Beard Motorsports

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Beard Motorsports
Beard Motorsports.jpeg
Owner(s)Mark Beard
Mark Beard Jr.
Annie Beard
BaseMooresville, North Carolina
SeriesNASCAR Cup Series
Race drivers62. Noah Gragson (part-time)
Sponsors62. Beard Oil
ManufacturerChevrolet
Opened2009
Career
Debut2017 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Races competedTotal: 35
Cup Series: 17
Xfinity Series: 11
ARCA Racing Series: 7
Drivers' Championships0
Race victories0
Pole positions0

Beard Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was created in 2009 by Mark Beard for competition in the ARCA Re/Max Series. The team attempted two races in the Cup Series in 2014, with driver Clay Rogers, making none. After going dormant in 2015 and 2016, the team returned part-time in 2017 with Brendan Gaughan. The team last entered the 2021 Daytona 500, but have stated plans to return in 2022.

History[]

Early years[]

During his driving career, Mark Beard raced for his own team in ARCA and the NASCAR Busch Series as an owner-driver, but also fielded cars in the 1990s for drivers like , , Bobby Dotter, L. D. Ottinger, Richard Lasater, Butch Miller, and [1] The owner of the oil business Beard Oil, he founded Beard Motorsports in 2009 and began racing in ARCA with Clay Rogers; Beard acquired equipment from Hendrick Motorsports.[2][3] The team split time between the numbers 42 and 45 and scored a best finish of fourth at Iowa Speedway.[4]

Cup Series[]

Brendan Gaughan in the No. 62 at Talladega Superspeedway in 2019

Mark Beard founded the team during the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The race team's engine was built with old Hendrick Motorsports parts and with tests at various east coast tracks, including at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The team was on the entry list for the July race at Loudon but withdrew their car before attempting to qualify.[5] The team then attempted to run at Richmond International Raceway two months later with Clay Rogers in the No. 75 Beard Oil Chevrolet;[6] however, they failed to qualify for the race. The last time Beard Motorsports attempted to qualify for a race was at Phoenix International Raceway with Rogers, but weren't able to make the race.[7]

The team did not attempt any races in 2015 or 2016.[8]

In 2017, Beard Motorsports announced it would run the Daytona 500 with Brendan Gaughan in the No. 75 Beard Oil Chevrolet.[9] Gaughan's Richard Childress Racing Xfinity Series pit crew serviced the car and the team used a Childress engine. The team also bought a car from Leavine Family Racing, a Childress satellite; the car had finished 15th in the previous year's Daytona 500 with Michael McDowell.[10] The team does not possess a NASCAR charter.[11] As one of the two fastest non-charter cars in qualifying, Gaughan was able to make the field.

Gaughan then secured an 11th-place finish in the Daytona 500, the first race in the Cup Series for the team.[12] The team announced it would enter the other three 2017 restrictor plate races. Gaughan and the team returned at Talladega, finishing 27th. Then on July 1 in the Coke Zero 400, Brendan Gaughan drove the team's car to a seventh-place finish,[13] despite hitting the wall once in the race. The team's next race was the Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Gaughan led laps and ended up 17th after avoiding the big one then being collected in the next crash.

The team came back for the 2018 slate of restrictor-plate races, and did the same as well in 2019, using cars from Richard Childress Racing, engines from ECR Engines, and technical support from the Childress crew.[14]

2020 marked Gaughan's final season as a driver.[15] He made the field at the 2020 Daytona 500 by posting the second fastest qualifying speed of all the non-charter teams (188.945 mph; 33rd overall).[16] Gaughan's tenure with the team and career ended in the YellaWood 500 at Talladega, where he finished 35th after being collected in a Stage 2 wreck.[17][18]

On January 14, 2021, Beard announced Noah Gragson would attempt to make his Cup debut in the Daytona 500.[19] On January 31, just 14 days before the 500, team owner Mark Beard died at age 72.[20]

On September 7, 2021, Beard Motorsports announced they will return in the 2022 season, entering the No. 62 in all four superspeedway races with a driver still to be announced.[21]

NASCAR Cup Series results[]

