Sam Ard | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | Pamplico, South Carolina | February 14, 1939||||||
Died | April 2, 2017 Florence, South Carolina | (aged 78)||||||
Achievements | 1983, 1984 Busch Series champion | ||||||
Awards | 1983, 1984 Busch Series Most Popular Driver Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023) | ||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
1 race run over 1 year | |||||||
Best finish | 104th (1984) | ||||||
First race | 1984 Goody's 500 (Martinsville) | ||||||
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NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
92 races run over 3 years | |||||||
Best finish | 1st (1983, 1984) | ||||||
First race | 1982 Goody's 300 (Daytona) | ||||||
Last race | 1984 Komfort Koach 200 (Rockingham) | ||||||
First win | 1982 Dogwood 500 (Martinsville) | ||||||
Last win | 1984 Coca-Cola 300 (North Wilkesboro) | ||||||
|
Samuel Julian Ard (February 14, 1939 – April 2, 2017) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He won two NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series championships, in 1983 and 1984. Ard also made one NASCAR Winston Cup start. He retired from driving after being injured in late 1984 and became a car owner. He had Parkinson's disease later in life and died in April 2017 at age 78.[1]
Racing career
[edit]Late Model Sportsman Division 1975-1981
[edit]Ard was a regular competitor, earning at least nine wins and scoring multiple top-five finishes.[2] In 1981, Ard finished fifth in the season-long NASCAR National Championship point standings.[3]
Late Model Sportsman / Busch Grand National Series
[edit]Ard was the runner-up in 1982 of NASCAR's Late Model Sportsman Series, winning four races and finishing out of the top ten only six times.[4]
On the heels of that season, Ard won ten races and had twenty-three top-five finishes, and won the 1983 Busch Grand National (now Nascar Xfinity Series) points championship.[5]
He continued his dominant streak in 1984, with eight wins and twenty-four top-fives in 28 starts.[6] Ard was seriously injured in a crash at the Rockingham Speedway on October 20, 1984. Despite missing the season's final race at Martinsville, Ard captured the Busch Grand National championship for the second year in a row, but was never able to race again.[7]
Winston Cup Series
[edit]Ard made his first and only Winston Cup Series start on September 23, 1984, at Martinsville. He started 27th in the 31-car field but lasted just one lap before a steering failure ended his day.[8]
Post-racing career
[edit]After retiring as a driver, Ard became an owner, fielding cars for several drivers, most notably Jimmy Hensley and Jeff Burton, who claimed his first Grand National win driving Ard's car.[7]
Later life and death
[edit]Ard battled Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.[9] His family often received donations and aid from the racing community to help him. In 2006, drivers Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. led a charge to donate a substantial amount of funds for the care of Ard and his family. After tying Ard's Nationwide Series single-season victory record in 2008, Kyle Busch announced that he would give $100,000 to aid Ard's family with his care and mounting medical expenses in his honor.[10]
Ard died on April 2, 2017, at the age of 78.[11]
Personal life
[edit]Ard served in the Vietnam War as a member of the U. S. Air Force. He married his wife Jo in 1961, and they had four children.[12]
Motorsports career results
[edit]NASCAR
[edit](key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Winston Cup Series
[edit]NASCAR Winston Cup Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | NWCC | Pts | Ref | ||||||||
1984 | Zervakis Enterprises | 02 | Chevy | DAY | RCH | CAR | ATL | BRI | NWS | DAR | MAR | TAL | NSV | DOV | CLT | RSD | POC | MCH | DAY | NSV | POC | TAL | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | MAR 31 |
CLT | NWS | CAR | ATL | RSD | 104th | 01 | [8] |
1 Ard's team was a post-entry for the race and thus did not receive points.[13]
Busch Series
[edit]NASCAR Busch Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | NBSC | Pts | Ref |
1982 | Thomas Brothers Racing | 00 | Olds | DAY 3 |
RCH 21 |
MAR 1 |
DAR 6 |
HCY 2 |
SBO 1 |
CRW 3 |
RCH 2 |
LGY 2 |
DOV 17 |
HCY 2 |
CLT 12 |
ASH 3 |
HCY 3 |
SBO 2 |
CAR 5 |
CRW 2 |
SBO 1 |
HCY 5 |
LGY 3 |
IRP 28 |
BRI 9 |
HCY 2 |
RCH 3 |
MAR 1 |
CLT 2 |
HCY 18 |
MAR 6 |
2nd | 4448 | [4] | |||||||
Chevy | BRI 20 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1983 | Olds | DAY 6 |
RCH 1 |
CAR 12 |
HCY 3 |
MAR 1* |
NWS 1* |
SBO 25 |
GPS 9 |
LGY 7 |
DOV 3 |
BRI 9 |
CLT 32 |
SBO 11 |
HCY 3 |
ROU 4 |
SBO 15 |
ROU 4 |
CRW 7* |
ROU 3 |
SBO 4 |
HCY 1* |
LGY 7 |
IRP 3 |
GPS 6 |
BRI 1* |
HCY 5 |
DAR 2 |
RCH 5 |
NWS 5 |
SBO 1* |
MAR 1* |
ROU 1 |
CLT 1 |
HCY 2 |
MAR 1* |
1st | 5454 | [5] | ||
1984 | DAY 4* |
RCH 1* |
CAR 1* |
HCY 3 |
MAR 9 |
DAR 4* |
ROU 3 |
NSV 2* |
LGY 1* |
MLW 1* |
DOV 1* |
CLT 6 |
SBO 1* |
HCY 4 |
ROU 3 |
SBO 1* |
ROU 3 |
HCY 3 |
IRP 2 |
LGY 2 |
SBO 5 |
BRI 2 |
DAR 2 |
RCH 11 |
NWS 1* |
CLT 3* |
HCY 5 |
CAR 33 |
MAR | 1st | 4552 | [6] |
ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series
[edit](key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | APSC | Pts | Ref | ||||||||||||||||||
1983 | Thomas Brothers Racing | 10 | Olds | DAY 36 |
NSV | TAL | LPR | LPR | ISF | IRP | SSP | FRS | BFS | WIN | LPR | POC | TAL | MCS | FRS | MIL | DSF | ZAN | SND | NA | - | [14] |
References
[edit]- ^ "Jayski: Sad News - Sam Ard; obituary". ESPN.com. 2017-04-02. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
- ^ "Sam Ard". The Third Turn. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
- ^ 1982 Nascar Yearbook & Press Guide
- ^ a b "Sam Ard – 1982 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
- ^ a b "Sam Ard – 1983 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
- ^ a b "Sam Ard – 1984 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
- ^ a b "Jayski: Sad News - Sam Ard; obituary". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
- ^ a b "Sam Ard – 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ^ "NASCAR short-track star Sam Ard dies at 78". Fox News. 2017-04-03. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
- ^ "Ards can't put price on Busch $100,000 donation". NASCAR. NASCAR Media Group. Associated Press. November 3, 2008. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008.
- ^ "SAM ARD, TWO-TIME XFINITY SERIES CHAMPION, DIES AT 78". NASCAR. April 2, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
- ^ "Samuel Julian "Sam" Ard". SCNow. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
- ^ "1984 Official Race Results: Goody's 500". NASCAR. NASCAR Media Group. Archived from the original on August 21, 2010.
- ^ "Sam Ard – 1983 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
External links
[edit]- Sam Ard driver statistics at Racing-Reference
- Sam Ard owner statistics at Racing-Reference
- NASCAR Budweiser/Busch Late Model Sportsman Series Win List at The Crittenden Automotive Library