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LONDON, ON – On Sunday afternoon at Delaware Speedway, Ron
Beauchamp Jr. ended a winless streak that dated back to
June 21, 1998 when he won the MOPAR 250 CASCAR Super Series
season-opener. And he did it in style. The #60 MOPAR Parts
/ Exide Dodge Charger driver was forced to start last in
the 30-car field after the nose of his car was judged to
be ‘too low’ following Saturday’s time trials.
Undeterred by the setback, Beauchamp
quickly started to work his way forward after the start
of the 250-lap race at the half-mile oval. By the time he
pitted at lap 100, the Windsor, ON driver had charged to
sixth-place. At the halfway point of the race, Beauchamp
was running fourth and looking strong. The winning move
came on lap 144 when Beauchamp powered underneath race leader
Dave Whitlock (Avenue Motor Works Dodge Charger) on the
front straight.
Ron Beauchamp en route to victory in the MOPAR 250
at Delaware Speedway. Photo courtesy of G. MacPherson /
Inside Track
After making the pass, Beauchamp had the field covered
the rest of the way. At one point, he built a massive 10-second
lead over his nearest rival. And even though caution flags
late in the race erased his big lead, the former Super Series
East champ came home more than a second in front of Whitlock.
“Our last win was a long time ago, so this is really
big,” said Beauchamp, in victory lane. “I knew we had a
good car, but I was worried about wrecks with us being so
far back for the start. But the car was so good that I knew
if I was patient we had a chance. The only trouble I had
all day was on restarts for a few laps, but then it just
took off.”
Podium finishers Mark Dilley (3rd), Ron Beauchamp
Jr. (1st) and Dave Whitlock (2nd) following the MOPAR 250.
All three racers drive the new Dodge Charger.
Photo courtesy of G. MacPherson / Inside Track
The final podium position went to Mark Dilley (Dodge / Mobil1,
Exide / Power Water Dodge Charger), Whitlock’s teammate
at Whitlock Motorsports.
The top three finishers all drove the new Dodge Charger,
which was made its CASCAR Super Series debut at Delaware,
just days after being introduced at CASCAR’s Media Day.
All in all, it was a dream finish for the MOPAR / Dodge
contingent.
Fourth-place went to reigning Super Series National
champ Don Thomson Jr. The Home Hardware Chevy driver started
on the pole and ran second for most of the first-half of
the race, but wasn’t in contention for the win after that
point. Sophomore driver J.R. Fitzpatrick was fifth in the
Cambridge Rigging Chevrolet. Defending MOPAR 250 race winner
Peter Gibbons fought handling troubles on his Canadian Tire
Chevy and came home eighth.
Matty Tsoumaris was the top finishing rookie driver.
The John’s Unique Auto Chevy racer, who hails from Toronto,
recorded a 16th-place result.
The MOPAR 250 was slowed by seven cautions for a total
of 54 laps. The next CASCAR Super Series race is slated
for June 4 at Montreal’s Autodrome St-Eustache.
CASCAR SUPER SERIES POINTS AS OF
MAY 22, 2005 (UNOFFICIAL TOP 15): 1. #60 Ron Beauchamp
Jr. (170 pts.); 2. #39 Dave Whitlock (164); 3. #4 Don Thomson
Jr. (157); 4. #9 Mark Dilley (152); 5. #84 J.R. Fitzpatrick
(144); 6. #25 Jim Lapcevich (140); 7. #52 Ron Sheridan (138);
8. #1 Peter Gibbons (136); 9. #23 Jeff Lapcevich (134);
9. #14 John Fitzpatrick (134); 11. #28 Steve Robblee (130);
12. #71 Bryan Cathcart (128); 13. #88 Dave Jacombs (126);
14. #93 Joe Goncalves (124); 15. #42 Sean Stafford (122)
CASCAR ON TV: The MOPAR
250 from Delaware Speedway will air at 9 p.m. on June 11
on SPORTSNET. For information regarding initial airings
and replays of Super Series races on SPORTSNET, please check
your local listings or visit http://www.cascar.ca/schedule/tv_schedule.html.
