Sam Perry had a passion for motorsports and was an accomplished SCCA sports car racer. His early days in the sport were spent souping up hotrods and racing modifieds at the Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway in Richmond Virginia. He later raced at legendary sports car tracks across the country including Watkins Glen New York, Riverside California, Virginia International Raceway, and Sebring Florida, holding his ground to the likes of Mark Donahue, Richard Petty, Roger Penske, and Curtis Turner .