Former National Champion Barry Beggarly Honored to Be Part of Orange Krush 200

Friday’s Rogers Heating & Cooling Orange Krush 200 at Orange County Speedway boasts a list of 25 drivers invited to take part in the 25-car field. Headlined by the likes of Ward Burton, Jeb Burton and Jeremy Mayfield, most of the field consists of current Late Model Stock front-runners.

However, one name that jumped out on the entry list for long-time Late Stock Fans was Barry Beggarly.

See Ward Burton and More in the Orange Krush 200 on RacingAmerica.TV

Beggarly hasn’t been a regular competitor for the better part of the last decade. However, “The Southern Gentleman” is considered one of the all-time greats in the region. He claimed the 1993 national championship in what is now known as the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series. He was also the 2011 ASA Member Track National Champion.

The 1993 national championship featured a too-close-to-call battle with Dennis Setzer. At season’s end, both drivers were tied in points, with Beggarly claiming the championship on a tiebreaker with one more second-place finish than Setzer.

Beggarly admits he may not be as good as his prime, but he’s looking forward to another showdown at Orange County on Friday night.

“It’s going to be hard to come down here and outrun these young bucks,” Beggarly told Racing America. “I’m enjoying it, you know, getting out and doing a little bit of stuff. I hope we get a little closer, but we’ll see when we put some new tires on it.”

Friday’s race will also be a full-circle moment. During the prime of his Late Model competition, Beggarly frequently raced against Ward Burton on the bullrings of North Carolina and Virginia. Several years later, Beggarly also competed with Jeb Burton on many of those same tracks.

“I grew up racing with Ward, and then Jeb came along. We raced with him over at Ace the year we were over there racing for the National [championship in ASA], he was running over there. It’s a really big deal for me.

“I told them if I didn’t get to race, I was going to be here anyway for the race. I’m hoping we can get a little bit competitive so we can run with them. 200 laps is going to be a long time around this place. I guess it’s going to be whoever can survive the 200 laps.”

Beggarly had already circled the Orange Krush 200 on his calendar when the race was first announced, excited to see a big race at Orange County Speedway with those drivers he competed against. Receiving the invitation to take part in the event only made it more special.

“It’s a great honor, really, to be even mentioned after all these years. We raced South Boston, here, Ace, Martinsville, everywhere. This is kind of a home track, here and South Boston and Ace were the three main tracks we ran at.

“To even be thought about, like I say, when I heard about it, I thought it’d be cool to run that. Doggone it, I got a call from Jeb. He was in a sponsor meeting and said, ‘How would you like to come do the Invitational?’

“I get to see a few friends I hadn’t seen in a long time and get to run with Ward again. We ran at South Boston before he was a Busch or Cup driver. We’ve had some good conversation about it already. I’m looking forward to it.”

For those hoping to attend the event in-person, advance tickets and race information can be found at orangekrushrace.com.

Racing America is offering a pay-per-view broadcast of the event from the historic 3/8-mile oval in Rougemont, North Carolina. In addition to the ticket sale proceeds, a portion of the pay-per-view proceeds will benefit The Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation to further their conservation and outreach efforts. The Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation (WBWF) is a 501c3 non-profit organization that was founded in 1996 to promote the sustainability of natural resources through conservation, land management, outdoor outreach and educational practices.

-Photo credit: Will Bellamy, Racing America