Welch Dominates for 5th Straight Late Model Title |
| N. Woodstock, NH – 12/20/19 – Groveton’s Quinny Welch has been racing for a long time at White Moun- tain Motorsports Park – and winning for just as long. At 45 years old, Welch showed no signs of slowing down this past year. The veteran dusted the Foley Oil & Propane Late Model field from start to finish, rolling to another “King of the Mountains” crown at the high banks. Even by Welch’s lofty standards, the 2019 season was one of his best yet. Welch began the year with a runner-up finish in the Caron Fabrication Spring Green for the American-Canadian Tour (ACT). How- ever, the decision had previously been made to declare the Spring Green a “show points” event, with all drivers who attempted to qualify receiving 50 championship points. This meant Welch ended the event in a tie for the Late Model point lead. He took outright possession of the top spot the following Saturday with his first win the year. After the Memorial Day Weekend event was postponed by rain, Welch won again when racing resumed on June 1. Welch never did surrender the top spot, going wire-to-wire during the 14-race campaign. The numbers Welch put up along the way were sensational. He eventually posted five wins in his Joe McGinnis Snowplowing Chevrolet, which included the double-point Mid-Season Championships on July 13. That victory kicked off a streak of three wins in four events to all but salt the title away. Welch added four runner-up finishes and a pair of third-place efforts, giving him a remarkable 11 podium fin- ishes. Perhaps even more incredible is that Welch never finished outside the top-5 in the point-counting sch- edule. Fifth-place results in a make-up feature on July 13 and a regular feature on July 27 were his “low” points. (NOTE: Welch did finish 6th in the Midsummer 250 on August 3, but that event did not count for WMMP Late Model points.) All told, he had an average finish of 2.36 – more than three spots better than any other full-time Late Model competitor. The result was the fifth straight championship for Welch. Every year since 2015, the veteran has stood atop the heap at year’s end as “King of the Mountains”. It was also the eighth WMMP Late Model title overall for Welch as he previously won titles in 2007, 2011, and 2012 prior to his current streak. “It was a good year,” Welch said in his acceptance speech. “It all comes from having a great team. Ever-ybody at my (banquet) table. Shane (Cannon) has traveled thousands of miles to chase my rear end around. He must think it’s cool or something…Eddie coming back on board this year was huge. We lost Artie, but gained Eddie. It was a good deal. Paul was big as well. Tyler didn’t make it many times, but when he did, it was good to have him around.” Welch also thanked his family and the rest of his crew, along with their families. He went on to single out Crazy Horse Racing, his longtime chassis builder, as one of the keys to his success. “Obviously without a good race car, I’m not going to do much. Crazy Horse race cars, in my opinion, are the best race cars in the business. It’s not only the cars that are good. Mitch and Judy (Green) have been there for me a long time. I remember a time when I got wrecked pretty hard and I probably wasn’t coming back, and they made it happen for me. I’ll never forget it – I appreciate it a lot.” In addition, Welch complimented the entire Late Model division, including runner-up Stacy Cahoon, a five-time champion himself. This came after a few jokes at Cahoon’s expense. The two have become friendly rivals after more than a decade racing against each other at WMMP. “I can’t ever forget about the 83,” Welch exclaimed. “He’s usually running right at my door. He always tells me he’s gonna take the vinyl off, the door off – I think the last time he even said I was gonna be hanging from the flag stand! Thank god that didn’t happen. I’ve been racing with him a long time. I love the guy to death. We race hard. Actually, the whole Late Model division this year was super. The guys were respectful. How many times did we have to replace body panels around here? Not very often. It’s a great group of guys.” Welch concluded by thanking track co-owner Cris Michaud for bringing the Late Model division back in 2019 and the Avery family for their dedication to the track over the years. He added that he already “can’t wait for next year”, indicating he plans to pursue a sixth straight title. |
Source: WMMP.com
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