Mt. Pleasant-based Beard Oil withdraws from Michigan International Speedway ARCA race

When the starting field takes the green flag in Friday afternoon's RainEater Wiper Blades 200 ARCA race at Michigan International Speedway it is going to be one car short. A last-minute rule change has forced the Mt. Pleasant-based Beard Oil racing team to withdraw its No.45 Beard Oil / Conoco Phillips Lubricants Chevrolet from the race. The team and driver Clay Rogers pulled out earlier this week after determining the new rules package would have left their team with no chance of winning. “When they changed the rules we decided not to run,” team owner Mark Beard said. “We go there to win.” Before the 2012 racing season the track surface at MIS was repaved. The new asphalt has resulted in the highest speeds ever at the track for stock cars with NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers clocking speeds upward of 210 miles per hour at points around the 2-mile tri-oval, the Detroit Free Press confirmed racer Martin Truex, Jr. posted the track's first-ever 200 mile per hour lap on Thursday during a test session.


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