has been a
NASCAR Nextel Cup driver since
1977 . Morgan currently drives the #89
Racing With Jesus /
Dutch Quality Stone Dodge Charger .
Morgan Shepherd is a born-again
Christian with experience in the Nextel Cup,
Busch , and
Craftsman Truck Series .
Morgan's racing career began when he used his souped-up moonshine car to earn extra money on the weekends. He won 21 of 29 races to win the North Carolina title. Morgan finished in second in NASCAR's Late Model Sportsman division in 1973, driving in 17 different cars. In 1980 he won the series title.
Morgan raced occasionally before he finally achieved a full-time ride in
1981 . He had his first win at Martinsville that year. Morgan had Top 5 and Top 10 finishes each year of the 1980s, despite racing for several different teams.
In
1990 , he scored a career high season-end ranking of 5th for
Bud Moore Engineering . In 1992, Morgan moved to the
Wood Brothers Racing #21 Citgo car, where he consistently finished in the top 15 in points. Morgan stayed with the Wood Brothers for four seasons. He ran one season with Butch Mock, before signing with Precision Products Racing in 1997. He left halfway through the season for Douglas Bawel's campagin, but returned to PPR by seasons end. Morgan won a total four NEXTEL Cup races, including three at
Atlanta Motor Speedway .
With backing from Christian businessmen nationwide, Victory Motorsports will field driver Morgan Shepherd on the Nextel Cup Series for the entire 2006 season. At age 64, Shepherd is becoming the oldest full-time driver in NASCAR Nextel Cup Series history. Doug George is the crew chief of the #89 Dodge, and the team will be using Joey Arrington engines. "Our goal is to go down to Daytona and get this team off to a solid start," Shepherd said. "We want to be at least in the top 35 of the car owners' standings after the first five races (which guarantees starting positions for races following that), and build this team. We know we have a long way to go, but we have every intention of getting there."
Shepherd also operates his own charity, "The Morgan Shepherd Charitable Fund", and makes an annual trip each December to various places in the northeast. For his efforts, he was awarded the "Spirit Award" by the NMPA and
Pocono Raceway in December of 2005.
