This Front-motor Flier Does Just That

Guardian. It’s an appropriate name for a race car: a defender, protector and keeper of its driver, ensuring his or her safety on the race track. But those ideas weren’t exactly what driver Kenny Welch had in mind when he conceived the name of his new race car. Nope, the concept wasn’t even in the realm of the discussion that took place one night at Welch’s shop between him and his team. Welch told us that they were kicking around names for the car when someone mentioned “Guardian of the 1320,” and the team ran with it.

Welch’s business, Kenny’s Rod Shop (KRS), builds high-end customs cars. He started early, creating and selling custom cars when other kids were wondering whom they should ask to the prom. He was barely a teenager when he bought and started modifying his first car. Friends started to notice his talents and more and more people brought their rides to him for the KRS touch.

As his business flourished, Welch decided he wanted to leave Central California and relocate where he could expand his business affordably. “Dad had just retired and I sent him and mom on a recon mission to find a place to move the business that might have the right kind of business climate.” Welch’s mom and dad embarked on a month-long odyssey headed northeast. They scouted many locations but none quite measured up to Boise, Idaho. “We pretty much moved here sight unseen, and then it took us 28 round trips to get everything from Turlock up to Boise, but it was worth it.” Welch told Drag Racer.

The Boise move proved a good one and the business continued to grow at an astonishing rate. But while the business grew, Welch’s chances to go racing were diminishing. “I would get a car put together but there was really no chance to go racing because the shop was so busy…. It was either do something now with a race car or forget about it because I would be too old.”

Welch put out feelers for a nostalgia front-engine dragster and quickly located a very nice Rooman chassis, appropriated the car, and brought it home.

Welch and his crew, headed up by the famous “Two Pats,” Pat Johnston and Pat Fifelski, gave the chassis and the body panels the KRS touch first thing. Custom Paint and Design in Boise applied the paint, and Signs by Smith did the lettering and gold leaf that adorns this beauty in abundance.

The engine, designed and built by Lamb Cylinder Heads in Boise, is a small-block Chevy topped with a 6-71 Mooneyham supercharger capped off with a vintage polished Hilborn four-port injector. Power is transferred through a Powerglide transmission to a Ford 9-inch rearend. Weld Wheels hold on to Mickey Thompson rubber in the rear, and Avon front tires ride on old school chrome spoke front wheels. To say this car is clean would be an understatement. It’s immaculate in every sense; every single piece of this car has been painted, anodized or chromed.

The Guardian was built to run in both the ANRA and NHRA Heritage Series Nostalgia Eliminator 1 class. The car showed potential during its maiden voyage, but it also surprised Welch by hiking the front end on the first two runs.

Even after just two short, aborted runs, Team Guardian learned several things: their driver wasn’t afraid of the car and showed it great respect; it was very light in the front and the engine was not happy with the tune-up.

Back at the shop, the Two Pats set out to make a larger fuel tank located further forward in the chassis. After a few days of phone calls to determine how to correct the fuel system issues, they got to work making the potent small-block a happy camper. The crew finished the job in just one week and headed for their first official race at Bakersfield, California.

A pre-race test session a day prior to the ANRA event gave Welch the time he needed to finish his licensing requirements, allowing him to compete. “We got a lot of help with the licensing. I have to thank those at ANRA and the Auto Club Raceway Famoso staff for their help in getting my license.”

Welch went three rounds during eliminations at his first event. He told us that “It was a lot of luck, but it was a cool thing to go rounds like that the first time out.” The next event didn’t go quite as well, though, and he finished first round runner-up. It was a great learning experience for the team, and more laps down the track should help them improve and add data to their run book.

Welch, his lovely wife Danna and The Two Pats, with their jovial personalities, round out the entire racing program. The team motto, “let’s race,” is infused throughout Welch’s social media posts and is seen in his eyes when he flashes his infectious smile. The Guardian team takes their racing very seriously, and they have a seriously good time doing it.

---