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Australia

Glen Beaton - Elite Racing spotlight

Elite Racing Crew Spotlight Glen Beaton racing from one side of the Pacific to the other A team is only as valuable as each one of its parts and people. Like a fine tuned engine, each piece has to move perfectly in unison to achieve maximum ...

Elite Racing Crew Spotlight
Glen Beaton racing from one side of the Pacific to the other

A team is only as valuable as each one of its parts and people. Like a fine tuned engine, each piece has to move perfectly in unison to achieve maximum horsepower. One of the vital parts of Elite Racing is Mechanic and Team Coordinator Glen Beaton, who has been a crucial part of the team full time since 2008.

Beaton grew up in Ballarat, Australia just east of Melbourne where he began his foray into auto racing when he was young driving go-karts.

"I have always had an interest in auto racing," stated Beaton. "We use to race go-karts as kids. Dad would take us to the track every few weeks when the season was on. Everything stemmed from there really."

One of the fondest memories Beaton has is of going to the track as a kid, and one of the biggest sprint car races in Australia was held right in his backyard at Premier Speedway.

"The track that stands out most going to when I was a kid was Premier Speedway," recalled Beaton. "It was where the biggest race of the year was. The Classic was when all the American drivers would race there in late January. We would always go over there for that race."

Like racing in America, it does take a lot of money to have a successful team, so at a young age Beaton learned a trade so that he could fund his go-kart team.

"I was racing go-karts when I was 14 and I had to get a job to fund that," explained Beaton. "I did my apprenticeship as a machinist. I actually got early release from that to go and work with my first race team, who was owned by John Faulkner. I volunteered for him for two years just on the weekends and then bugged him enough to give me a job and it built from there."

Beaton would end up working for some notable team owners and people V8 Supercar racing which is like NASCAR racing here in America. He spent several years working for Garry Rogers Motorsport and worked with drivers such as Garth Tander and Jamie Whincup. It was a very exciting time in Beaton's life, but a change was in order.

"Dirt racing was something I was always interested in as a kid," explained Beaton. "That and you get to race more, travel more and get to do more on the cars. In V8 Supercars you have one specific job, but over here I can do everything from decals to welding to driving the motor home to mounting tires to working on the car. I love the variety. I really do. You are not stuck in one spot. You get to see everything and do everything. The people I work with here are very helpful and if I want to know something, they will take the time to teach me. That is one thing about this team; they will teach you if you are willing to learn."

To make the transition from V8 Supercars to Sprint Cars in Australia Beaton knew would be a challenge, since there are not many people in Australia who make a living working in racing full time. He began his foray in sprint car racing by volunteering for one of the most notable drivers in the country.

"The first year I worked in sprint cars in Australia I worked with Max Dumesny who is the Steve Kinser of Australia," stated Beaton." I actually volunteered for the year, because I was that keen to get into it. That really helped me out. For me to get into this game it was key to volunteer my services and get my name out there and meet people to get a full time job. I also worked for Bill Mann who now owns Eagle Chassis here in America. I was lucky to work with some pretty good guys over there. Then I started hammering people over here trying to get a job and now I am with the best sprint car team in the country."

When Beaton made the jump from racing in Australia to here in America he found one key ingredient that you must have to be a successful team and that is the people within the team.

"The biggest transition to going to dirt racing is the people," Beaton explained. "With two other guys you have to get along very well. What we have here is unlike any other team. Everyone gets along and we are all friends. It is hard to do this if you do not get along. With D.J. (Lindsey), Brian (Bloomfield), Jason (Meyers), Guy (Stockbridge), and Chris (Luck), we all get along and that is why we run so well. It is the secret at the end of the day. We are like one big family here. A lot of teams do not do that. We are all friends here, best friends because we spend so much time together. When Robyn or Delaney (Meyers), or Chris (Luck) and Guy (Stockbridge) come out, we all hang out and have fun like one big family."

This year Beaton has two goals with the team and that is to win The Knoxville Nationals and to take the 2010 World of Outlaws series title.

"We have worked so hard on this for the last couple of years and the guys before me," stated Beaton. "I know how hard we have worked, especially in the off season this year. We are more ready this year than we ever have been. We have the right equipment and the right people to win the championship, we just have to go out and do it."

-source: ert

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