Lady Luck seemed to hold a grudge against Ron Beauchamp Jr. on opening day of the 2013 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season this past weekend.
Hard times for Beauchamp and his team surfaced even before setting foot on the racetrack for the Vortex Brake Pads 200. On the way to the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the team suffered a flat tire… a sign of things to come.
Beauchamp’s #60 Mopar Parts/Pennzoil/Exide Dodge performed well through practice, Beauchamp feeling confident behind the wheel of a brand new car. The feeling was short lived, however, as there was a problem with the intake valve in the first lap of qualifying. The vehicle’s speed suffered due to the complication and #60 qualified 22nd for the main event. Ultimately, Beauchamp and his crew made the decision to change engines before the race, relegating #60 to the back of the field.
When the race kicked off Beauchamp found his groove, and he moved inside the top 20. But before #60 could collect more spots, he sustained contact from the #15, requiring a stop so the crew could make repairs to the body of the Mopar Parts/Pennzoil/Exide Dodge. #60 went down a lap but his vehicle remained fast and he was able to continue fighting for position on the track.
Beauchamp and his team needed to move forward as quickly as possible, so they strategized to wait and swap out the vehicle’s tires late in the race. Their theory proved successful, as Beauchamp was quick to collect more spots.
Just as the race became salvageable, #60 broke something in transmission with only a few laps remaining. Beauchamp eventually crossed the finish line in 16th place.
“We had a lot of tough luck this weekend, trouble in qualifying hurt us and then the late malfunction was our breaking point,” he said after the race. “The Mopar Parts/Pennzoil/Exide Dodge was quick though. This is a good race car and hopefully we’ve got the bad luck behind us.”
Ron Beauchamp and the #60Mopar Parts/Pennzoil/Exide Dodge will get back in action at round two of the series June 15 at Delaware Speedway near London, ON.
To get more information about the #60 Mopar Parts/Pennzoil/Exide Batteries team you can log on to www.beauchampmotorsports.com and www.mopar.ca
