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VOL. 52 ISSUE 42 OCTOBER 20, 2015 P133 tration finally came to an end when he scored a breakthrough victory at the Terre Haute (Indiana) Half-Mile. He took the led from Dave Sehl with four laps to go and never looked back. "Terre Haute was the highlight of the year for me. It represented finally accomplishing one of my goals," Beauchamp said at the end of 1973. In addition to his first national win, Beauchamp also finished ranked in the top 10 for the first time, taking the sixth spot on the Grand National points ladder. In 1974, Beauchamp scored his second national win, this time on the Toledo (Ohio) Raceway Park Half-Mile after holding off a determined charge by fellow Michigan Mafia rider Corky Kenner. On the strength of four podium finishes, Beauchamp earned a very solid fourth in the final AMA Grand National standings that year, in spite of having a string of mechanical problems with his race bikes early in the year, and being forced to the sidelines for Santa Fe and Peoria after rupturing his spleen in a non-national race. After returning from his spleen injury, Beauchamp finished strong with runner-up finishes at Albany, New York and Gardena, California. "The year [1974] started out pretty grim, me- chanically," Beauchamp said at the time. "Things didn't start to pick up until the Ascot TT in July when I teamed up with Babe DeMay. Babe was a great racer himself and once he started tuning for me everything turned around." Beauchamp's chances of obtaining the number- one plate were made extremely difficult because he didn't road race. At the time, road races were part of the overall Grand National Championship and Beauchamp considered himself a dirt tracker only. "I'll have to do a lot of winning on the dirt," Beauchamp said in 1974 on the possibility of him becoming champion, "but number one isn't out of the question for me. I'm still learning something at every race and I don't feel I'm as good as I will be. I have no desire to road race, but I'm going to enjoy dirt tracking for a long time." In 1975, Beauchamp was a consistent finisher, scoring five podium finishes and winning on the San Jose (California) Mile. He finished ranked fifth in the final standings. The next year, Beau- champ scored his final national win, again at the San Jose Mile. In the race, Beauchamp barely held off Jay Springsteen for the win. His final victory was somewhat overshadowed by what happened after he took the checkered flag. After the race, Gary Scott paid the AMA $3500 and claimed the engine from Beauchamp's winning Harley-Davidson. The 1976 season proved to be Beauchamp's last season ranked in the top 10. In 1977, he scored a single top-five result (at the Louisville Half Mile). It would prove to be his final season in AMA Grand National competition. He retired after the 1977 season. Beauchamp was well liked by fans and fellow riders alike. He and his wife, Audrey, traveled the country by van and made lasting friendships along the way. The couple had two children, Andrea and Eric. People enjoyed hanging out with Rex at the races. His personal grooming habits always kept people guessing. At one race he would have long hair and full beard, and at the next he'd be sporting a short-cropped haircut and a clean- shaven face. He enjoyed snowmobiling in the off-season. Beauchamp tragically died in a street ac- cident in 1988. He will always be remembered for his rapid rise into the pro ranks, being hired by Harley-Davidson before he even became an expert, and for being one of the most consistent performers of the mid-1970s. He was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2007. CN Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives