Sam Ard

Samuel Julian Ard (February 14, 1939Template:Spaced ndashApril 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Racing career

Late Model Sportsman Division 1975-1981

Ard was a regular competitor, earning at least nine wins and scoring multiple top-five finishes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1981, Ard finished fifth in the season-long NASCAR National Championship point standings.<ref>1982 Nascar Yearbook & Press Guide</ref>

Late Model Sportsman / Busch Grand National Series

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.<ref name=":0" />

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.<ref name=":1"/>

He continued his dominant streak in 1984, with eight wins and twenty-four top-fives in 28 starts.<ref name=":2" /> 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.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref>

Winston Cup Series

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.<ref name=":4" />

Post-racing career

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.<ref name=":3" />

Later life and death

Ard battled Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Ard died on April 2, 2017, at the age of 78.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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	Template:Tooltip	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	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

¹ Ard's team was a post-entry for the race and thus did not receive points.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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	Template:Tooltip	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	<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
			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	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series

(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	Template:Tooltip	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	-	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

External links

• Template:Racing-Reference driver
• Template:Racing-Reference owner
• NASCAR Budweiser/Busch Late Model Sportsman Series Win List at The Crittenden Automotive Library