Scott Beauchamp Races for Championship and for Luke

Escanaba, MI (August 14, 2008) - Scott Beauchamp and his #820 Trail Ready Goodyear Tire Chevy arrived at his home track, Bark River International Raceway, with an eight point lead and looking to put some distance from his closest rivals, including Eric Ruppel, Craig Metz, Al Konitzer, and Mitch Dorr. The weather was perfect and Scott was ready for whatever the weekend would bring.

The Beauchamp Family was also at the track with another mission, beginning with the awareness to Prader-Willi Syndrome, a condition their son Luke was born with. The family set up a booth on the spectator hill to bring attention to the syndrome and raise money for the non-profit association’s research into the cure. For more information about Prader-Willi Syndrome see article at the end of the race report.

Saturday – Round Nine
The land rush start saw Scott get caught up in the first corner pileup. Once Scott got headed in the right direction, the front bumper and the grille area of the truck were missing. By the time, the #820 Goodyear Tire Chevy came by the spectator hill for the first time, most of the field had gone by.

Then within two laps Scott noticed the engine temperatures were starting to climb. Regardless, Scott continued on knowing that every championship point was valuable at this point of the season.

Then with three laps to go the #820 Motive Gear Chevy Silverado pulled off the track, to minimize the engine damage, as the engine temperatures were just too high.

“The pileup in the first turn did me in,” noted Scott Beauchamp. “I had lost my front bumper and grille from all the contact. Unfortunately I didn’t know that. Then when I got going again, my radiator was exposed and immediately filled up with dirt. Eventually we overheated and lost the motor. I’ve got my backup motor in the trailer, its pretty stout, so we will have something for competition tomorrow.”

Sunday – Round Ten
Overnight Scott and everyone on the Beauchamp crew went to work installing the team’s backup engine. When it cam time to line up for the start, #820 Chevy was set to go, minus a few pieces of sheet metal and a vulnerable front bumper.

The start saw Scott take a very wide out side line through the first turn hoping for a clean start to protect his front end. To no avail, the #820 Deaver Spring Bilstein Shock Chevy settled into thirteenth place as the field headed into Bark River’s back section. From that point on, Scott cleanly worked his way through much of the field, finally finishing in fourth place, just behind his cousin, Dan.

“What a comeback today,” commented Scott Beauchamp. “Congratulations to my cousin, Dan for finishing on the podium. Congrats to Rupe, he had great weekend too. I know we lost the lead in the standings, but it’s not over yet. The last two rounds in Crandon will be a real fight to finish…Thanks to the support of my family and friends that came not just for the racing, but to support Luke and all those with Prader-Willi Syndrome. Hopefully we raised the awareness of the illness and thanks to all those that donated for the cure.”

The final weekend of racing in WSORR season is the BorgWarner Off-Road World Championships, August 29-31, in Crandon, Wisconsin.

Don’t forget to tune into SPEED TV later this year as the Stock Truck division will be covered on several broadcasts and also on an episode of Lucas Oil “On the Edge.”

Scott would like to thank all his supporters including:


Trail Ready
Bilstein
Goodyear Tire
Motive Gear
Nyman Signs
Stewart Manufacturing
Deaver Spring
Bob’s Engine & Transmission
Currie Enterprises
Pomp’s Tire
Best Equipment & Trailer Sales
K &N Filters
Lucas Oil

Motive Gear
Keystone
ATD
MIX 106.3 FM
Schneider Iron & Metal
Aper Construction
Edwards Collision
Autometer
MSD Ignition
Summit Racing
KC Hilites
Forest County Potawatomi
WSORR


Currently Scott Beauchamp still marketing opportunities for the remainder of the 2008 season as well as the upcoming 2009 WSORR Stock Truck season. For more information please contact Scott Beauchamp at: best@chartmi.net 

- www.beauchamp820.com  

- Mike Reusche, marketing, MTG

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Article from Escanaba Daily Press Website – August 7, 2008
http://www.dailypress.net/page/content.detail/id/505543.html 

Racing is a family affair
Cousins raising awareness for childhood disease ESCANABA - Most race drivers are more than happy to talk about the logo on their hood because they know it's connected to a check that supports their team.

Scott and Dan Beauchamp of Bark River want to talk about the logo on their Stock Truck's hood this weekend at the Island Resort and Casino and Boss Snowplow Off-Road Shootout because it's connected to their life.

The Beauchamps will use their trucks' paint schemes to build awareness for Prader-Willi Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that Scott's son Luke was born with about two years ago.

"It's kind of a shock. It's like, 'Why me?,' kind of, until you get to understand the whole aspect of the syndrome. It just caught everybody off-guard," Scott said.

Prader-Willi Syndrome is caused by seven missing genes on the 15th chromosome. Typical symptoms include insatiable appetite, due to the missing genes' role in controlling the hypothalamus gland, as well as lethargy and lack of muscle tone. It affects roughly 1 in 12,000 children nationally.

As soon as Luke was born July 16, 2006, the Beauchamps knew something was wrong.

"He was not moving at all. The doctors basically immediately took him into the intensive care unit, so for the first couple of hours, we didn't even get to see him," Scott said.

In the midst of this family crisis, Scott's wife Tammy was adamant that he continue racing. He flew back from Ann Arbor to race in the second Bark River event of that season.

"Of course, your mind is always with your family and especially your newborn child. At that point, we were so close to winning the championship," he said.

After the Crandon, Wis., races Labor Day Weekend, Beauchamp finished second for the season, three points out of the lead, but his disappointment was dulled by knowing that Luke was finally coming home.

At 2, Luke doesn't exhibit the appetite problems commonly associated with the disease yet. He walks around and talks, but his diminished muscle tone means he's not as stable as most kids, nor does he have as many words in his vocabulary (right now he's at about 20-25).

Scott said they've decided to be very proactive with Luke's treatment, including human growth hormone. Their doctors have said he's doing exceptionally for a child his age with the disease.

"We, as parents, feel that we're very strong parents as far as making him learn everything we can help him with," Scott said. "With the University of Michigan behind us, we decided very early to put him on growth hormone."

In some cases, kids with Prader-Willi have graduate from high school and go on to college.

Scott said they just want to make race fans aware of the disease and to help out the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association, which has helped their family cope with the impact of Luke's disease.

If the last two rounds of the World Series of Off-Road Racing are any indication, the trucks should be near the front. Two weeks ago at Oshkosh Speedzone Raceway, Scott passed Dan in the closing laps to win the second of two weekend races.

"It's like, 'aww, man, it would have been nice for Dan to win,' but I'm not going to give him the win if I can help it," he said.

Scott stands atop the Stock Truck standings going into this weekend's races. After returning to last year's truck set-up, he's pushed to the front of the field.

"We've got a little wind in our sails and our team is definitely ready to finish the season in style," he said.