The NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing was largely a forgettable weekend for  Joseph Welch — the Long Boat Key, Florida racer qualified atop the Factory Super Cars field with a stellar 8.02 in his supercharged Dodge Challenger Drag Pak, earning him a competition single in the opening round of eliminations. But that’s where it all went sour for Welch.

In the opening stanza, Welch’s Challenger launched with the wheels hiked high and upon touch-down — already out of the groove by this point — it too an immediate turn across the racetrack, spinning around as it slammed passenger-side-first into the guardrail. The damage, of course, was significant enough to take Welch to of competition for the remainder of the weekend.

With late model Chrysler Hemi power from Mike Moran, Welch has had a breakout season, winning twice — in back to-back races — in the NHRA SAM Tech Factory Showdown, at Bristol and Norwalk. Welch currently leads the Factory Stock Showdown points race, and that fact will have he and his crew burning the midnight oil to make repairs to the Challenger in time for the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis in less than a month’s time.