It is safe to say that Michael Beard knows a thing or two about winning championships.

A former world champion in IHRA, NHRA, bracket racing and just about everything that has wheels and goes straight, Beard had to be considered one of the favorites when the lights turned green at Rockingham Dragway.

With the prowess of a seasoned vet, Beard, of Seagrove, N.C., knocked off one superstar after another in the Stock ranks on his way to dominating the competition in winning his second career championship behind the wheel of his famous Duck Tape Volare at the Tournament of Champions last month.

“This is very cool. I won this with the old point system back in 2003, I also won a bracket finals in NHRA and last year won the IHRA Division 2 bracket finals. I have done a little bit of everything, but man against this field of heavy hitters they can’t take anything away from this win,” Beard said. “This is a lot like the bracket finals, but with a more compact field. Most of this field is a bunch of assassins.”

From the third qualifying position Beard, who earned his spot in the TOC thanks to a victory at the Spring Nationals last season, defeated Wallace Dent Jr., Craig Marshall, Slate Cummings, Myron Piatek and Brent Darroch.

In the final Beard ran an 11.116 on a 11.11 dial to Darroch’s 10.667 on a 10.69 dial. Beard also cut a solid light to gain an early advantage leading to one of the largest paydays of Beard’s racing career.

“When I won the Spring Nationals last year to qualify I thought this was going to be so much easier and then I got to thinking about who I would have to race against and I thought man, this is going to be tough,” Beard said.

And tough it was. From the third qualifying position Beard eliminated Dent in the first round followed by a double-breakout victory over Piatek. He then edged Slate Cummings by a slim two feet at the line in the quarters and then earned his spot in the final when Marshall went red.

Beard admitted that once he thought about how tough the field would be he would need as much practice as possible entering the TOC.

“I was lucky enough that the last couple weeks I have been practicing running Top E.T. where you really need to be sharp on the tree. I only had one light worse than a teen all day long,” Beard said. “I knew I hit the tree well (in the final), but then Brent comes up right alongside me through the traps and I just went for the brake pedal and stabbed it and had a sinking feeling. When I saw the win light I covered my mouth because I was stunned. I couldn’t believe I won.”

And in the end Rockingham simply proved his weekend as he went on to sweep the event with a win at the Spring Nitro Jam later that weekend.

“I want to say thanks to a couple people that got me here. Duck Tape brand duct tape, Mickey Thompson, Bearden Oil, Sunoco, CAM2 Blue Blood Racing Oil, Bradley Auto Parts, K&N Filters, Jim Bailey's FINISHED, Scotty Richardson's BottomBulbRacers.com, Luke Bogacki's ThisIsBracketRacing.com, Sloan Racing Engines, Macy Motorsports, Billy Nees Race Cars, Stephen Beard and Staging Light Graphics. All of these guys helped make this possible. It was really a team effort,” Beard said. “There may only be one of us driving, but you need the right parts to get down the track consistently and all these sponsors have been with me for a long time. Every little bit of it helps and makes it a winning combination.”

Stock Final: Michael Beard (near) vs. Brent Darroch