1,000 Greatest Drivers: Johnny Beauchamp
Johnny B. Better than NASCAR fans think.
I figured a Chuck Berry reference would be appropriate since it both fit his name as well as the era when he dominated. I was going to make this a paywalled post, but I didn’t feel like writing a long intro this time and I intend to tomorrow, so I’ll make this one free and the Gary Paffett one paywalled. It is funny that even though NASCAR no longer officially has a “throwback weekend” at Darlington, Sunday’s race ended up being one as the three combatants from the 2024 spring race Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, and Chris Buescher all fought for the win again and Reddick even wrecked Buescher again. At least this time neither Reddick nor Buescher was taken out in the crash and Reddick came back to score an impressive win after his cool suit failed. Maybe Buescher really has a bone to pick with Reddick at this point especially since he won, but at least he had the presence of mind not to whine about not getting to affix a sticker to his car for winning this time like a first-grader who had a crayon stolen.
JOHNNY BEAUCHAMP……………..USA
Born: March 23, 1923
Died: April 17, 1981
Best year: 1956
Best drive: 1959 Daytona 500
Although he’s primarily known for his role in the inaugural Daytona 500 where NASCAR initially awarded him the win before deciding days later that Lee Petty won, this is actually a relatively minor aspect of Beauchamp’s full legacy. During his ‘50s heyday, numerous stock car series vied for supremacy and Beauchamp, an Iowan nicknamed “The Flying Frenchman”, competed in the International Motor Contest Association’s stock car tour, which held races across the Great Plains, fulfilling the same role that NASCAR did in the South. Since this series folded in the ‘70s, information is sparse.
According to The Third Turn, Beauchamp won 85 IMCA Stock Car races, including 44 and 31 in his 1956 and 1957 championship seasons. However, this may be an overcount as contemporary news footage credited him with 35 wins in 1956. If 44 wins is correct, this is tied for the second-most verified wins in any series season behind only Steve Kinser’s 51-win 1987 World of Outlaws season, but I left him out of my global top five because of my doubts about the competition and prestige of the series (for example, the average race length in his IMCA wins was only about 60 miles).
Beauchamp dabbled in NASCAR only occasionally, but impressed whenever he did. He crossed over to finish second in the Cup Series in the 1957 Daytona Beach/Road Course race. When that track was replaced by the Daytona International Speedway in 1959, he and Petty had an epic battle, posting 11 lead changes in the last 51 laps. Beauchamp was initially declared the winner, but NASCAR changed its mind 61 hours later when a film reel showed Petty in front. Beauchamp still believed he won because Petty made one more pit stop. In that era, drivers’ family members frequently handled scoring, and Petty had been accused of fudging lap counts multiple times. Beauchamp earned his first official Cup win flag-to-flag at Lakewood Speedway a month later, and another at Nashville in 1960, but his and Petty’s careers both effectively ended when they locked bumpers and hurtled over the guardrail at 150 mph in the 1961 Daytona 500 qualifying race. Petty suffered a punctured lung and numerous fractures while Beauchamp suffered head injuries. As his racing career wound down, he managed the Frontier Trading Post store in Council Bluffs and a race track in Audubon and served as a flagman in Des Moines.
Because the 1959 Daytona 500 is so iconic, Beauchamp hasn’t been forgotten unlike many regional stock car legends who made less of an impact in NASCAR. Nonetheless, his proper legacy is misunderstood because NASCAR won the stock car war while the IMCA series shut down. I won’t say Beauchamp was better than his contemporary NASCAR champions because I think the South had better competition (although his astonishing win rate and 4-0 teammate record against drivers who all won 20+ Cup Series races certainly makes a strong case for him), but he was definitely just as good, albeit for a relatively brief time.
Stock car model: N/A
Teammate head-to-heads: 4-0 (1-0 vs. Buck Baker, 1-0 vs. Lee Petty, 1-0 vs. Speedy Thompson, 1-0 vs. Rex White)
Year-by-year: 1955: C-, 1956: E, 1957: E, 1958: C-, 1959: C, 1960: C-