CASCAR Super Series
RESULTS: MOPAR 250
Round #1 of 12 // May 22, 2005 // Delaware Speedway
London, ON // 250 Laps // ½-Mile, Banked Oval
| FIN. |
ST. |
# |
DRIVER (HOMETOWN) |
SPONSOR / MAKE |
LAPS |
| 1 |
30 |
60 |
Ron Beauchamp Jr. (Windsor ON) |
MOPAR Parts / ExideDodge Charger |
250 |
| 2 |
2 |
39 |
Dave Whitlock (Wyoming ON) |
Avenue Motor Works / NMTDodge Charger |
250 |
| 3 |
9 |
9 |
Mark Dilley (Barrie ON) |
Dodge / Mobil 1 / Exide / PowerWater
Dodge Charger |
250 |
| 4 |
1 |
4 |
Don Thomson Jr. (Hamilton ON) |
Home Hardware ChevroletMonte Carlo |
250 |
| 5 |
10 |
84 |
J.R. Fitzpatrick (Ayr ON) |
Cambridge Rigging ChevroletMonte Carlo |
250 |
| 6 |
18 |
25 |
Jim Lapcevich (Hamilton ON) |
Fastline / EMCEA Transport/ Tim Horton’s
Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
250 |
| 7 |
14 |
52 |
Ron Sheridan (Strathroy ON) |
Restoration Masters /United Carpet
Pontiac Grand Prix |
250 |
| 8 |
7 |
1 |
Peter Gibbons (Stouffville ON) |
Canadian Tire CorporationChevrolet
Monte Carlo |
250 |
| 9 |
12 |
23 |
Jeff Lapcevich (Caistor Centre
ON) |
Fastline / TimHorton’s / EMCEA Transport
Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
250 |
| 10 |
4 |
14 |
John Fitzpatrick (Ayr ON) |
Latta Cranes ChevroletMonte Carlo |
249 |
| 11 |
22 |
28 |
Steve Robblee (Dorchester ON) |
Grogan Ford Taurus |
249 |
| 12 |
17 |
71 |
Bryan Cathcart (Peterborough
ON) |
Meyers Transport/ Peterborough Homes
Dodge Charger |
248 |
| 13 |
11 |
88 |
Dave Jacombs (Mt. Hope ON) |
Lou’s BBQ Ford Taurus |
248 |
| 14 |
19 |
93 |
Joe Goncalves (Concord ON) |
Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
246 |
| 15 |
15 |
42 |
Sean Stafford (Springfield ON) |
L.E. Walker / Mid-AmericaFreight Systems
Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
245 |
| 16 |
24 |
41 |
Matty Tsoumaris (Toronto ON)
R |
John’s Unique Auto/ Mama’s Pizza Chevrolet
Monte Carlo |
244 |
| 17 |
6 |
17 |
DJ Kennington (St. Thomas ON) |
Castrol Canada DodgeCharger |
244 |
| 18 |
26 |
37 |
Tara MacLeod (Innisfil ON) R |
Central Merchant ServicesFord Taurus |
244 |
| 19 |
21 |
86 |
Kenny Forth (Lynden ON) |
Midnight Sun / ParkinsonTours / 820
CHAM Ford Taurus |
243 |
| 20 |
28 |
20 |
Mark Swain (Port Perry ON) |
Nighthawk Chevrolet MonteCarlo |
242 |
| 21 |
8 |
19 |
Brad Graham (Glencoe ON) |
Challenger Motor Frt. /Logel’s Dodge
Charger |
239 |
| 22 |
16 |
22 |
Scott Steckly (Milverton ON) |
Alltruck Int’l / ERBGroup Pontiac Grand
Prix |
232 |
| 23 |
29 |
44 |
Marv Wilder (Toronto ON) |
Longbow Freight SystemsFord Taurus |
222 |
| 24 |
3 |
02 |
Kerry Micks (Mt. Albert ON) |
Power Water / APX / CarstarFord Taurus |
195 |
| 25 |
5 |
50 |
Pete Shepherd (Brampton ON) |
ATTO Dodge Charger |
165 |
| 26 |
20 |
43 |
Bob Merrifield (Belle River ON) |
Team Remax PreferredRealty Windsor
Dodge Charger |
140 |
| 27 |
25 |
11 |
Ron VanEs (Smithville ON) |
Star Van Systems / AllCover Chevrolet
Monte Carlo |
117 |
| 28 |
27 |
18 |
Chad McGlynn (Petersburg ON)
R |
Ultimate Garage FordTaurus |
53 |
| 29 |
13 |
10 |
Doug Brown (Brantford ON) |
NAPA / Autopro ChevroletMonte Carlo |
52 |
| 30 |
23 |
3 |
Stu Robinson Jr. (Holland Landing
ON) |
Snap-On ToolsDodge Charger |
32 |
R after the hometown denotes Rookie contender.
TIME OF RACE: 1 hour, 55 minutes and 41.247
seconds // MARGIN OF VICTORY: 1.013 seconds
// CAUTIONS: 7 for a total of 54 laps //
LAP LEADERS: #4 Don Thomson Jr. (Pole-15), #02 Kerry Micks
(16-38), #39 Dave Whitlock (39-143), #60 Ron Beauchamp Jr.
(144-250).
Prepared by Inside Track Communications.
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