Ron Bouchard

Ron Bouchard
Born	(1948-11-23) 23 November 1948 Fitchburg, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	10 December 2015(2015-12-10) (aged 67)
Occupation	Professional stock car racer
Years active	1963–1987
Known for	NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year (1981)

Template:Infobox NASCAR driver Ronald Rodgers Bouchard (November 23, 1948Template:Spaced ndashDecember 10, 2015) was a professional American stock car racer best known for earning the title of NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year in 1981. His brother, Ken Bouchard, also achieved Rookie of the Year honors in the Winston Cup in 1988. Additionally, his family ties include his father-in-law, Ed Flemke Sr., and brother-in-law, Ed Flemke Jr., both recognized competitors in NASCAR Modified racing.

Local driving career

Ron Bouchard initiated his racing journey at Brookline Speedway in 1963 when he filled in as a substitute driver for his father’s vehicle due to another driver's illness. After completing high school, he took over his father's car full-time and quickly advanced to competing in late model vehicles at Seekonk Speedway. There, he secured five consecutive championships between 1967 and 1971. Expanding his experience, Bouchard began racing Camaros at various local venues, catching the attention of Bob Johnson.

Johnson soon placed Bouchard behind the wheel of his modified race car at Stafford Speedway, a renowned track where Bouchard claimed his first victory among a total of 35 wins starting in April of 1972. He earned track modified championships at Stafford in both 1973 and again in 1979. Throughout this period, he also drove for owners Bob Judkins (car No. 2x, grandfather to Roush-Fenway driver Ryan Preece) and Len Boehler (car No. 3), achieving numerous wins across Stafford Speedway, Thompson Speedway, Seekonk Speedway, Waterford Speedbowl, and Westboro Speedway. One of his most significant modified triumphs occurred at Thompson Speedway when driving Dick Armstrong’s No. 1 during the Thompson 300 event in 1980.

Bouchard maintained a notable rivalry with fellow New England competitor Geoffrey Bodine, trading victories in modified races over several seasons. Bodine bested him at Martinsville during a NASCAR event in 1984. Despite their competitive relationship, Bodine later recommended Bouchard to Hendrick Motorsports as they launched their Busch Series program that same year, which led to Bouchard securing a ride for one race with the team.

NASCAR career

File:RonBouchard47racecar1983.jpg

1983 racecar

Ron Bouchard entered the NASCAR scene in 1981, competing in the No. 47 Buick sponsored by J.D. Stacy and owned by Jack Beebe of the Race Hill Farm team. Despite participating in only 22 out of 31 races that season, he earned the prestigious NASCAR Rookie of the Year honor. Throughout those 22 starts, Bouchard achieved 12 top-ten finishes, including his sole career victory at the Talladega 500 held at Talladega Superspeedway. On the final lap, while positioned third behind Darrell Waltrip and Terry Labonte, he maneuvered beneath both drivers as they battled side-by-side through the last turn. The trio crossed the finish line almost simultaneously, with Bouchard narrowly claiming the win in a photo finish. Afterward, Waltrip admitted that he had not noticed Bouchard’s advance since he was focused on Labonte and remarked, "Where the hell did he come from?" Waltrip later explained in interviews that part of his defeat was due to not attempting to block Bouchard, mistakenly believing him to be a lap down.

Bouchard’s unexpected triumph is widely regarded as one of NASCAR’s greatest upsets and effectively secured his Rookie of the Year title. In 1982, he reached a career-best eighth place in the overall points standings, completing 30 races with 15 top-ten finishes. He competed full-time during the 1983, 1984, and 1985 seasons, consistently finishing between eleventh and sixteenth in the final points each year. Notably, he narrowly missed victories at Martinsville in 1984—finishing second to Geoffrey Bodine—and at Rockingham in 1985, where he finished runner-up to Waltrip in a reversal of their Talladega duel.

File:RonBouchardPocono1985.jpg

1984 racecar

In 1986, Bouchard switched to driving the No. 98 Pontiac backed by Valvoline and owned by Mike Curb’s Curb-Agajanian Motorsports. Although the team generally placed within the top twenty when finishing races, they suffered nine DNFs across seventeen starts.

During 1987, Bouchard competed in five events piloting the No. 1 Chevrolet sponsored by Bull's Eye Barbecue Sauce for owner Hoss Ellington. He recorded two finishes inside the top twelve, placing eighth and twelfth respectively.

Awards

In 1998, Bouchard was honored as a member of the inaugural class inducted into the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame.

Starting in 2016, this Hall of Fame began presenting the Ron Bouchard Award to recognize individuals who have demonstrated lifetime dedication to motorsports within the New England region.

After racing

Following his Winston Cup career, Bouchard returned to his hometown of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where he established Ron Bouchard's Auto Stores. The dealership currently represents brands including Honda, Acura, Stellantis, Kia, and Nissan.

