Monday, May 23, 2016

R.I.P. Charlie Beard

By Dave Grayson

It was with a great deal of shock and sadness that we learned of last Saturday's passing of Charlie Beard, one of the principal owners and investors of the Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield. According to reports, Beard had been undergoing treatment for an undisclosed medical condition over the past five weeks prior to his untimely death.

Originally from the community of Taft-California, Beard was a self made businessman with a very high, hands on, work ethic that led to the creation of GPS, General Production Services, a highly successful enterprise associated with maintenance service for the area's oil fields.

In 2012, when the partners of the Kern County Raceway Park were struggling to complete construction of the project, Beard cast his interest in the track and made a substantial investment in its future. True to his long time hands on work ethic, Beard soon became a major fixture at the track as well as a major voice in its future.

Observing that the term raceway park meant something considerably more than just the project's center piece, the one half mile paved oval, it was Beard who put his focus on the creation of a professional motocross facility as well as a one third mile dirt oval. To no real surprise, both additions to the raceway park are well on their way to becoming a motorsports success.

In some comments recently made to the "Bakersfield Californian", Lee Baumgartner, Kern County Raceway Park President said: "he was the catalyst that held us all together. He had a great heart. We just loved him an he'll really be missed."

Our heart felt condolences goes to the Beard family during this truly sad time in their lives.

Thank you Charlie Beard for returning high qualify auto racing to Kern County, at a state of the art facility, where it belongs. It will forever be a part of your legacy.