Sam Ard was born February 14, 1939 near Pamplico, South Carolina.

In 1982, Ard finished second in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series points championship after winning 4 events, scoring 7 poles, 20 top-5’s and 23 top-10’s.

In 1983, he won his first NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Championship. His record 10 wins in the Series that year has yet to be broken. He recorded 10 wins, 10 poles, 23 top-5’s, and 30 top-10’s.

In 1984, Ard recorded 8 wins, 7 poles, 24 top-5’s, and 27 top-10’s. His career was cut short by injuries he received in a horrible wreck at Rockingham in the next-to-last race of the season. Despite missing the final event of the season, he still won the Busch Series championship by more than 400 points.

Ard’s Busch Series career was only 3 seasons long, yet in 92 starts, he qualified on the pole 24 times and won 22 events.