In June 1983, he married Paula Flemke—daughter of New England Modified racer "Steady" Ed Flemke Sr. and sister to Ed Flemke Jr. The couple had five children: Eugene, Robert, Michelle, Tracey, and Chad. Chad pursued a professional golf career on tours such as PGA Tour Latinoamerica and Korn Ferry Tour after attending the University of Tampa before transitioning into the family business; he now serves as General Manager for Ron Bouchard Auto Stores.

In September 2015, just three months prior to his passing from cancer on December 10 of that year, Bouchard inaugurated a museum at his Stellantis dealership dedicated to celebrating his motorsport legacy.

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position secured through qualifying time. Italics – Pole position obtained via points standings or practice session. * – Most laps led during the race.)

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series Performance Record
Year	Team	No.	Manufacturer	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	NWCC	Points	Ref
1981	Race Hill Farm Team	47	Buick	RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	BRI 24	NWS 8	DAR 27		TAL 20	NSV	DOV 27	CLT 26	TWS	RSD	MCH 10	DAY 9	NSV	POC 10	TAL 1	MCH 29	BRI 5	DAR 11	RCH 25	DOV 4	MAR 6	NWS 5	CLT 5	CAR 11	ATL 39	RSD 10	21st	2594
			Pontiac									MAR 9
1982			Buick	DAY 6	RCH 9	BRI 8	ATL 36	CAR 16	DAR 34	NWS 13	MAR 19	TAL 36	NSV 3	DOV 6	CLT 10	POC 31	RSD 9	MCH 12	DAY 3	NSV 10	POC 4	TAL 34	MCH 10		DAR 26							rowspan=2 8th	rowspan=2 3545	rowspan=2
			Oldsmobile (automobile) #Olds
1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Series #1983			rowspan=3 Buick	style="background:#EFCFFF" 1983 Daytona 500 #DAY  26	style =" background: #DFFFDF " Richmond 400 #RCH  12	style =" background: #DFFFDF " 1983 Warner W. Hodgdon Carolina 500 #CAR  20	style =" background: #DFFFDF " Coca-Cola 500 (Atlanta) #ATL  12	style =" background: #DFFFDF " TranSouth 500 #DAR  18	style =" background: #DFFFDF " Northwestern Bank 400 #NWS  11	style =" background: #FFDF9F " Virginia National Bank 500 #MAR  7	style =" background: #EFCFFF " 1983 Winston 500 #TAL  20	style =" background: #FFDF9F " Marty Robbins 420 #NSV  9	style =" background: #EFCFFF " Mason-Dixon 500 #DOV  34	style =" background: #FFDF9F " Valleydale 500 #BRI  7	style =" background: #EFCFFF " 1983 World 600 #CLT  41	Budweiser 400 #RSD	style =" background: #EFCFFF " Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500 #POC  34	style =" background: #EFCFFF " Gabriel 400 #MCH  28	style =" background: #DFDFDF " Firecracker 400 #DAY 4	style =" background: #EFCFFF " [[Busch Nashville   420 #NSV ]]] < Small >27 < / Small >	style = " background :# D F F D F" [ [ 1983 Like Cola   5 0 # P O C ] ] 13	style = " background :# D F F D F" [ [ 1983 Talladega   5 0 # T A L ] ] 12	style = " background :# D F F D F" [ [ Champion Spark Plug   4 0 # M C H ] ] 12	style = " background :# F F D F 9 F" [ [ Busch                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     [ [ Southern                                                                                                         [ [ Wrangler Sanfor-Set         [ [ Budweiser [ [ Miller High Life [ [ Warner W. Hodgdon American [ [ Atlanta Journal [ [ Winston Western [ [ Nationwise [ [ Oakwood Homes [ [ Pepsi Firecracker [ [ Summer [ [ The Budweiser At The Glen [ [ Holly Farms [ [ Miller High Life [ [ Miller American [ [ Cracker Barrel Country Store [ [ Pepsi Firecracker [ [ Miller High Life [ [ Cracker Barrel Country Store [ [ Pepsi Firecracker [
16th			3113
1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Series #1984
11th	3609
1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series #1985
13th	3267
rowspan=2                                                                    ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍​Template:Curb Racing
-rowspan=
