After a one year absence from the OSCAAR Super Late Model Tour, Mike Beyore will be returning for a full campaign in 2012. Beyore is among a long list of veteran drivers returning after varied lengths of absence from the series. Beyore, who finished third in the overall points standings in 2010, is energized about his return. The #54 Cadillac of Beyore has been in race ready condition since January, but Beyore assures that the car has gone through a number of changes since it last hit the track at Sunset International Speedway in 2010.
“(John) Stefko builds my engines; we have a pretty good engine here. Jeff (Hanley) re-did my whole body. We’re trying a little bit softer spring set-up,” said Beyore. “We’re trying a little softer to try and help me a little bit. We’re going to see how it goes.”
Despite the changes to the car, Beyore admits that it’s the changes he has undergone personally that will help the most.
“The driver is the big change. That has to be the big change. We were getting to the point in 2010 where we did some stupid things. Maybe a year off to settle down and make everything better, start over new and show the guys that I can run with them. I’m looking to have some good runs and quit wrecking my stuff,” said Beyore.
Like many short-track racers, Beyore’s family has influenced his self-change.
“My brother is the biggest instigator in me settling down. He’s all over me telling me I’ve got to quit doing what I’m doing, so hopefully everything will work out. We’ll take a new attitude and start over new.”
On the track, Beyore looks forward to visiting both Peterborough and Sunset Speedways. The two tracks combined compose half of the 2012 OSCAAR schedule.
“I really like Peterborough Speedway. It reminds me of when I raced dirt cars in Cornwall. You gotta’ get up on the wheel,” said Beyore. “(Sunset) it’s a nice racetrack and you can race. You don’t have to fight the race track to 
keep the car under control and I really enjoy it.”
As Beyore makes a full-time return to the OSCAAR scene in 2012, one of his good friends, Paul Law, will be making his OSCAAR Super Late Model debut in 2012 which has Beyore even more eager to start the engine for the new season.
“I raced with him when I raced a late model at Mosport. I had a great time with Paul Law. People in this division are going to have a great time with Paul Law because he’s a good racer,” said Beyore.
Racing is a hobby for most racers, but every driver aspires to be successful. After narrowly missing out on a championship in 2010, Beyore is hoping to be more consistent this season and to add his name to the OSCAAR record books.
“I’ve never won a feature here in OSCAAR and I’d like to win one. I’m going to try my best to see if I can pull one off.”
Beyore will attempt to win that feature in the same #54 that has adorned each stock car he has owned. However, it is more than simply a number for Beyore. It’s a family tradition.
“The number used to be my dad’s. My dad took the number from the cop show back in the 50’s ‘Car 54 where are you?’,” explained Beyore. “People have told me to change my number, that it might be my bad luck. I’m not changing my number.”
For a driver that has been at a race track since being just six-months old, racing has become a way of life.
“My family has always been involved in racing. I can’t go without it,” said Beyore, who despite not racing himself last season, was part of the crew on his brother Max’s late model which he ran full-time at Kawartha Speedway.
May 20th simply cannot come fast enough for Mike Beyore who, along with dozens of other drivers, will attempt to become the first OSCAAR champion not named Glenn Watson since 2007.
By Clayton Johns
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