From a press release issued by Ed Beckley:

Dirt in the Atlanta Pit Area
FT. Worth, Texas — Scott Beckley, the young dirt tracker turned road racer, is following another former dirt tracker to the pits in Atlanta. In his second race ever as an AMA pro road racer, the first being at Mid Ohio where he had a nasty get-off, Beckley has been invited to the Larry Pegram pit area at Road Atlanta where he will compete in the AMA Supersport race Sunday September 5th.

Since the early this summer the 18-year-old Yamaha privateer rider from Bridgeport, Texas, has been the points leader in the prestigious CMRA Super Stock “A” Expert Points Championship. Scott has made Road Racing his main focus after doing well in the AMA Grand Championships and then qualifying 25th at Mid Ohio only one day after he got his AMA Pro license. Beckley started 25th and was running well on the 7th lap when he hit a slick spot on turn 11 and then crashed hard, with the bike going end over end. He was passing riders every lap and was reportedly up to 15th at the time of his crash.

Beckley feels as though he is ready after his much televised get off at Mid Ohio. The young Texan is determined to qualify and finish this time, “My mechanic Scott Fisher totally rebuilt our R6 and it seems to be even better than it was before the crash. We feel that we got stung by a rookie mistake and a wet track at Mid Ohio and we are ready for Atlanta.” Fisher chimed in with “We know we must qualify well and finish the race, that is the plan.”

So why is Beckley in Pegram’s pit area? The real story is that he has idolized Pegram for years, “I have known Larry for years and my father and his father are good friends, and so Larry is kinda looking out for me,” Beckley chuckled. Pegram actually sponsored Scott at the Daytona AMA Amateur Nationals back in 2000 with a ride on his Mad Dog DR-100 Suzuki. Beckley won all three races and the 100cc Championship that year. Actually it is no secret both Larry and his father Jimmy helped Scott at Mid Ohio. The younger rider was all ears when Larry would give him hints and information about the track and set-up. “Larry has always taken the time for me and being able to pit with him (Larry) at Atlanta is something I am really looking forward to,” said Beckley. Beckley’s mechanic, Scott Fisher summed it up “With both riders on Pirelli’s and Yamaha’s and both with a little dirt in their veins it is an opportunity that Scott cannot miss.”