In the end all was right, although the night certainly didn't start that way.

When Dillon Welch and his dad headed for Anderson Speedway late Friday afternoon they soon began to wonder if they should have just stayed home. First, there was a massive traffic jam on I-69 due to an accident.  The standstill put Dillon in danger of missing the 5pm driver's meeting.  Other race teams were caught up in the traffic too so the driver's meeting was eventually pushed back thirty minutes.  That would surely give the Welch's plenty of time to get to the track, except that when they got to within a mile of Anderson Speedway they were caught by a train; a train that was stopped and moving nowhere, for twenty minutes.  Finally the train moved and Dillon arrived at the racetrack with about ten minutes to spare.  Dillon promptly went to the officials tent to draw his qualifying number and got a "one" which is the worst number possible, meaning he would be the first qualifier.  

At that point Dillon just laughed.  "With everything that had happened, what else would I draw?" he said.

Qualifying turned out to be an adventure too.  In the two lap time-trial, the second lap is almost always faster due to built-up momentum.  However, after posting a 12.66 on the first lap, the Welch Racing car got big loose off turn four of the final lap and it was costly, putting the second lap a tick slower than the first.

"After the first lap, I thought he'd have a chance of getting into the high-40's on the second lap," Dillon's dad Vince said.  "Then to see a 68 on the second lap, I thought we were in trouble."

Instead, the first lap time was one-hundredth of a second quicker than the next fastest qualifier, Dalton Armstrong.  (The top four qualifiers ended up less than three one-hundredths of a second apart.)  As the fastest qualifier, Dillon would start from pole position in the heat race and feature.  That is a significant advantage at Anderson.

"Qualifying is huge here," Dillon said after qualifying.  "It's a difficult track to pass on, so if you've got a good car and can get out front, you're tough to beat." 

In the heat race, Dillon beat Taylor Ferns to turn one off the green flag and finished the 8-lap prelim by taking the checkered ahead of the field.

In the 30-lap feature, the green flag waved and Dillon and Armstrong battled side-by-side into turn one.

"Dalton had a really good run off the high line out of turn two and he almost got me on the inside going into three," Dillon said.

But the 15 year old Welch kept his Kenyon Midget up top through three and four and denied Armstrong the pass. From there, Dillon consistently hit his marks and pulled away to a comfortable lead.

The only scare came late in the race when Welch and a lapped car nearly came together out of turn two.  There was a collective gasp in the crowd as Dillon swerved to avoid contact.

"That was close," Welch said with a grin afterwards.  

It turned out to be the only close call as Welch continued his dominance at Anderson.  In three feature races at the World's Fastest Quarter-Mile, Welch has led all but two laps and brought the trophy home twice.  

"Now we've got to get some wins at the other tracks," Welch said in his post-race interview.

He'll get that chance on Wednesday (June 10) when the Kenyon Midget Series invades Plymouth Speedway. 

Despite leading the first 28 laps of the 30 lap feature Wednesday night at Illiana Speedway, Dillon Welch couldn't quite close the deal and finished runner-up.

"I guess that's what they call a character builder," Dillon said while trying to force a grin.  "I'm disappointed, but in the big picture it was a good night."

 It was indeed.  Welch was the fastest qualifier for the third time in four races, and also led the most laps in the feature for the third time.  But it was the finish that left him grim.

After fending off Dalton Armstrong's challenges during the first half of the race, Welch had to fight back Grant Galloway in the second half.  Galloway seemed to be a bit faster but Welch held him off lap after lap.  Finally with two to go, Welch's Kenyon Midget floated a bit two high off of

After racing at Anderson Speedway and Mt. Lawn Speedway, the Kenyon Midget Series heads to northern Indiana on Wednesday for its first event of the season at Illiana Speedway.

The race is the fourth of 17 events on the Kenyon Midget schedule.

"I really like Illiana," said series points leader Dillon Welch.  "I had a good run there last year and led for quite awhile before the car tightened up late." 

Welch is off to a strong start this season.  The 15 year old racer has been the fast-qualifier in two of the three events, has won heat races at all three, and won the feature in the season opener.

"We've been pretty good so far," Welch said.  "But in racing, it can change quickly, so you can't take anything for granted."

The Wednesday race is just one challenge Welch will face

Not too many times can you say you had a perfect night at the race track.  Dillon Welch savors the feeling.

The 15 year old racer opened the USAC Kenyon Midget Series by completing the racing trifecta on Friday night at Anderson Speedway.   Welch was the fast qualifier, won his heat race, and completed the sweep by walking away from field in the feature.      

"The car was perfect all night," Welch said.  "I could put it anywhere I wanted and it was fast."  

Welch celebrated afterwards with nearly 20 friends and family who had come to the race.  

"It feels great, especially to win with so many people here supporting me." 

Even though he was credited with a win last year when a driver failed post-race technical inspection, Dillon considered this his first victory.