Thomas Brothers Racing

In just 92 career starts Sam Ard, the former Pamplico, S.C resident scored 22 victories and 24 pole positions. Ard finished among the top five a total of 67 times. He also claimed top-10 finishes in 86 percent of his career starts (79 top 10s).

He remains fourth on the Busch Series’ all-time win list and second in all-time poles despite driving just three seasons, prompting many to wonder just what kind of unreachable records Ard might have put up, had his career not been cut short. Driving the No. 00 Thomas Brothers Country Ham Oldsmobile owned by Howard Thomas, Ard established many Busch Series records that remain intact.

In 1983, Ard assaulted the Busch Grand National record book. He set the series record with 10 victories. Included in that double-digit total is a record for most races won from the pole, with four victories from the point. He also showed a mastery of the short ovals, establishing a series record with nine short-track wins in a single season.
The following year, Ard established benchmarks for most top-five finishes in a season with 24 and most top-10s with 30. Ard is also the only driver in series history to win four consecutive races.

Ard’s 1984 campaign was to be his last after suffering injuries in the next-to last race of the season at Rockingham. Despite missing that final race, Ard still destroyed the competition, winning the Busch Series championship by a record 426 points to leave behind a mark of his incredible dominance.