NASCAR Cup Series results
Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Owners Pts
2014 Clay Rogers 75 Chevy DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL MAR TEX DAR RCH TAL KAN CLT DOV POC MCH SON KEN DAY NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH
DNQ 		CHI NHA DOV KAN CLT TAL MAR TEX PHO
DNQ 		HOM NA 01
2017 Brendan Gaughan DAY
11 		ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL
26 		KAN CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY
7 		KEN NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH CHI NHA DOV CLT TAL
19 		KAN MAR TEX PHO HOM 40th 85
2018 62 DAY
28 		ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL
22 		DOV KAN CLT POC MCH SON CHI DAY
12 		KEN NHA POC GLN MCH BRI DAR IND LVS RCH CLT DOV TAL
12 		KAN MAR TEX PHO HOM 40th 74
2019 DAY
23 		ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL
8 		DOV KAN CLT POC MCH SON CHI DAY
20 		KEN NHA POC GLN MCH BRI DAR IND LVS RCH CLT DOV TAL
27 		KAN MAR TEX PHO HOM 40th 71
2020 DAY
7 		LVS CAL PHO DAR DAR CLT CLT BRI ATL MAR HOM TAL
21 		POC POC IND KEN TEX KAN NHA MCH MCH DAY
39 		DOV DOV DAY
8 		DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL
35 		CLT KAN TEX MAR PHO 40th 78
2021 Noah Gragson DAY
DNQ 		DAY HOM LVS PHO ATL BRI MAR RCH TAL KAN DAR DOV COA CLT SON NSH POC POC ROA ATL NHA GLN IND MCH DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL CLT TEX KAN MAR PHO NA 01
Daytona 500[]
Year Driver Manufacturer Start Finish
2017 Brendan Gaughan Chevrolet 39 11
2018 25 28
2019 30 23
2020 39 7
2021 Noah Gragson DNQ

References[]

  1. ^ "Mark Beard – Ownership stats". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  2. ^ Dickman, Jeremy H. (July 17, 2010). "Beard II making the most of racing team". The Morning Sun. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  3. ^ "Mt. Pleasant-based Beard Oil withdraws from Michigan International Speedway ARCA race". MLive.com. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  4. ^ "Driver Clay Rogers 2012 ARCA Racing Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  5. ^ "Clay Rogers and Beard Motorsports to attempt Sprint Cup debut this weekend". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  6. ^ "Beard Motorsports to attempt Richmond". Archived from the original on 2015-10-04. Retrieved 2014-12-01.
  7. ^ "Driver Clay Rogers 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  8. ^ "Brendan Gaughan, Mark Beard enter NASCAR Daytona 500 with RCR support". Autoweek. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  9. ^ Nguyen, Justin (2017-01-13). "Brendan Gaughan to run the Daytona 500". Overtake Motorsport. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  10. ^ Kantowski, Ron (January 12, 2017). "Las Vegan Brendan Gaughan will attempt to race in Daytona 500". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  11. ^ "Brendan Gaughan Will Attempt To Make The 2017 Daytona 500". Working On My Redneck ™. 2017-01-13. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  12. ^ Staff report (February 19, 2017). "Chase Elliott Captures Back-to-Back Daytona Poles". NASCAR. Turner Sports Network. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  13. ^ Utter, Jim (July 2, 2017). "RCR and its affiliates fill the top ten at Daytona". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  14. ^ Catanzareti, Zach. "'I Love This Family': Gaughan Proud of Talladega Finish with Small Team". Kickin The Tires. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  15. ^ "Brendan Gaughan plans to make 2020 his final season of racing". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. December 21, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  16. ^ Albert, Zack (February 9, 2020). "Haley, Gaughan exhale after securing Daytona 500 starting spots". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  17. ^ "This Is It: Brendan Gaughan, a Fan Favorite, Makes His Final NASCAR Start in the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway". Talladega Superspeedway. October 2, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  18. ^ "Crash Leaves Gaughan 35th in Final NASCAR Race". October 5, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  19. ^ "Beard Motorsports Tabs Gragson for Daytona 500". Beard Motorsports. True Speed Communication. January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  20. ^ "Mark Beard Sr., No. 62 team owner, passes away". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  21. ^ "Beard Motorsports will Attempt to Qualify into 2022 Daytona 500". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. September 7, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2021.

External links[]

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