Seay on Sports Nov. 13, 2008The small town of Pamplico, SC sits near the Pee Dee River on Highway 51 abut 19 miles south of Florence. Many have driven through the town of about 1,200 when using that alternate route to Myrtle Beach.Most famous among the residents is Sam Ard who has become the central figure in a quest for a balancing of the scales for former NASCAR drivers who, like Ard, are in tougher than usual financial strife.The sanctioning racing organization created by the late Bill France has never set up a pension fund for the drivers who are independent contractors, therefore many former racing stars have go it alone. There are notable exceptions. David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Charlie Glotzbach, Geoff Bodine, Cotton Owens, Ned Jarrett, Harry Gant, Tiger Tom Pistone, Larry Pollard and relatively few others, have had the business acumen to create their own wealth independent of earnings on the speedways. Others, through no fault of their own have fallen into a monetary morass through lack of planning, or with Ard, on-track misfortune and aging.Among those who seem not to need any special help are men such as Pearson who became a multi-millionaire in real estate, Yarborough has a thriving Honda dealership in Florence, Pistone supplies race parts for top teams as does Pollard. Glotzbach continues to operate a well-run truck dealership in Indiana. And there are guys such as Jack Ingram and Dave Marcis who have continued to do automotive related work very successfully.Direct employees who work with NASCAR can receive pension and retirement benefits. But, many who have popularized the sport are shut out. To their credit, some individual NASCAR officials have helped Ard and others because they are good folks. Finally, some of the more successful current drivers are beginning to help, but there should be more.Sam Ard was a semi-regular at the Columbia Speedway when it was clay then became a Thursday night favorite once the track was paved in 1971. His biggest victory came when he took top place the Busch (now Nationwide Series) Grand National Miller Time 300 at Lowes Motor Speedway in 1983. He outran Dale Earnhardt, Sr., by 8.5 seconds and won a record four consecutive events and logging ten for the season.In 1984, his promising career and normal life ended at in a crash at Rockingham that produced severe head injuries. Since then, life has been very tough for Sam and Jo, his wife of 54 years. But, something happened at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 2 when 23-year old driver Kyle Busch tied Ards ten-win record. And, Busch made the biggest move of his racing career. Sam and Jo became the greater beneficiaries. More on that later.Ards personal take from winnings totaled $94, 691.25. Unable to work, and no steady income meant the Ards money was quickly consumed. Gone was the money to fund the youngsters college educations and to help take care of everyday expenses.That was exacerbated when Ard was injured last year in an all-terrain vehicle mishap. The most tragic aspect of this is Sam, 69, suffers from Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease and increasingly cannot take care of himself. Sams wife Jo says Social Security, Ards veterans benefits and her jobs cleaning houses and looking after some hunting dogs have produced the miniscule income.Then, in 2006, drivers Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. led the way. Learning of Ards plight they anted up enough money to pay off the mortgage on the Ards doublewide home, repay other debts and reclaim his two championship rings that served as collateral on a loan. Then Harvick donated a 2007 model van to replace their out-of-commission vehicle.Then, finally, the NASCAR Foundation and Motor Racing Outreach teamed for an online auction to benefit the Sam Ard Fund.Immediately after tying Ards 10 wins record, Kyle Busch announced he was giving the Ard family $100,000. Hopefully, the kazillion-dollars team sponsors; very rich young drivers and NASCAR will assist other older racers and their families.Organizations such as the Living Legends of Racing, now conducting another auction, and the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame, in conjunction with the recersreuinion.com, are working to help families such as Ards who face similar hardships that have rendered them indigent.Learn more on line at the racersreunion.com site that offers free access to audio and video interviews, amazing stock car race footage and photos plus an interactive social network.Youll see and hear how you can help these legendary drivers who were giving their all when racing was racing.Jim Seay