Beard began his career in
kart racing at the age of eight before moving to
drag racing as a teenager; although his father established communications with
Ford Motor Company about a potential drag racing sponsorship, he sold his
Lincoln–
Mercury dealership and the deal fell through. In 1972, he made his
oval track racing debut at Mount Pleasant Speedway and other local tracks. One of his car owners was two-time
Indianapolis 500 winner
Gordon Johncock, also a Michigan native who got his racing oil from the Beard family. Beard later competed in ARCA and
United States Auto Club (USAC) events. In 1982, he ran the inaugural
NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race at
Daytona International Speedway; racing for his own team and receiving guidance from eventual series champion
Jack Ingram, he finished 18th. However, a lack of sponsorship prevented him from attempting further races, with his second and final start in the series coming in 1986 at
Charlotte Motor Speedway (finishing 26th after suffering tire problems throughout the day), and he instead focused on ARCA. Beard attempted to qualify for the 1994 and 1995 Busch races at
Michigan International Speedway, but failed in both. The 1995 attempt, which was mainly attributed to his car using an older engine, would be his final entry into a NASCAR race. ==Team owner==