Dillon Welch has driven his final race for car owner Marc DeBeaumont.
“Marc called on Tuesday night and said he could not keep the deal we had agreed to prior to the season because of his financial difficulties,” Dillon’s dad, Vince Welch, said. “It’s a tough situation for Marc in that his sponsor didn’t pay what was promished, and it’s unfortunate Dillon is the one who suffers by not being able to race.”
In the past two weeks the 17 year old USAC National Midget rookie had garnered attention with his speed at two of the circuit’s fastest tracks. Welch recorded the fastest qualifying time at the Milwaukee Mile before a sixth place finish in the race, and then backed it up with the fastest practice session the following week at Iowa Speedway. Unfortunately Welch never got to show that speed in qualifying at Iowa due to a mechanical issue. The rear axle broke during his qualifying run causing a high speed crash. Welch raced the backup car to a 14th place finish.
Welch was scheduled to race Friday night at Toledo Speedway and Saturday night at Grundy County Speedway.
“It’s very disappointing to be missing races,” Dillon said. “You can’t do anything but move on and concentrate on trying to secure another opportunity with a more stable team.”
Raising sponsorship dollars to re-invest in another team is a challenge in mid-stream, but it’s the task now faced.
“I’m hopeful I’ll be back in a car soon,” Dillon said. “I need some help but we’re working at it very hard, and have faith that it will happen.”
