NASCAR is celebrating its 75th anniversary all throughout the 2023 season.
In 1998, NASCAR had a panel select a list of its 50 greatest drivers for its golden anniversary.
Likewise, we at Frontstretch decided to put together our own list of the 75 greatest NASCAR drivers in honor of this year’s milestone. Seventeen of our writers weighed in to pick the 75 drivers, and we’ll be releasing four to seven drivers from that list every weekday for the next three weeks.
Similar to the one in 1998, this list is not a ranking of the top-75 drivers. Instead, we’ve broken the list down into categories, with a new category released each day (see the full list below). Within those categories, the drivers are listed in alphabetical order.
Today, we show legends of NASCAR’s circuits not named the Cup Series some love.
Sam Ard
Sam Ard started driving in the Late Model Sportsman Division before it transitioned to the Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series in 1982-1983 and the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (now NASCAR Xfinity Series) in 1984. Ard had a short career there, making just 92 starts in 1982-’84 while in his mid-40s.
But though he had a limited driving career, Ard amassed 22 victories, 67 top fives, 79 top 10s and 24 poles piloting the No. 00 for Howard Thomas. He finished on average in about sixth.
Ard’s also just one of two drivers to earn 10 or more wins in a season in Xfinity, the other being Kyle Busch (achieving the feat four times). Ard’s 10 victories came in 1983 en route to his first of two Xfinity championships.
His specialty was short tracks, as he won five times at Martinsville Speedway, once at Bristol Motor Speedway and twice at both Richmond Raceway and North Wilkesboro Speedway. Additionally, at Hickory Motor Speedway, he earned one win as well as top fives in all but one race there.
One of Ard’s most significant accomplishments was his four-race win streak in ‘83, taking the checkered flags at South Boston Speedway, Martinsville, Orange County Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. In September 2022, Noah Gragson swept the month, tying Ard’s record of most-consecutive Xfinity victories.
At Rockingham Speedway in 1984, Ard suffered significant head injuries when his car slid in fluid and hit the outside wall. He had to relearn how to walk after the crash.
A few years after the accident, Ard ventured into team ownership in the Xfinity Series, starting in 1987. Jimmy Hensley drove…
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