Beauchamp is Quick in New Car, but Officials Ruling has Disappointing Results

Courtesy TL Sports & Entertainment

June 19, 2006 - Ron Beauchamp Jr. and the Mopar Parts team were excited to debut their new road course car this past weekend at round two of the CASCAR Super Series. With challenging road courses like those at Mosport Raceway it’s necessary to have top level equipment. However while the car was fast, the race result was more than a little disappointing.

With the new car sporting the Mobil One logo across the hood for the first time this season there were plenty of smiles when Ron Beauchamp Jr. was able to post the 6th quickest time in qualifying. “We were on pole for a while, but got bumped out by the later group” said the driver. “But we’re very happy with this new car.”

With all new cars there are little difficulties to work out, after the Saturday session the team changed transmissions because third gear was a little sticky. On Sunday morning there was a problem with the master cylinder so it too was swapped out.

When the green flag dropped for the Clarington 200 Beauchamp knew he had one of the best cars on the track. “I wasn’t pushing at all, just settling into our rhythm, and waiting to see how the race played out. As others began to make pit stops, the team took advantage of track position and stayed out to lead a lap and gain valuable championship points before making their scheduled stop for service. As the pit stops cycled through Beauchamp was among the front runners and plotting his charge to the front. It was shortly after this that the race turned sour for Team Mopar.

Following a restart after a full course caution the team was informed that they were being penalized for passing under a yellow flag condition. Following an animated discussion with officials asking for a more thorough explanation the team had no choice but to serve the penalty or risk further sanctions. Ron Beauchamp Sr. stated “we don’t agree with how things were handled, I think there were some inconsistencies in how situations were ruled during this race.”

Following his stop and go penalty, Ron Jr. put on a charge. It was during the closing laps of the race that Beauchamp was clicking off some of the quickest times of the afternoon and doing what he could to salvage the day with 21st place points. “This is a great car, its unfortunate we couldn’t show it off properly today, but we’ll be ready for the rest of the road races.”

Ron Beauchamp Jr. and Team Mopar along with the rest of the CASCAR Super Series teams are back in action on the Canada Day Weekend as the series makes its second stop of the year at Barrie Speedway.