Sam Ard
| Sam Ard | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
February 14, 1939 Pamplico, South Carolina | ||||||
| Achievements | 1983, 1984 Busch Series champion | ||||||
| Awards | 1983, 1984 Busch Series Most Popular Driver | ||||||
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career | |||||||
| 1 race run over 1 year | |||||||
| First race | 1984 Goody's 500 (Martinsville) | ||||||
| Last race | 1984 Goody's 500 (Martinsville) | ||||||
| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| 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) | ||||||
| |||||||
| Statistics current as of March 4, 2012. | |||||||
Sam Ard (born February 14, 1939 in Pamplico, South Carolina) is a former NASCAR driver.
Ard was the runner-up in 1982 of NASCAR's Late Model Sportsman Series (which eventually became the NASCAR Xfinity Series), and followed up his run with back-to-back championships in 1983 and 1984. He won a total of 22 races and 24 pole positions in the series during his career in this division, and set a record for the most wins in a single season in Late Model Sportsman Series competition with 10 race victories. Ard retired after being seriously injured in a crash at the North Carolina Speedway on October 20, 1984.
He 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.
After retiring as a driver, Ard became an owner, fielding cars for Jimmy Hensley, Ed Berrier, and Jay Fogelman, among others.
Ard is currently battling Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. His family often receives 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.[1]
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Winston Cup Series
| 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 | [2] | ||||||||
1 Ard's team was a post-entry for the race and thus did not receive points.[3]
Busch Series
| 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 | NBGNC | 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] | |||||||||
References
- ↑ Associated Press (November 3, 2008). "Ards can't put price on Busch $100,000 donation". NASCAR. NASCAR Media Group. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008.
- ↑ "Sam Ard – 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ↑ "1984 Official Race Results: Goody's 500". NASCAR. NASCAR Media Group. Archived from the original on August 21, 2010.
- ↑ http://racing-reference.info/drivdet/ardsa01/1982/B
- ↑ http://racing-reference.info/drivdet/ardsa01/1983/B
- ↑ http://racing-reference.info/drivdet/ardsa01/1984/B
Source: Sam Ard Family, SamArd.com
External links
- Career statistics at racing-reference.info
- NASCAR Budweiser/Busch Late Model Sportsman Series Win List at The Crittenden Automotive Library
| Preceded by Jack Ingram |
NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Champion 1983–1984 |
Succeeded by Jack Ingram |