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2024 NEMA NEWS |
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CHUCK
WELLING
June 6, 1960
July 29,
2024 |
Longtime NEMA driver and car owner
Chuck
Welling #69 has passed away. |
Chuck D. Welling of Wrentham, MA passed away at home
surrounded by his loving family on July 29, 2024.
Chuck was born in Jackson, Michigan on June 6. Chuck grew up
in Michigan and graduated from H.H. Dow High School in
Midland, Michigan. Chuck went on to graduate from Ohio
Diesel Tech and attended classes at University of Michigan.
He moved to Massachusetts in the 1980’s. Chuck married the
love of his life, Ro, in 2004. The two have enjoyed over 38
years of love and adventure.
Aside from working as a
Tig Welder for the United States Government, Chuck was a man
of many trades. He was a race car driver with Northeastern
Midget Association and a Licensed Auctioneer. He received
his Auctioneer degree in both Massachusetts and New
Hampshire.
Chuck loved riding his motorcycles, going
to yard sales and flea markets with Ro, building things and
racing with NEMA. His greatest enjoyment was spending time
with his family and lots of friends. Chuck was always there
to help anyone in need, he will be greatly missed by all who
knew him.
Chuck is survived by his loving wife Ro
Welling; daughter Nicole Torrisi and her husband Mark; his
two grandchildren Abigail and Fionn McKenna; his parents
Paul and Cly-t (Patton) Welling of Michigan. He is also
survived by many friends that were family to Chuck.
Chuck was predeceased by his sister, Jane Wolf-Welling.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend calling
hours Thursday, August 15, 2024, from 9:45AM - 11:45AM at
R.J. Ross Funeral Home, 135 South Street Wrentham, MA. A
collation in Chuck’s memory will follow.
www.rjrossfuneralhomeinc.com/obituaries
In lieu
of flowers donations in Chuck’s name may be made to The
Haymakers for Hope at
haymakersforhope.org/donations/new and Hope Hospice
Health Care at
www.hopehealthco.org/ways-to-give/donatenow/donate-to-hopehealth-hospice-palliative-care/.
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The Big
Cars of the Northeastern Midget Association present the
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$2500 Cash Prize for Top New Owner |
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Chuck
supported NEMA for over two decades, earning victories as
car owner and reviving midget racing in the northeast as
President. His spirit, ingenuity, and passion live on in
NEMA as we are proud to present this award in his honor.
To qualify for this special award, new owners must
meet all of the following criteria: |
 Be
a full NEMA registered car owner for the 2024 season. |
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Be
a new owner who has never raced with a registered full NEMA
midget in the past, OR a veteran NEMA owner who has not
competed with a full NEMA midget in the last 10 years. |
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Compete
in at least 75% of the full NEMA division feature races.
Earn
the most points in the full NEMA championship point
standings among other qualifying new owners.
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Qualified new owners will be at
the discretion of the
contest board prior to the start
of the 2024 race season.
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Sponsored by
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Vivo Arch —
Bringing Design to Life
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Dylan and Dan Rock's
podium finish at the '23 Iron Mike Memorial race
(John
DaDalt Photo)
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Rock Racing Finds Success with
Investment in NEMA’s Big Cars
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Two years ago, Dan Rock and his son, Dylan, were at
a crossroads. They were only a few parts away from
completing their collection to build their new NEMA LITES
midget when they shifted gears for an even bigger adventure
- the mighty midgets of NEMA's big car division.
Dylan Rock began his racing career like many young aspiring
racecar drivers, by running go karts and mini-sprints in the
hills of New Hampshire with his Dad. The father-son team
earned success and turned heads at both levels, opening the
door for Dylan to chauffeur a modified with VMRS, a series
founded by Dylan's grandfather, Jack Bateman. It wasn't long
before the then-16-year-old found victory lane at Claremont
Motorsports Park in 2016. Their success continued for the
next few years, highlighted by a podium finish in the 2019
MRS point standings. That same year Dylan was named Most
Improved Driver. After a couple more seasons with MRS, the
wear and tear and intense work regimen associated with
racing an open wheeled modified was proving to be too much
for this father/son crew, who pride themselves in doing all
their own work, and most importantly, doing it together.
They struggled with the manpower and the economics of
modified racing. This drove them to make a change.
Since the early days of swinging dirt with the Mini sprints
up at Bear Ridge Speedway, the Rock racing team has had
respect and a curiosity for the pavement series of the
Northeastern Midget Association (NEMA), which is comprised
of two divisions - the LITES and the original, full midgets,
a.k.a. big cars. As spectators, they have always appreciated
the speed, the clean racing, the comradery amongst the club
members, and the history associated with the club that has
been pounding the pavement of New England short tracks for
over 70 years. So that winter, they began their transition
with their eye on the seemingly more affordable division of
NEMA, the Ford Focus powered NEMA LITES.
