He captured the 1981 NASCAR Rookie of the Year title even though he only raced in 22 of 31 events.
Few with knowledge of Cup history will find a bigger upset than the 1981 Talladega victory Ron Bouchard stole. In 1982 Bouchard finished a career-high eighth in the final points standing with 15 top 10 finishes in 30 races. “It’s still 2020,” Kyle Busch said after exiting Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301. The couple had five children -- Eugene, Robert, Michelle, Tracey, and Chad. Running third to Darrell Waltrip and Terry Labonteon the last lap, he swooped under both of them as they battled side by side out of the final turn. He was 67. 47 J.D. He posted 12 top 10 finishes in the 22 races, including his only career win, in the Talladega 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Stacy Buick for owner Jack Beebe (Race Hill Farm team). Bouchard, 67, died Dec. 10 after a battle with cancer. Busch still hasn’t won a race this season.Subscribe for unlimited digital access to the news that matters to your community. After racing in Winston Cup, Bouchard returned home to Fitchburg, Massachusetts, opening Ron Bouchard's Auto Stores, which currently represents Honda, FCA, Kia, and Nissan. In 2016, New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame began awarding the Ron Bouchard Award for lifetime service to motorsport in the area. He ran full-time in 1983, 1984, and 1985. “The biggest one being that my race car was parked next to Buddy Baker’s in the garage area. Ron Bouchard, winner of NASCAR’s 1981 Talladega 500 in a furious three-abreast finish, died Thursday of cancer in his native Fitchburg, Mass. He was eighth in the 1982 points standings.After leaving NASCAR, Bouchard returned to New England, owning and operating auto dealerships.He is the third former Cup Series driver with Charlotte-area connections to pass away this year, following Baker of the Denver area of Lake Norman and Jim Vandiver of Huntersville.Imagine a postseason without the defending Cup series champion. I believe Buddy could find good air off a paper bag.”Bouchard, who someone nicknamed “A Yankee in King Richard’s Court,” referring to NASCAR legend Richard Petty, was asked, “Is there anything you don’t like about the South?”He elicited laughter with this reply: “I don’t like Brits, that stuff you have for breakfast.”Bouchard began racing in 1963 in Massachusetts, subbing in his dad’s car for the regular driver, who was ill. Bouchard began his NASCAR career in 1981 in the No. Bouchard started 160 times through 1987 at stock-car racing’s major level, posting 19 top-five and 60 top-10 finishes. He finished between eleventh and sixteenth in the final points standing each of those years. In September 2015, Bouchard opened a museum at his 47 Bouchard's victory is considered by many as the biggest upset in NASCAR history and the win essentially clinched the Cup Series rookie of the year award for Bouchard. He became a major star in New England, winning championships in late model and modified divisions.Team owner Jack Beebe and crew chief Bob Johnson brought him to the NASCAR big time in ’81 as driver for a Kings Mountain-based team.Subscribe for unlimited digital access to the news that matters to your community. He was 67.Rookie Bouchard overtook and edged runner-up Darrell Waltrip and third-place Terry Labonte by 2 feet at what is now the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.The triumph led to Bouchard becoming that season’s Cup Series rookie of the year.After the wild win Bouchard seemed a bit stunned, even during the victor’s press box interview.“I was lucky in a lot of ways,” he said. Ron Bouchard, winner of NASCAR’s 1981 Talladega 500 in a furious three-abreast finish, died Thursday of cancer in his native Fitchburg, Mass. Bouchard married Paula Flemke, daughter of New England Modified racer "Steady" Ed Flemke, Sr. and sister to Ed Flemke Jr, in June 1983. After high school he began racing in his father's car, and he rapidly moved up the ranks to Bouchard began his NASCAR career in 1981 in the No. Buddy gave me advice on the aerodynamic draft, which is so important at this track.
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Ron Bouchard began racing career at Brookline Speedway as a substitute driver in 1963 by replacing the ill driver for his father's car.
