Kenneth Bouchard (April 6, 1955) is an American former

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

driver and the 1988 Rookie of the Year. His brother Ron Bouchard was the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

Rookie of the Year.

Modified career

Before he came to

, Bouchard was a modified racer in the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

. He won eleven

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 The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

schedule. He has driven for car owners including Sonny Koszela #15, and Len Boehler #3. Bouchard had success driving the Ted Marsh #55 in which he won several races and championships.

Winston Cup career

He made his

Winston Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

debut in 1987 at the Miller American 400 at

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, finishing 32nd after suffering oil pressure problems. The next year, he raced full-time in

in an unsponsored car owned by Bob Whitcomb. Despite this, he finished 8th at

North Carolina Speedway Rockingham Speedway and Entertainment Complex (formerly known as North Carolina Speedway from 1998 to 2007 and North Carolina Motor Speedway from 1965 to 1996) is a D-shaped oval track in Rockingham, North Carolina, United States. The track ...

and defeated promising rivals

Ernie Irvan Virgil Earnest Irvan (born January 13, 1959), occasionally referred to as Swervin' Irvan, is an American former professional stock car racing driver. A retired NASCAR competitor, he is perhaps best remembered for his comeback after a serious head ...

and Brad Noffsinger to become the 1988

NASCAR Rookie of the Year The NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award is presented to the first-year driver that has the best season in a NASCAR season. Each of NASCAR's national and regional touring series selects a RotY winner each year. History of the Award The Rookie of the Y ...

. 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 Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...

Ford. He ran his last

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 The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...

races. He also attempted several

events, but failed to qualify for each of them, the last of which was the 1999 Pepsi 400, in the #84

Chevy Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

Driving instructor career

Bouchard now operates the Drive to Victory Lane Racing School at

Thompson International Speedway Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (TSMP), formerly Thompson Speedway and Thompson International Speedway, is a motorsports park in Thompson, Connecticut, featuring a asphalt oval racetrack and a road racing course. Known as the "Indianapolis ...

. He finished 13th in the "Icebreaker 2006"

Whelen Modified Tour The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) (previously the NASCAR Winston Modified Tour and NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series from 1985 until 2005) is a modified stock car racing series owned and operated by NASCAR in the Modified Division. The Mod ...

event at the track.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

=Daytona 500

Busch Series

Craftsman Truck Series

Busch North Series

Winston West Series

Whelen Southern Modified Tour

ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

References

External links

Official Website of Bouchard's racing school
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bouchard, Ken 1955 births Living people NASCAR drivers Sportspeople from Fitchburg, Massachusetts Racing drivers from Massachusetts