SENOIA, Ga. (Aug. 20) — Jason Welshan of Maryville, Tenn., entered a 40-lap Newsome Raceway Parts Crate Racin’ USA Dirt Late Model Series event Saturday night at Senoia Raceway as the current series points leader and the leading winner with two victories to his credit on the Adam Stewart-managed touring circuit.
He extended his edge atop both statistical categories with a flag-to-flag performance at the 3/8-mile oval, establishing more than a half-straightaway advantage in the middle stages and eventually winning by three car lengths over runner-up finisher Pearson Lee Williams after a late caution flag tightened the field with three circuits remaining at the Pollard family-promoted speedplant.
Completing the top five in a 26-car field were outside front-row starter Cody Haskins, Austin Horton and Logan Palmer. Horton, who started sixth, was steering a Duke Motorsports-fielded entry that he drove to a series victory on July 16 at the same track.
Statistically Speaking
Eleven races into the season, Welshan now holds a 98-marker advantage [968-870] over Jake Knowles in the chase for the $10,000 series championship, and his third win on the circuit leads all eight drivers who have managed to visit victory lane this season with the 18-year-old organization.
The competitors who have collected a single victory this year include Randall Beckwith, Jimmy Thomas, Jake Rainey, Henry Carter, Hunter Peacock, Seth McCormick, Austin Horton and Mark Whitener.
“I don’t know really, but something’s just clicking right now,” Welshan said after extending his points lead on the circuit to its largest differential this season in a race that was threatened by rain that started to sprinkle the track’s grounds in the latter stages. “Even tonight, we all managed to finish the race and our team ended up getting our picture made in the rain. It’s a combination of things, I suppose. The weather held out just long enough tonight, our cars are running well, and we’ve got our shock and spring combination working. It’s not just me, though. We’ve also got other drivers running well in these Savage Race Cars and winning races, so that’s fun to watch others do well in cars we worked on for ‘em.”
Williams Looms as a Threat
Welshan took an early lead and stretched it through the race’s middle stages, at one point opening up a near-straightaway lead over Williams, who shared an occasional runner-up battle with Haskins for the position during the earlier stages. When Williams took the spot for good, the race ran from laps 14-37 without interruption, leaving Williams in chase mode until the race’s fourth and final caution appeared with three laps to go.
After the restart he was poised to strike over the final three circuits and remained close until the end, but crossed the stripe 0.718 seconds behind Welshan.
“We haven’t raced a Crate Late Model car in about a year, so to finish second isn’t too bad,” Williams said. “We’re probably going to split our time between Super Late Models and these Crate Late Model cars in the future, because they’re paying way too much money to not run these events.”
Williams, who won a race for the second time in his career with the Adam Stewart-managed touring circuit on July 4, 2021, at Cochran (Ga.) Motor Speedway, felt he had a good shot at registering a third one.
“A few more laps,” he said. “Maybe a 50-lapper would have helped us. We went out on a little harder tire than he [Welshan] did, and we were close and getting a little better at the end. Ten more laps, and it might have been a really good show."
Haskins Makes Impression
Behind the lead duo, Cody Haskins kept his ride in the middle of the fray for much of the event, including the earlier stages when he was able to challenge Welshan for the lead on restarts before settling back into a side-by-side duel for the runner-up slot with Williams.
“We were pretty decent and pretty much could get up beside him [Welshan] during the earlier stages,” Haskins said. “We’ve been struggling here at this track with various race car gremlins, so we’ll take a third-place finish in a race with this kinda field. If I could have gotten to the top side early, it might have worked out different. Later in the race the track started to take rubber in the middle groove, and we went single file on restarts, and that kept us from getting to the top."
Welshan, who has never won a series championship in his career despite a string of runnerup finishes in a small handful of different touring series, rolled to a relatively worry-free victory in a Jerry Hux-fielded Savage Chassis machine that carried sponsorship from J&J Excavation & Trucking, Team Huskey Logistics, C&J Trucking and Millwood Plumbing.
“We went a little different on tires, so when I got the lead early on softer rubber, I just concentrated on keeping the car straight,” he said. “When we hit lapped traffic, we could maneuver and I concentrated on keeping my edges on the tires. We’ve been living and dying on soft tires all season, and tonight the choice worked out.”
About Crate Racin’ USA
The economical Chevrolet Performance 602 and 604 Circle Track Engine is utilized by competitors in the various divisions presented by Crate Racin’ USA. It’s in stock and available from Newsome Raceway Parts in Hartsville, S.C.
Each engine is built and sealed at the factory to prevent any expensive modifications. To place an order, call 1-877-497-3624.
For more information and rules, visit the organization’s website at www.crateracinusa.com, or follow our extensive social media programs on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Newsome Raceway Parts, a division of Raceway Chevrolet in Hartsville, S.C., is the title sponsor of Crate Racin’ USA. E-Z-GO Golf Carts is the title sponsor of the third-year E-Z-GO $100,000+ Challenge.
Chevrolet Performance is an official sponsor of the organization, along with Advanced Laser & Machine, Cruise with the Champions, Hoosier Racing Tire, KRC Power Steering, Knowles Race Parts and Bodies, My Race Pass, VP Racing Fuels and Lubricants and Willy’s Carburetors.
Official chassis sponsors include Warrior Race Cars, Rocket Chassis and CVR Race Cars.
Senoia finish: 1. Jason Welshan, 2. Pearson Lee Williams, 3. Cody Haskins, 4. Austin Horton, 5. Logan Palmer, 6. Lucas Ruark, 7. T.J. Brittain, 8. Colton Leyendecker, 9. Jake Rainey, 10. Jake Herrell, 11. Corey North, 12. Colby Darda, 13. Owen Osteen, 14. Jason Markewitz, 15. Jake Knowles, 16. Mitchell Stanley, 17. Marty Massey, 18. Matthew Brocato, 19. Mario Gresham, 20. Jeremy Pate, 21. Dalton Dowdy, 22. Tyler Millwood, 23. Chase Walls, 24. Tina Johnson, 25. Tanner Collins, 26. Devin Stuart.
Crate Racin’ USA Dirt Late Model Series (current points): 1. Jason Welshan, 968; 2. Jake Knowles, 870; 3. Jake Rainey, 856; 4. Jimmy Thomas, 824; 5. Tanner Collins, 768; 6. Jason Markewitz, 752; 7. Matthew Brocato, 750; 8. Jeremy Pate, 644; 9. Randall Beckwith, 590; 10. Dalton Dowdy, 372; 11. Clay Harris, 348; 12. Cody Overton, 346; 13. Zach Shelton, 324; 14. T.J. Brittain, 308; 15. Mark Whitener, 286; 16. Jimmy Sharpe, 277; 17. Luke Bennett, 267; 18. Austin Horton, 252; 19. Mike Combs, 250; 20. Hunter Peacock, 242.
Entries: 39
Boyd-Bilt Fabrication Fast Qualifier: Jason Welshan, 15.637 seconds
Lead changes: None.?Lap leaders: Jason Welshan 1-40?Cautions: 4
Margin of victory: 0.718 seconds?KRC Power Steering B-main winners: Owen Osteen, Devin Stuart?