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-rowspan=	-rowspan=	-rowspan=	-rowspan=	-rowspan=	-rowspan=	-rowspan=	-rowspan=	-rowspan=	-rowspan=	-rowspan=	-rowspan=	-rowspan=	-rowspan=	--- End of table --- Daytona 500 Year Team Manufacturer Starting Position Final Position 1982 Race Hill Farm Team Buick 22 6 1983 23 26 1984 18 27 1985 15 38 1986 Curb Racing Pontiac 14 6 1987 Ellington Racing Chevy 17 32 Busch Series NASCAR Busch Series performance overview Year Team Car No. Manufacturer 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 NBGNC Points Reference 1983 Boehler's Racing 08 Pontiac DAY RCH CAR HCY MAR NWS SBO GPS LGY DOV BRI CLT SBO HCY ROU SBO ROU CRW ROU SBO HCY LGY IRP GPS BRI HCY DAR 5 RCH NWS SBO MAR ROU colspan=3| 61st 320 Race Hill Farm Team 74 Pontiac colspan=32| CLT 3 HCY MAR 1984 DuBee Racing 47 DAY 26 RCH CAR 3 HCY MAR (style="background:#FFFFBF;") DAR 1 ROU NSV LGY MLW CLT 22* SBO HCY ROU SBO ROU HCY Kroger200(Nationwide) IRP Busch200(Langley) LGY Miller300 SBO Free200 BRI (style="background:#FFFFBF;") Darlington200(Busch) DAR 1* Miller150 RCH Coca-Cola300(North Wilkesboro) NWS (style="background:#EFCFFF;") Miller Time300 CLT 28 (style="") Bobby Isaac Memorial200 HCY (style="background:#DFDFDF;") Komfort Koach200(fall) CAR 2 (style="") Cardinal250 MAR colspan=6| rowspan=2 31st rowspan=2 956 rowspan=2 Hendrick Motorsports All-Star Racing 15 Pontiac (automobile) Pontiac colspan=10| (style="background:#DFDFDF;") Budweiser200(Dover) DOV 2 colspan=24| 1985 NASCAR Busch Series Race Hill Farm Team 47 Buick (style="background:#EFCFFF;") Goody's300 DAY 28 Komfort Koach200 spring CAR | Mountain Dew400 HCY | Budweiser200 Bristol BRI | Miller200 Martinsville MAR | (style ="background:#EFCFFF;") Dixie Cup200 DAR 25 Busch200 South Boston SBO | Hampton200 LGY | Budweiser200 Dover DOV | (style ="background:#EFCFFF;") Winn-Dixie300 Charlotte CLT 40 Roses Stores200 South Boston SBO | Goody's200 HCY | Poole Equipment150 ROU | Kroger200 Nationwide IRP | Miller200 South Boston SBO | Busch200 Langley LGY | Bobby Isaac Memorial200 HCY | Milwaukee Sentinel200 MLW | (style ="background:#EFCFFF;") Tri-City Pontiac200 BRI 24 (style ="background:#EFCFFF;") Pontiac Winner's Circle200 DAR 29 Seven-Eleven150 RCH | Coca-Cola300 North Wilkesboro NWS | Goody's150 Rougemont ROU | (style ="background:#DFFFDF;") Miller400 Charlotte CLT 11 Southern Biscuit Flour200 HCY | Sandhills200 CAR | (style ="background:#EFCFFF;") Winn-Dixie500 MAR 23 colspan=8| 42nd 507 1986 NASCAR Busch Series Spencer Racing 28 Pontiac (style ="background:#DFDFDF;") Goody's300 DAY 4 Protecta-Liner200 CAR | Mountain Dew400 HCY | Miller500 Busch race MAR | Budweiser200 Bristol BRI | Dixie Cup200 DAR | Busch200 South Boston SBO | Hampton200 LGY | Budweiser200 Jefco JFC | Budweiser200 Dover DOV | Winn-Dixie300 Charlotte CLT | Pepsi200 South Boston SBO | Goody's200 HCY | Poole Equipment150 ROU | Kroger200 Nationwide IRP | Coors200 South Boston SBO | Food Giant300 RAL | Oxford250 OXF | Advance Auto200 SBO | Bobby Isaac Memorial200 HCY | Busch200 Langley LGY | L.D. Swain150 ROU | Tri-City Pontiac200 BRI| Gatorade200 DAR| Freedlander-Grand National- Nationwise-Roses-All Pro-Sandhills-Winn-Dixie races omitted for brevity. colspan=4| 98th 0 rowspan=2 1987 NASCAR Busch Series Shepherd Racing 97 Buick (style ="background:#EFCFFF;") Goody's300 DAY 40 Mountain Dew400 HCY | Miller500 Busch race MAR | Country Squire- Budweiser-Hampton-Busch omitted for brevity. colspan=28| 67th 80 Shugart Racing 90 Buick colspan=7| (style ="background:#EFCFFF;") Winn-Dixie300 Charlotte CLT 42 Budweiser-Dover-Kroger-Poole-Jefco-Oxford-Coors-Bobby-Amoco-Busch-Carpenter-Tri-City-World Crown-Gatorade-Freedlander-Grand National-Nationwise-All Pro-AC Delco-Winston Classic omitted for brevity. colspan=8| References External links Template:Racing-Reference driver Biography of Ron Archived 2002-08-12 at archive.today Official site for Bouchard's auto dealership and museum