Pierre Bourque ARCA Racing Series Advance: Iowa Speedway

Race: Prairie Meadows 200 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards: 9 of 20
Track: Iowa Speedway
Date: July 10, 2010

Pierre Bourque will make his first ARCA Racing Series start of the 2010 season at Iowa Speedway in the No. 2 Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota for the Prairie Meadows 200 Saturday, July 10.

Iowa Experience: Bourque competed at Iowa Speedway several times in different series over the years. He has one ARCA Racing Series start at the Newton, Iowa track in 2008 with ESR in the No. 2 car, where he started 41st and worked his way to finish in the 16th position. In 2009, he competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at the track, finishing 29th in his NASCAR debut. In 2007, Bourque piloted a K&N Pro Series East car to a 14th place finish at Iowa Speedway.

Reuniting with ESR: Bourque reunites with Eddie Sharp Racing this weekend. He competed in three ARCA Racing Series events in 2008 with the team at Daytona International Speedway, Iowa Speedway and Kansas Speedway.

Canada Connection: Bourque, native of Ottawa, Ontario, joins Steve Arpin as the only two Canadians driving in the Prairie Meadows 200. In 2010, Bourque is competing full-time in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and currently sits ninth in points after three races.

Wide Series Experience: Bourque began racing in 1978 at a driving school in Mt. Tremblant, Quebec. He started racing formula cars on road courses but took a brief hiatus from the track to run for office. After serving on the Ottawa City Council, Bourque has expanded his racing experience. He has competed throughout motorsports in the ARCA Racing Series, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, NASCAR Camping World East Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Beyond the Track: Bourque is the creator of Bourque Newswatch, www.bourque.org, a website that goes behind the scenes of Canadian politics. Often called "Canada's Online News Authority," the website is a well-known news authority in the country and receives millions of readers each month. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame and the Chair of the Hall's Communications Committee.

SPEED Broadcast: The Prairie Meadows 200 will be the sixth of 10 races on the ARCA Racing Series schedule to be broadcast on the SPEED Channel. The live race coverage begins at 8 p.m. CDT (9 p.m. EST). Live streaming audio will be also featured on the ARCA Racing Network at www.arcaracing.com with scoring and timing at 8 p.m. CDT.

QUOTES
Bourque on racing at Iowa Speedway
"I am thrilled to be re-united with Eddie Sharp Racing. I was there last week for a seat fitting, and it felt like going home again with a lot of familiar faces and a great can-do attitude. I'm very excited to be working with crew chief Wayne Carroll. He's extremely competitive, I think we hit it off right away, and I know I can expect great things from him and his crew. Iowa is one of my favorite tracks for two reasons: first, it is an exceptionally well-designed course, and second, it attracts an incredibly intense fan base. In short, it's the perfect package for me to get back to racing in ARCA."

About Eddie Sharp Racing

Eddie Sharp set up shop in 2005 after several years of transforming young, talented drivers into ARCA championship contenders. Today, Eddie Sharp Racing has evolved into the rite of passage for any serious upcoming driver with an ambition for professional stock car racing. Located in Denver, North Carolina just north of Charlotte, Eddie Sharp Racing occupies a top-notch facility that closely resembles a five-star NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team, both inside and out. The two ESR buildings each contain two teams where on any given day, championship contending cars are assembled, engines tuned and teams strategize to score the next race day victory.