Beard began his motorsport career in kart racing at the age of eight, later moving to drag racing as a teenager. A potential sponsorship with Ford Motor Company fell through after his father sold his Lincoln–Mercury dealership. In 1972, he started oval track racing at Mount Pleasant Speedway and other local tracks, with Gordon Johncock, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, serving as one of his car owners. Johncock, also a Michigan native, sourced his racing oil from the Beard family.
Beard competed in ARCA and United States Auto Club (USAC) events before focusing on the NASCAR Busch Series. He ran the inaugural NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race at Daytona in 1982, finishing 18th while receiving guidance from Jack Ingram, who would later become the series champion. A lack of sponsorship limited his participation, with his second and final start in the series coming in 1986 at Charlotte, where he finished 26th after struggling with tire problems throughout the day. He then concentrated his efforts on ARCA, also fielding cars in the early 1990s for drivers including Bobby Dotter, who later founded SS-Green Light Racing.
He attempted to qualify for the 1994 and 1995 Busch races at Michigan International Speedway, but was unsuccessful in both attempts. The 1995 attempt, attributed to an older engine, marked his final entry into a NASCAR race.
In 2009, Beard founded Beard Motorsports, initially competing in the ARCA Re/Max Series with Clay Rogers. Five years later, the team attempted two NASCAR Cup Series races with Rogers, but failed to qualify for either. In 2017, Brendan Gaughan was hired to drive for the team, successfully qualifying for the 2017 Daytona 500 as an open, non-chartered team. Following Gaughan’s retirement in 2020, Noah Gragson was hired to drive the No. 62 in the 2021 Daytona 500, with the team continuing its plans to run the race despite Beard’s death two weeks prior.
Born on October 27, 1948, to Leo and Glenna Beard, he worked with his father in the oil industry at Hub Oil and Beard Oil and Supply. He formed M&L Petroleum Inc. in 1984 and Beard Oil Distributing in 2005. Beard graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School in 1966 and attended Central Michigan University and Northwood College. He and his wife Linda had two children, Amie and Mark. His son, Mark Beard II, worked for M&L Petroleum and also competed for Beard Motorsports in the ASA Late Model Series.
Beard died at his home on January 31, 2021.