Eric Boucher, of Auburn, California, won a closely-contested B-Spec battle with Derrick Ambrose in the Western Conference. In eight races, Boucher scored six wins and added a pair of podium-finishes to his 2015 record. Boucher said it was one of his most satisfying seasons of racing for several reasons.

“This championship really means a lot for a couple of reasons,” Boucher said. “Back in 2010, my first year back in racing after a 20 year hiatus, I finished the San Francisco Regional season first in Formula Continental points. Unfortunately, due to the drop race rule, I actually didn’t get the FC regional title. That was a pretty big heart breaker. We were certainly the underdog and we'd put everything we had financially and emotionally into that season so it was a tough one to lose, though I did end up with Rookie of the Year in the region which was nice.

“Following that season I, again, went on a multi-year hiatus from racing, but late last year after recovering financially from 2010 we decided to build the B-Spec Mazda2. Unfortunately, we didn't get it finished until after the first two events. So, all eight of my races counted towards the championship. We had to nail the perfect season, and for all intents and purposes we did. I've had some nice racing successes both in my early twenties as a hopeful pro, as well as later in life as a hobby racer, but this season definitely ranks right up at the top satisfaction wise.”

Boucher faced a few challenges, but they came before the season even started. To say the least, building a racecar from scratch is a time-consuming, difficult thing to do.

“I'd say the toughest part of our season was before it even got started,” Boucher said. “I'd never built a racecar before and, of course, we went way over on both time and budget. Financially, it was a strain on the family and missing the first two Western Conference events really put the pressure on me to perform right out of the box. The car was rock solid and didn't fail me once so we really didn't have any on-track setbacks to speak of.”

Boucher said the turning point of the season came during the team’s first conference race at Thunderhill Raceway Park. The pieces came together for Boucher and his team.

“Our very first race at Thunderhill was actually when I realized we had a real shot at winning the championship, even though we were already two weekends behind in the points chase,” Boucher said. “Having never raced a front-wheel drive car I really had no idea if we'd even be competitive, let alone win races. We got advice on some of the setup and winged it on other parts. On the test day before the event I discovered I was already putting in laps well under the B-Spec track record, and by the end of the weekend we had two race wins and had beaten the old record by over two seconds!

“Of course the rest of the season we were in catch-up mode, but after taking four wins in the next four races we'd positioned ourselves well to get that elusive first championship.”

Boucher made a point of recognizing the people behind the scenes that made his title run possible.

“If it weren't for my amazing wife Wendy, I wouldn't even be doing this,” Boucher said. “She puts up with the ridiculous spending, the travel, and the time I spend in the shop, and she gives me amazing emotional support at the track. I think she's actually as passionate about me winning as I am! Of course now I'll need to take another multi-year hiatus to recover financially, but that's just the nature of the beast I guess.

“I'd also be remiss if I didn't thank all the folks that follow our progress on Facebook. They're always wishing us luck and cheering for us during the weekend. It's nice to have that support.

“Finally I need to thank Derrick Ambrose, my toughest competitor. He'd won the Western Conference B-Spec title the last couple of years so you'd think he'd be the first one to hold any vital information back, especially since we were both running Mazdas. On the contrary. He was a wealth of information both during the build process, as well as during our season-long battle. He's really a great guy and I couldn't have asked for a better competitor on track. We had some good battles, traded a little paint, but we never took each other out and always showed respect for one another on track. He's a true gentleman.”