LOUDON, N.H. -- Mike Beam, a staple in the NASCAR garage since 1981, possibly will own a team instead of being the one working on cars or making executive decisions.
Beam, president of GMS Racing, has bid to purchase the charter and some assets of BK Racing for $1.8 million, according to bankruptcy court documents.
If he is able to purchase the team, Beam said he would be the owner and the team would be an affiliate of GMS Racing, whose owner Maury Gallagher has toyed with going to Cup in recent years but has remained in NASCAR's truck and Xfinity series.
Beam started his career as a Cup crew chief in 1981 at Petty Enterprises for Kyle Petty. The other drivers whom he has worked with as crew chief include Sterling Marlin, Bill Elliott, Ricky Craven and Carl Edwards. Elliott finished fourth in the standings in 1990 with Beam as his crew chief.
"When I worked with [team owner] Junior Johnson, he wanted to do this for me in the '90s, and I wouldn't do it just because I still wanted to be a crew chief," Beam said Saturday prior to the Xfinity race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. "Maury, he's doing it and it's a deal where we see if it works out or not. It will be affiliated with GMS and Chevrolet. We'll see what happens.
"It's quite a process. ... It's exciting for me to have the opportunity to do it and we'll see what kind of shakes out. I'm very blessed [Gallagher] would help me do that."
BK Racing, owned by Ron Devine, entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February, and currently is being operated by a trustee, Matt Smith, who is looking to sell the team in order to pay off creditors.
Identified in court documents as MBR LLC, Beam's bid is the proposed stalking horse bid -- the minimum bid for the sale of the team. Smith proposes any competitive bids must be at least $2.1 million and the buyer must be approved by NASCAR to own the charter currently held by BK Racing. A charter is NASCAR's version of a franchise that guarantees a spot in every race, a minimum amount of money for competing as well as money based on performance.
Of the purchase price, $350,000 will be designated to pay BK Racing employee claims for past wages.
Smith proposes the deadline for competitive bids to be Aug. 13, the determination of the winning bid Aug. 20 and a hearing to approve the sale Aug. 21. A hearing Tuesday will determine whether those will be the actual deadlines and to approve the details of the sales process.
"The charters and the assets -- we worked really hard with coming up with a number," Beam said. "We'll see. In a month, we'll know more about it."
After the sale, Smith's job would be to determine how much each creditor should be reimbursed, with the court approving any disbursements.
Separately, Obaika Racing, which has competed in recent years in the Xfinity Series, also has agreed to purchase select Cup cars and equipment from BK Racing valued at $382,000 for $265,000, according to court filings.