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On an especially dark December night, several hundred people stood in the rain outside a funeral home in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, waiting their turn to say a final 'good-by' to Ron Bouchard and to extend their sympathy to his family.

Few knew that Bouchard had suffered from cancer for five years. He looked healthy so it was a surprise to most when at age 67 he died.

Bouchard was among the first people to join the board of the North East Motor Sports Museum. Despite enormous business responsibilities, he attended the meetings and participated with enthusiasm. When we were trying to decide what the building should look like and be made of, he summoned his own contractor to look over our plans. He wanted the building to be functional, attractive and to last a long time. He helped finance the museum, becoming one of the Groundbreakers on September 15, 2015 alongside wife Paula and brother-in-law Ed Flemke Jr.

He was a busy guy. In the early days of his big league NASCAR racing, he and Paula flew to Charlotte and other southern destinations where he was racing using one-way tickets. They found rust-free cars down south and each drove a car north to add inventory to the auto sales business they were launching. Fast forward to today where Ron Bouchard's dealerships include Masachusetts-based Honda, Dodge and Kia dealerships, all in gleaming new buildings. There's also a Massachusetts Accura dealership. From open air lots, hundreds used cars of all colors and prices are marketed. He also owned a dealership in Tennessee.

There are photos and other reminders of Ron's remarkable racing past in the dealerships. As a 19-year old kid he won his first Seekonk championship in 1967. Four consecutive Seekonk championships followed in '68, '69, '70 and '71. He won another Seekonk championship in '78, the Westboro Championship in '75, the Stafford Championship in '73 and '79, and the '78 Thompson Championship.

Ron's best remembered in racing for his surprise win at Talladega in 1981 in just his eleventh start in NASCAR's top series. In that race, on the last lap he roared under Darrell Waltrip and Terry Labonte, neither of whom knew he was coming and who were racing each other for the win, to take his only Winston Cup victory. Waltrip claims to still be angry that the Bouchard, who as a rookie, had out-raced him that day.

Paula, brother-in-law Bob "Bergie" Bergeron and sister Joanne created the RB Museum, a monument to Bouchard's magnificent career, and held a grand opening in the fall of 2015. That museum's floor is filled with race cars Ron and others drove. The walls hold a massive display case filled with trophies won. It's a marvelously impressive facility that was opened grandly to a huge crowd. So good that he got to see it all before he died.

Ron Bouchard was a charismatic man, someone who deserved and got respect. He was warm and welcoming to everyone. He had so much to live for but died too young.