May 27, 2007. Ron Beauchamp Jr. and the Mopar Parts Team embarked on the new NASCAR Canadian Tire Series opening event, the Dodge Dealers 200, at Cayuga Speedway and were on their way to a great finish. But competition and the concrete wall got in the way.
Team Mopar worked hard to prepare the Dodge Avenger for the opening event and continued to fine tune the handling through the afternoon practice session. “We were trying to get the nose to plant firmly” said the driver. “Coming off the corners if we could get that right we had plenty of horsepower”. Beauchamp would qualify for the 200 lap event mid pack in tenth spot.
When the green flag waved for the Dodge Dealers 200 and a new era in stock car racing in Canada Beauchamp and the Mopar Parts Dodge Avenger were off like a shot. “The car was great as soon as we took off” said Beauchamp. “We were up fighting for the lead before we had 50 laps in and that was where we wanted to be”.
The Mopar Parts Dodge would continue to run up front waging battle with several other to cars for the top three positions until they decided to take advantage of one of the many caution periods throughout the race to change tires, top off with fuel and make some handling adjustments.Chris Couvillion and the Mopar Crew made two efficient pit stops to complete the service that would take them the rest of the race distance.
For the balance of the race Ron Beauchamp Jr. moved the Mopar Parts Avenger skillfully through the competition and took the lead for the first time on lap 122 and maintaining that position for 23 laps. Moving through the final stages of the Dodge Dealers 200 the competition level increased significantly, Ron Jr. would battle with the best in the field and take the lead on two more occasions.
Following a late race caution period with only a handful of laps remaining, Beauchamp and the Mopar Parts Avenger were fighting hard for a position on the podium. The two cars came together first on the back stretch, the out of turn four and rode the concrete wall together along the front straight before coming to a halt in corner one. The race was over for both, their cars damaged beyond repair.
“It started on the back” said a frustrated Ron Beauchamp Jr. afterwards. “He was pinching down on me and I couldn’t go any lower, so as we came out of turn four I was battling for some space, next thing I know we’re riding the wall all the way into corner one. With so few laps to go, there has to be some give and take, we both could have had a good finish, now neither of us finishes and we’ve got a wrecked race car. That was a hard hit, one of the hardest I’ve had in quite some time, I’ll really feel sore tomorrow” he concluded.
Competition resumes for Team Mopar in The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series at Mosport International Raceway in June second of twelve events from coast to coast that will consist of ovals, road courses and temporary street circuits. For the complete schedule, results and other information log onto www.nascarlocalracing.com You will also be able to watch all twelve races this season on TSN.
Prepared by TL Sports & Entertainment
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