🇺🇸 Derek Welch

Derek Welch was a competitive amateur racer, FIA Bronze graded, who spent sixteen seasons in NASA's national multiclass endurance series, racing German cars in its GTS2 class and spec BMW E30s in its Spec E30 class. He also made one international endurance start in the 24H Series, driving a GT4 car in its multiclass field across thirteen countries. His primary team fielded him for thirty-two of his forty-five career starts.[1]

Welch took one win and twelve podiums across forty-five starts between 2005 and 2021. Most of his racing fell within NASA, where he accumulated forty-four starts over the full span of his career; his single victory came in that series. His final indexed season in 2021 saw him finish sixty-fourth in the NASA championship standings after two rounds raced.[2]

In NASA's regular fields Welch typically finished ahead of club-level opponents, including Bennett McMicking across multiple meetings, and held his own against developing drivers such as Scott Neville. He also beat entry-level professionals including Sean Quinlan and Aristotle Balogh, each of whom went on to race in IMSA national series.