our goal is to consistently be in the

4.0s.
If we got in the 3.90s, that would be amazing. I think I would throw a party. But if we’re a
consistent 4.0 car, we can qualify and win
rounds. I was happy with the progress we made
from Norwalk to Chicago. Hopefully we can continue to improve.”