Dan, an
automotive technician and Dylan, a journeyman electrician,
were under the impression that to compete with NEMA's full
midget division, you had to have super deep pockets. They
acquired a Hawk chassis, a front axle, rear end, tail tank
and even a focus motor plate as they began building their
new LITES midget. While scouring the midget classifieds,
they could not help noticing the trend of used Esslinger and
Gaerte midget motors for sale online for surprisingly little
investment, often less than $10K. After doing the math and
much contemplation, they realize that competing with NEMA's
full series was not out of reach as they originally thought.
A complete used Esslinger motor package, including the
rebuild, would run them less than $20K. This was obviously
more money than the new Focus motor for the Lite, but they
also weighed the cost of tires, fuel, travel, and the wear
and tear of running a 15-16 race schedule with the LITES,
compared to the 8-9 races with the big car series. They
realized that the big picture cost was a difference of
"hundreds" of dollars, not "thousands", contrary to popular
perception. With that newfound knowledge, they sold off
their Ford Focus parts and acquired an Esslinger motor,
freshened it up, and focused on competing with the big car
division of NEMA for 2022.
They spent their debut
season learning the ropes, adjusting to a new driving style,
and absorbing as much knowledge and advice as possible from
the car and from fellow competitors one race at a time. By
the end of the season, they had racked up enough good
finishes to earn a top 10 in the NEMA Championship point
standings. Dylan's steady driving and progression earned him
the prestigious NEMA Rookie of the Year award. According to
the driver, Dylan was not surprised by the learning curve,
but was taken back by the sheer fun and thrill of finessing
the wheel of a 375 HP, 1000-pound, lightning fast, open
wheel race car.
"I couldn't believe how deep I
could drive the midget into the turn and then just blast
down the straight...and because of the size difference,
there just seems to be much more racetrack with the midget
than the modified!"
The following winter they
swapped their Hawk chassis with a Beast to transport their
Esslinger powerplant. They immediately found success kicking
off the 2023 season with a podium finish at NEMA's big
Midget opener, which was the Shane Hammond Memorial at
Waterford Speedbowl. They would go on to earn two more, in
addition to multiple top-five finishes. They even closed out
the season with a second place at Lee USA's Oktoberfest.
These strong runs earned them a very respectful 3rd and 4th
place in the NEMA Owner and Driver Championships point
standings in only their sophomore year. It's safe to say Dan
Rock has no regrets with their switch from LITES to Full
NEMA. Dan was quoted as saying:
"The LITES are a
great division, but ultimately, we wanted to run a full
midget. It just made more sense for us coming from the mods
and for Dylan's development as a driver.... I just really
want other racers to know how doable it is."
Dan
and Dylan Rock admit to feeling right at home with NEMA.
They can't help but thank all the folks who have helped them
get this journey started, including Tim Bertrand, Mike Horn,
Seymour Performance, and Circle Performance - just to name a
few - but most of all they can't wait to hit the track next
spring! |
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Photo by John DaDalt |
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Young Pro-4 Ace & Veteran
Midget Owner Join
Forces |
Jack Dumas has always wanted the opportunity to sit
behind the wheel of a full-size, mighty, midget. Even though
he's been pounding the pavement in the Pro-4's since 2021,
he is no stranger to the midgets and to the Northeastern
Midget Association. Jack is the grandson of Hall of Fame
flagman Maury Dumas, who graced the NEMA flag stand
sporadically from 1957 until 1993. Jack's Uncle, Steve
Dumas, also flagged for the club throughout the 1990's. His
father, John Dumas is also a veteran racer and mechanic. So,
when Mike Luggelle agreed to dust off his Gaerte-powered
Beast and give Jack the chance to chauffeur it with the big
cars this season, Jack could not be more grateful.
Jack started at a young age in the quarter midgets. Now at
19 years old, he has already earned 5 wins in the Pro-4
modifieds, winning once each year and twice last year, plus
a victory at the lightning-fast Thompson Motorsports Park
this season driving the family-owned No. 4xl. Pulling double
duty with both cars this season, he is quickly adjusting to
the midget. After just three outings, he's already cracked
the top ten.
"Racing a winged, lighter, and narrower
car with more power than I've ever driven before seemed like
a fun challenge - and it has been so far!"
In the
Pro-4, Jack started gaining momentum at the end of last
season and hopes he can gain that back to close out the rest
of this year after having carb issues to start the season.
In the midget, his goal is smart and simple - just keep
improving and hopefully get both the car and the driver up
to speed with the rest of the division.
Long-time car
owner Mike Luggelle, and his famed 77 machine, is a welcome
sight back with the club this year. Mike campaigned full
time on the NEMA circuit as an owner and driver for over 20
years and has only been competing part time as a car owner
since 2010. Prior to this season, Mike's last outing was at
Wiscasset Speedway in 2019 with driver Eddie LeClerc. |
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