July 25, 2012. Saskatoon, Sask. – Ron Beauchamp Jr. earned a top ten finish on Wednesday at the Auto Clearing Motor Speedway behind the wheel of his #60 Mopar Parts/Exide Batteries/Mobil 1 Dodge, but only after overcoming a late mechanical setback that knocked him out of the top five.
During the first practice session early in the day, Beauchamp’s #60 Mopar Parts/Exide Batteries/Mobil 1 Dodge was running quick. They made a few last-minute adjustments in the last half an hour of practice, but soon realized they didn’t like the changes.
“We were a very first car in the first session and we made some adjustments to try and make it better,” Beauchamp explained. “We didn’t end up liking the changes we made, so we went back to where we were with a few little tweaks.”
After correcting the last-minute changes at the end of practice, Beauchamp qualified 6th. Although during qualifying, #60 dealt with some tightness in the middle of the corner, something Beauchamp said hindered him in obtaining a higher starting position.
Beauchamp had a solid start to the beginning of the race, running consistently in the top five. #60 made a scheduled stop for fuel and tires, and his Mopar Parts/Exide Batteries/Mobil 1 Dodge continued to run well as he held on to fifth place late in the race.
As #60 looked to make a late-race push to advance through the top five, his car hiccuped in the closing few laps and he lost power. Beauchamp quickly diagnosed the ignition box had failed, and he quickly switched to back up and the car came back to full song.
Unfortunately for #60, he lost several positions after the ignition box failure and there weren’t enough laps remaining in the race to recover. Beauchamp finished up the race in 8th place, down two from his 6th place starting position.
“It’s frustrating to be that close to a top five finish and suffer a late setback. It hurts a bit,” Beauchamp said after the race. “But we’ve got some positive momentum going and we’re looking forward to Trois-Rivieres.”
In the overall championship standings Ron Beauchamp Jr. sits, is tied for fifth after seven races.
Ron Beauchamp Jr. and the #60 Mopar Parts/Mobil 1/Exide Batteries Dodge team will be back in action Wednesday at Auto Clearing Speedway in Saskatoon, SK. For more information about the #60 Mopar Parts/Mobil 1/Exide Batteries team log on towww.beauchampmotorsports.com and www.mopar.ca
