past present future

Fans came for Beers at Mountain Speedway

By Gene Ostrowski
August 2005

 

Most teenagers dream of turning 16 and taking the family car for a spin. In 1985, Northampton's Eric Beers did just that. Except the family car was a late model stock car, which he began piloting mid-season at Dorney Park Speedway.
 
1986 Marked Eric's first full season of racing at Dorney Park Speedway. The rookie driver finished an outstanding 5th place in points, was voted 'Most Popular Driver, won 'Rookie of the Year', and also took home the Checkered Flag Fan Club's 'Rookie of the Year' honors. The following season Beers won one feature, helping Eric and the team along to their second place finish in the late model standings. Eric continued to run a number of tracks until his switch to the modified reigns in 1989.  

 

Over the years since, Beers grabbed numerous wins and championships for a multitude of car owners at tracks such as Mountain Speedway, New Smyma Speedway, Tioga Speedway, Flemington Speedway, Clearfield Speedway, Mahoning Valley Speedway, Nazareth Speedway, Dorney Park Speedway, and many more. One of Eric's most memorable seasons was in 1993 when he won one feature, finished 7th in points and took 'Rookie of the Year' honors at Mountain Speedway. The campaign in '93 was no fluke as Eric took the 1994 championship crown at the same track. Like many others, Eric displayed consistency and patience that particular season winning two feature events.

Over the next several years, Beers circled an incredible number of speedways, winning 32 features, many hard charger awards, ‘Rookie of the Year’ honors (Flemington Speedway), and even a few car show awards. Each was special and the team was as much a part of his racing as earlier in his career. In 1997 Eric competed in his first NASCAR Modified Tour race at Flemington Raceway, finishing an impressive 12th after starting 35th!

2001 marked the return for Beers to Mountain Speedway. Eric regained his championship status, winning four feature events that season. The following season, Eric and the team decided to give the NASCAR Tour a full run. Beers nearly missed winning Rookie of the Year in the elite series, but was not disappointed as the runner-up. In 2003, Eric finished an all-out impressive season coming in 11th in the championship standings in NASCAR’s top modified series. He also won 2 Bud Pole Awards in the series that season.

When 2004 came around, Eric and the Horwith Racing Team decided it was time to step things up. With an early start to the season at New Smyma Speedway in Florida, Eric became the Speedweeks modified champion. The team also managed to finish 15th in the NASCAR Modified point standings and finish 3rd in the NASCAR Modified North Tour standings. Let’s not forget to mention Eric’s win at the Tioga Speedway Race of Champions Tour event, and his impressive win at the Sunoco Race of Champions. Eric finalized his fantastic year by winning Mountain Speedway’s ‘King of the Mountain’ 100-lap shootout after restarting from the rear of the field on two separate occasions.

Beers Motorsports had many options for a great start to 2005, but one thing was for sure. Eric would pilot the #3 BRE Racing modified for the entire Whelen NASCAR Modified tour. Beers would also continue to wheel the #9 and #19 Horwith Racing modifieds.

Unfortunately, Eric sustained injuries from a horrific crash at Thompson Speedway during the first Whelen Modified Tour race this season. The road to recovery went well, and Eric is back behind the wheel!

We’ve already seen him once this season at Mountain Speedway. Will he be back? If so, and if you’re thirsty for some back to the front modified racing action, look for Beers at Mountain Speedway!

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