Lime Rock: Career Best NASCAR Finish For Bourque

LAKEVILLE, Connecticut. (October 1, 2006) - - In the final race of the 2006 NASCAR Busch East Series season, Pierre Bourque made some significant noise. After a career-best NASCAR qualifying effort, the rookie strutted his stuff on Saturday at Lime Rock Speedway, running a solid 8th before a late last lap incident relegated the driver to a 13th place finish. In all, it was a positive weekend for the Fast Track Racing team. In the Friday practice, the team tapped 13th position in the final rundown. In qualifying, Bourque positioned his Driving.ca-Canada.com-Working.Com-Dose.Ca Chevrolet Monte Carlo 16th of 30 cars on the grid with a plan to head to the front in the race.

€œWe had a great car this weekend,â€??? said Bourque. “Fast Track Racing crew chief Dave McClure and his team did a great job throughout the weekend.â€??? Bourque has faired well on the road courses this year. In three CASCAR (recently purchased by NASCAR) events this season, Bourque collected two straight 12th place finishes, including at Montreal's demanding Formula One circuit, site of next season's first-ever Canadian NASCAR Busch Series race. From the drop of the green, the No. 10 began to maneuver his way through the field. Bourque had 82 laps to get his machine to the front. As the race progressed, the closer his car edged to the top-ten. It helped that Bourque had great spotters working with him throughout the race, including team owner Andy Hillenburg and veteran racer Andy Belmont. Battling his way into the top ten, Canada's only full-time NASCAR driver appeared to be on his way to the first top-ten finish of his young NBES career, but the last two corners of the race bit the rookie as he slid on some debris and hit the wall hard, resulting in a 13th place finish. While the finish was a career best for the diversity driver, the team knows the finish wasn’t what they deserved.

“I’m happy that we ran so well, but bummed out at the result,�?? Bourque said following the race, "We were barely ten seconds away from the checkered flag. But, that’s racing. We’ll move on and be back another time. I want to thank the whole gang at Fast Track Racing for their efforts this weekend. It was a blast. We were strong, we just didn’t have the luck at the end." Driving.Ca, Canada’s No. 1 Automotive website, was primary sponsor at Lime Rock. In addition, _Canada.com_ (http://canada.com/) Canada's biggest online community, _Working.com, _ (http://www.working.com/) one of North America's top career sites, and _Dose.Ca,_ (http://www.dose.ca/) a cool site that caters to hip Canadian urbanites coast-to-coast, all served as secondary sponsors on Bourque’s machine. All four sponsors are part of Canwest-Global, Canada's largest media company with interests in television, radio, newspapers and the internet.

Also, Full Metals Minerals and Pollara Strategic Public Opinion remained on board as associate sponsors for the season finale. “What can I say about my sponsors? They are awesome,�?? stated Bourque. “I want to thank them for all of the support and faith in our team this season and we’re looking forward to a long lasting relationship.�?? With his 13th place finish Saturday, Bourque leaped two positions in the final standings to 18th. “It’s satisfying to finish in the top-20 in points despite the ups and downs we’ve faced this season. All in all, our rookie season on the NASCAR Busch East tour was a success. I learned so much and it will only help me as my racing career continues. Again, I just want to thank my team and car owner and mentor Andy Hillenburg for his guidance this season. I’ m looking forward to what the 2007 racing season brings.�?? While, the 2006 NASCAR Busch East Series has come to a close, Bourque isn’t done racing yet. He will head to the breathtaking 2.666-mile Superspeedway of Talladega to make his third ARCA RE/MAX Series start of the season this coming Friday.

Last week, Bourque was able to get his feet wet at the track in preparation for the triple-header weekend. Unofficially, Bourque maneuvered a lap of 51.300 seconds at 186.667 mph, good enough for 12th of 37 cars on the speed charts.

“We had a great test,�?? Bourque added. “The car was awesome and we were fast and competitive. I’m really upbeat about Friday’s race and I think we have a good chance of really making some noise in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, I can’t wait!�??

In addition to running the full 2006 NASCAR Busch East Series and limited starts in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, Bourque also made three CASCAR Series races with Wyoming, Ontario's Whitlock Motorsports.