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| August 13, 2009 News |
| eKartingNews.com Driver of the Month - Sam Beasley - July 2009 |
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 | Sam Beasley recorded two victories each at the WKA Gold Cup and WKA Manufacturer's Cup Series during the month of July
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
In a continued effort to highlight the many outstanding performances by drivers around the country, eKartingNews.com is proud to introduce the ‘Driver of the Month’ program. Each month, the staff at EKN will determine the one driver who stood out above the rest and give the viewers a chance to know exactly what they accomplished and who they are.
North American karting certainly has a number of young rising stars in its midst, we ironically continue to highlight some of the top Junior drivers in our Driver of the Month program. For a fifth straight month, our feature driver is under the age of 16, which poses a great outlook for the future of the sport and motorsports in general. Unlike our previous honorees, the July Driver of the Month - Sam Beasley is just getting started in the sport.
Into his fourth season in karting, Beasley is progressing up the Junior ranks at the ripe young age of 15. Working with mentor Gary Lawson, Beasley is gaining the knowledge to put himself at the front, which he did at back to back weekends for the WKA Bully Clutches Gold Cup and WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series in the first half of July.
Over the fourth of July weekend in Camden, Ohio at the Spallco RV Sales Nationals for the Gold Cup Series, Beasley took home two victories along with two pole positions at G&J Kartway. Beasley began the event with the pole in Briggs Jr. Lite. After running second in the Prefinal, he stormed back to earn a one-second victory in the feature. Beasley would again set the pace in the Briggs Jr. Heavy division however run second in the Prefinal and Final - which ran in wet conditions. Beasley’s second win of the weekend came in Sunday’s Briggs Jr. Medium class after a hard fought battle in both the Prefinal and Final, which resulted in Beasley stretching out to a two-second margin in the end.
A week later at Zoom Zoom Nationals on the Briggs and Stratton Motorplex inside the historic Road America facility in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, Beasley added two more victories. The weekend began with a solid second place effort in HPV Jr. Heavy. That was followed the same day by a dominant performance in Yamaha Jr. Light where he swept the on-track action capped off by an eight-second triumph. The next day in the HPV Jr. Lite category, Beasley put in his second sweep with a near perfect performance, leading all but one lap in the racing action. Looking for his third win of the weekend, Beasley began the Yamaha Jr. Heavy class as the driver to beat after earning the pole position and walking away with the Prefinal win. The feature however began with a shake up in the order that resulted in some heavy contact, dropping Beasley to 15th and eventually out of the race on lap five.
Beasley currently sits first (Briggs Jr. Medium), second (Briggs Jr. Lite) and third (Briggs Jr. Heavy) in the standings for his Gold Cup divisions while holding first (HPV Jr. Lite), first (Yamaha Jr. Lite), second (HPV Jr. Heavy) and third (Yamaha Jr. Heavy) in the Manufacturer’s Cup Series categories. Sam has been around motorsports throughout his life, as his father runs Beasley Composites and now Beasley Motorsports as an Arrow kart dealer. Sam got into the karting scene after racing with some friends at the Thompson Kart Raceway near his home town of Leroy, Ohio. Progressing his way up the club ranks into the regional scene, Beasley has been improving each weekend out and is certainly a contender for the WKA Triple Crown in both Gold Cup and Manufacturer’s Cup Series.
 | Sam Beasley - EKN Driver of the Month - July 2009
(Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca) |
July 2009 EKN Driver of the Month - Sam Beasley
Bio
Date of Birth: March, 27, 1994
Hometown: Leroy Ohio
Parents: Ben & Claudia
Siblings: Anna (10) & Julia (13)
Height/Weight: 5’8” - 145lbs.
Education: High school sophomore (home-schooled)
Job: Beasley Motorsports
Racing Resume
Chassis: Arrow
Engine/Engine Builder: Comet Racing Engines, CKT, and Turner Racing Engines.
Sponsors: Beasley Motorsports, Prime Time Racing, BTK Motorsports, SKF Bearings, BMA Carbon Seats, and Ballistic Designs.
Series You Compete In: WKA Man. Cup, WKA Gold Cup, Great Lakes Sprint Series
Years Karting: 4
How did you get started in karting? Running with friends at Thompson Kart Raceway (Ohio)
What has been the high point in your racing career? Winning 4 WKA nationals in the month of July
What are your goals in racing? To become a professional racecar driver and to make a living at it
In a few words, how would you describe your driving style? Fast in, Fast out
Funniest moment at the race track? Do not really have one that I remember
Likes
Favorite Track: Briggs & Stratton Motorplex at Road America.
Favorite form of professional motorsports: ALMS
Favorite karting driver: Gary Lawson
Favorite professional driver: Alan McNish
Favorite website: eKartingNews.com
Favorite movie: Patriot
Favorite actor/actress: none
Favorite music/group: Van Halen
Favorite vacation/activity spot: Pocono, PA
Favorite food: Italian
The Real Deal
What do you do when not at the track? Work on my karts and hang out with friends
What are your goals outside of karting? To race cars for a living
What type of street car do you drive? I'm not quite old enough to drive yet
What type of street car would you like to drive? Audi RS-6
What are your pet peeves or things that irritate you? Messes irritate me. Some people refer to me as ‘Monk’
What do you think could be done to improve the sport of karting? Using only one engine program
What are your favorite aspects about karting? I like it because it’s the perfect ‘stepping stone’ for the stars of tomorrow
July Driver of the Month - Honorable Mention:
- Gregory Liefooghe: Rotax Summer Shootout - 1-2 feature finishes for overall event victory
- Cody Kay: IKF 2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals - 3 wins, 1 pole
- Brett Farmer: WKA Gold Cup Series - 3 wins, 4 poles plus Money Race victory |
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