Early track experiences?
Stock Car Racing History
Darlington Raceway was (is) near our hometown of Lake City, SC. When Sam Ard was racing we were ALWAYS there. His mom, Mrs. Lillian Ard was so very proud of him as we all were. She never failed to reach over & tap someone on the shoulder saying, "You see that number double zero? That's MY boy, Sammy!". She always had the sweetest look on her face when referring to her son, Sam.I have many memories of going to the track only to have the rain descend upon us. But it was ok, we sat there anyway until the race was either called or run. Now they have sophisticated dryers but then we watched as trucks, wreckers- you name it- pulled tires 'round and 'round and 'round trying to dry the track, often only to have another downpour of rain come!My most memorable time at Charlotte Moter Speedway was when Sam won the MillerTime 300. We were in the stands and everyone was so excited! Mrs. Lillian wanted to get in the pits where her boy was to help him celebrate. Determined, she approached a nice looking man with black hair who appeared to be an official. He told her to stand there and he would get us in a minute. Soon he arrived in a shiny red truck and took all of us to Winner's Circle where Sam was. Out of 82,000+ people, I don't know how she knew which one to approach. It was a combination of a mother's intuition and divine intervention, I suppose.