September 20, 2009. Ron Beauchamp Jr. and the #60 Mopar Parts Dodge team have enjoyed a season of consistency and success in 2009. Round number twelve of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series at Riverside International Speedway near Antigonish, Nova Scotia was the perfect example of this season’s success. Beauchamp would qualify the Mopar Parts Dodge on the front row, score his __th top-five finish of the season, and move into second place in the overall championship standings.
Gloomy rain showers would postpone the scheduled action to Sunday but right from the morning practice Team Mopar was on their game. Beauchamp would post an impressive practice time late in the session and back that up with a starting spot on the outside of the front row in qualifying. “We made a few changes to the car for qualifying and that really made a huge difference” said the obviously pleased driver. “For the race we went a little more conservative in the set up but knew we’d have a strong car” he added.
When the green flag waved to begin the 300 lap feature event Beauchamp battled with the #17 car for top spot. “Of course we both wanted to take the lead right from the start” said the Mopar Parts Dodge driver. “Right off the get go the car was good. I didn’t push things too hard early but when I got the lead from the #17 car I thought, uh boy this car is really good” he added.
Beauchamp would take over top spot on lap 32 and then begin to build his lead. “The car was just so good that we kind of checked out for a bit” said the driver. “Then when the caution flag came out around the 100 lap mark we came in for fuel, we wanted to get our fuel stop done early. I’ve got to hand it to the crew for the great pit stops today and making the right calls during all the stops, they were awesome all day” said the appreciative driver.
Beauchamp would continue to be among the front runners all day keeping the Mopar Parts Dodge in contention with his smooth driving style and plenty of Dodge horsepower.
Just past the halfway point in the race Team Mopar would perform what turned out to be their final pit stop of the day for tires and then were forced to leave things in the hands of the driver from that point on. “After that stop we had a long green flag run right until the end of the race and unfortunately for us the car kept getting tighter and tighter” said Beauchamp.
The handling characteristics of the Mopar Parts Dodge were not acting as the team had expected and Beauchamp had his hands full trying to maintain a front running position. Following the race the team would discover that the ride height of the car was a bit too low and the front end parts that controlled the handling properties became stressed and wore away causing the difficult behavior in the car.
Right to the checkered flag Beauchamp worked the car as hard as he dared, fighting for every position. As the race reached its conclusion Beauchamp battled with the #9 car for a podium position. Team Mopar would come up just a bit short and settle for a fourth place finish. “The #9 car got me out of shape just a little bit on the final corner and then we drag raced to the checkered flag but he beat me by about a foot I think” said the driver.
Another consistently strong finish by Ron Beauchamp Jr. also helped him in the Championship points fight as he moved into second overall, twenty points ahead of the third place team. “I’m really proud of how well this team has done all year, we’ve been running up front, scoring podium finish and running really consistently. Now in the final race next weekend we’re focused on getting that victory we’ve come so close to all year” he concluded.
The final event of the 2009 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series takes place this coming Saturday September 26th at Kawartha Speedway in Fraserville, ON. Team Mopar will participate in all thirteen events that take place on ovals, road courses and temporary street circuits. You can follow the action all year long with the television broadcasts on TSN. For more information about Team Mopar and Ron Beauchamp Jr. at http://www.beauchampmotorsports.com/ and don’t forget to vote for Ron Jr. as the series most popular driver. Click here to cast your vote.
Photo caption: Ron Beauchamp Jr. heads out for practice at Riverside International Speedway in the Mopar Parts Dodge
Photo Credit: Todd Lewis
Gloomy rain showers would postpone the scheduled action to Sunday but right from the morning practice Team Mopar was on their game. Beauchamp would post an impressive practice time late in the session and back that up with a starting spot on the outside of the front row in qualifying. “We made a few changes to the car for qualifying and that really made a huge difference” said the obviously pleased driver. “For the race we went a little more conservative in the set up but knew we’d have a strong car” he added.
When the green flag waved to begin the 300 lap feature event Beauchamp battled with the #17 car for top spot. “Of course we both wanted to take the lead right from the start” said the Mopar Parts Dodge driver. “Right off the get go the car was good. I didn’t push things too hard early but when I got the lead from the #17 car I thought, uh boy this car is really good” he added.
Beauchamp would take over top spot on lap 32 and then begin to build his lead. “The car was just so good that we kind of checked out for a bit” said the driver. “Then when the caution flag came out around the 100 lap mark we came in for fuel, we wanted to get our fuel stop done early. I’ve got to hand it to the crew for the great pit stops today and making the right calls during all the stops, they were awesome all day” said the appreciative driver.
Beauchamp would continue to be among the front runners all day keeping the Mopar Parts Dodge in contention with his smooth driving style and plenty of Dodge horsepower.
Just past the halfway point in the race Team Mopar would perform what turned out to be their final pit stop of the day for tires and then were forced to leave things in the hands of the driver from that point on. “After that stop we had a long green flag run right until the end of the race and unfortunately for us the car kept getting tighter and tighter” said Beauchamp.
The handling characteristics of the Mopar Parts Dodge were not acting as the team had expected and Beauchamp had his hands full trying to maintain a front running position. Following the race the team would discover that the ride height of the car was a bit too low and the front end parts that controlled the handling properties became stressed and wore away causing the difficult behavior in the car.
Right to the checkered flag Beauchamp worked the car as hard as he dared, fighting for every position. As the race reached its conclusion Beauchamp battled with the #9 car for a podium position. Team Mopar would come up just a bit short and settle for a fourth place finish. “The #9 car got me out of shape just a little bit on the final corner and then we drag raced to the checkered flag but he beat me by about a foot I think” said the driver.
Another consistently strong finish by Ron Beauchamp Jr. also helped him in the Championship points fight as he moved into second overall, twenty points ahead of the third place team. “I’m really proud of how well this team has done all year, we’ve been running up front, scoring podium finish and running really consistently. Now in the final race next weekend we’re focused on getting that victory we’ve come so close to all year” he concluded.
The final event of the 2009 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series takes place this coming Saturday September 26th at Kawartha Speedway in Fraserville, ON. Team Mopar will participate in all thirteen events that take place on ovals, road courses and temporary street circuits. You can follow the action all year long with the television broadcasts on TSN. For more information about Team Mopar and Ron Beauchamp Jr. at http://www.beauchampmotorsports.com/ and don’t forget to vote for Ron Jr. as the series most popular driver. Click here to cast your vote.
Photo caption: Ron Beauchamp Jr. heads out for practice at Riverside International Speedway in the Mopar Parts Dodge
Photo Credit: Todd Lewis
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