Ken Bouchard
| Kenneth Bouchard | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
April 6, 1955 Fitchburg, Massachusetts | ||||||
| Awards |
1988 Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Modified Drivers | ||||||
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career | |||||||
| 33 races run over 5 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 25th (1988) | ||||||
| First race | 1987 Miller American 400 (Michigan) | ||||||
| Last race | 1994 Hooters 500 (Atlanta) | ||||||
| |||||||
| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| 44 races run over 9 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 26th (1986) | ||||||
| First race | 1983 Goody's 300 (Daytona) | ||||||
| Last race | 1991 NE Chevy 250 (Loudon) | ||||||
| |||||||
| Statistics current as of December 10, 2012. | |||||||
Ken Bouchard (pronounced BOO-shard, born April 6, 1955) is an American former NASCAR driver and the 1988 Rookie of the Year. His brother Ron Bouchard was the 1981 Rookie of the Year and one-time Winston Cup Series race winner.
Modified career
Before he came to NASCAR, he was a successful modified racer in the Northeast. He won eleven NASCAR modified races in one season. He was voted one of NASCAR Modified’s 50 Greatest Drivers of All-Time. He then ran a part-time Busch Series schedule. Ken has one daughter, Olivia. Olivia is a phenomenal athlete who plays college lacrosse for Bentley University in Waltham, MA. He has driven for legendary car owners such as Sonny Koszela #15, and Len Boehler #3. Bouchard had much success driving the Ted Marsh #55 in which he won several races and championships.
Winston Cup career
He made his Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup) debut in 1987 at the Miller American 400 at Michigan, finishing 32nd after suffering oil pressure problems. The next year, he raced full-time in Winston Cup in an unsponsored car owned by Bob Whitcomb. Despite this, he finished 8th at North Carolina Speedway and defeated promising rivals Ernie Irvan and Brad Noffsinger to become the 1988 NASCAR Rookie of the Year. In 1989, however, he was released from his ride after just four races. He returned in 1993, running three races for Thee Dixon in his #85 Safety-Kleen/Burger King Ford. He ran his last Winston Cup race in 1994 at the Hooters 500, where his #67 Ford expired after 280 laps because of valve trouble, finishing 29th. Since then, Bouchard has competed in 5 Craftsman Truck Series races. He also attempted several Winston Cup events, but failed to qualify for each of them, the last of which was the 1999 Pepsi 400, in the #84 Chevy sponsored by Island Oasis.
Driving instructor career
Bouchard now operates the Drive to Victory Lane Racing School at Thompson International Speedway. He finished 13th in the "Icebreaker 2006" NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at the track.
Career results
* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
| Year | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish | Winnings | Position | Team(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35.0 | 32.0 | $2,075 | 95th | #91 Sullivan Racing |
| 1988 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30.0 | 21.4 | $109,410 | 25th | #10 Whitcomb Racing |
| 1989 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29.0 | 28.2 | $33,930 | 48th | #10 Whitcomb Racing |
| 1993 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37.3 | 31.3 | $25,785 | 52nd | #85 Mansion Motorsports |
| 1994 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40.0 | 29.0 | $7,675 | 69th | #67 Clayton Cunningham Racing |
NASCAR Nationwide Series
| Year | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish | Winnings | Position | Team(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19.0 | 11.0 | $3,780 | 75th | #08 Boehler's Racing |
| 1984 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28.0 | 24.7 | $4,540 | 58th | #65 Sullivan Racing |
| 1985 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 22.5 | 14.7 | $10,500 | 33rd | #65 Sullivan Racing |
| 1986 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 23.1 | 17.0 | $17,695 | 26th | #10 Whitcomb Racing |
| 1987 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 23.0 | 15.6 | $10,598 | 38th | #10 Whitcomb Racing |
| 1988 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42.0 | 18.0 | $5,920 | 78th | #1 Whitcomb Racing |
| 1989 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32.7 | 28.3 | $3,425 | 73rd | #0/#10 Whitcomb Racing #18 Ken Bouchard Racing |
| 1990 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24.4 | 28.2 | $10,783 | 56th | #72 Ken Bouchard Racing |
| 1991 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38.0 | 29.4 | $14,843 | 56th | #12/#72/#92 Ken Bouchard Racing |
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
| Year | Starts | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish | Winnings | Position | Team(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29.0 | 16.0 | $4,250 | 98th | #1 Brevak Racing |
| 1997 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28.0 | 16.5 | $23,600 | 99th | #42 Petty Enterprises #77 Doran Racing |
| 1998 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24.0 | 16.5 | $12,175 | 48th | #11 Team Racing |
External links
| Preceded by Davey Allison |
NASCAR Rookie of the Year 1988 |
Succeeded by Dick Trickle |