Sam Ard

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.

Racing career Late Model Sportsman Division (1975–1981) Ard was a regular competitor, earning at least nine wins and scoring multiple top-five finishes. In 1981, Ard finished fifth in the season-long NASCAR National Championship point standings.

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.

On the heels of that season, Ard won ten races and had twenty-three top-five finishes, and won the 1983 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series (now NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series) points championship.

Ard continued his dominant streak in 1984, with eight wins and twenty-four top-fives in 28 starts.

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.

Ard previously held the record for most consecutive top-fives in the series with 15 until Connor Zilisch broke the record in 2025. Zilisch and Noah Gragson ties Ard's record for most consecutive wins in-a-row in the series with 4.

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.

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. 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.

Ard died on April 2, 2017, at the age of 78.

Personal life Ard served in the Vietnam War as a member of the United States Air Force. He married his wife Jo in 1961, and they had four children.

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

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 Pts Ref 1984 nowrap| 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

CLT NWS CAR ATL RSD 104th 01 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 Pts Ref 1982 Thomas Brothers Racing 00 Olds DAY3 RCH21 MAR1 DAR6 HCY2 SBO1 CRW3 RCH2 LGY2 DOV17 HCY2 CLT12 ASH3 HCY3 SBO2 CAR5 CRW2 SBO1 HCY5 LGY3 IRP28 BRI9 HCY2 RCH3 MAR1 CLT2 HCY18 MAR6 2nd 4448