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About Morgan Shepherd

Where it Began

Not unlike many NASCAR notables from years past, Morgan's racing career began when he used his souped-up moonshine car to earn extra money on the weekends. He finished second in NASCAR's Late Model Sportsman division in 1973, driving in 17 different cars. In 1980 he won the series title.

The Early Years in NASCAR

In 1970, Morgan made his Winston Cup debut at Hickory Motor Speedway, driving the #93 Chevrolet for Bill Flowers. He started 10th but finished 19th out of 22 cars due to rear end failure. He made two more starts that year, his best finish a 14th at Hickory. He did not race in Cup again until 1977, when he finished 10th at Dover International Speedway in a Jim Makar-owned Mercury. He ran two additional races at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Shepherd moved to the Cup Series full-time in 1981, winning his first pole in his first race at Richmond International Raceway, and also picked up his first career win at Martinsville Speedway. With a 13th-place finish in points, Shepherd was runner-up to Ron Bouchard for Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors. The following season, he achieved six top-five finishes and finished 10th overall in the Winston (now Nextel) Cup championship standings.

His fast-paced career continued, and with it came regular successes on the track.

The 1990's

In 1990, he scored a career high season-end ranking of fifth in the Winston Cup standings. In addition, he picked up his third career win at the season-closing Atlanta Journal 500. After failing to win and dropping to twelfth the following season, Shepherd moved to the Wood Brothers Racing #21 Citgo Ford. Despite dropping to 14th in points in 1992, Shepherd moved back up to seventh in points for 1993 and won his final race to date at Atlanta. The following season, he earned 16 top-10 finishes and completed the campaign sixth in points, his highest finish since 1990. After finishing in the top-five four times in 1995, Shepherd left the Wood Brothers team.

In 1996, he posted five top-10 finishes and finished 19th in points. For the remainder of the 1990's, he achieved regular success on the racetrack.

2000 and Beyond

Shepherd began 2000 in the Craftsman Truck Series driving the #7 for Conely Racing, finishing 17th at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but a lack of sponorship caused the deal to fall through. Shepherd attempted a pair of Busch races as well the season-finale NAPA 500 in the Cup Series for Hover Motorsports, but failed to qualify for those events.

In 2001, Shepherd formed his own Truck team, Victory in Jesus Racing, and began campaigning the #21 Ford F-150 on a part-time basis. During this time, he served as his own one-man pit crew during a truck race as he often climbed out of his truck to change his own tires and fill his own gas tank during pit stops. His best finish was 11th at Daytona; he also led 15 laps at South Boston Speedway.

In July 2006, Shepherd and Christian businessman Dana Tomes of West Virginia formed Faith Motorsports with Morgan driving the 89 car. He made his first race of the year at the Chevy Rock & Roll 400, where he finished 43rd. The following week, he qualified for the Sylvania 300 and finished 42nd. In 2007, the team focused its energies in NASCAR's Busch Series. Today, with Nationwide Insurance stepping in as the circuit's primary sponsor, Faith will compete in NASCAR's Nationwide Series during 2008. Consistent with its mission, the team will once again rely on its core beliefs as it works to overcome challenging odds in the multi-million dollar world of NASCAR racing.

Much More Than Racing

When he isn't racing or building cars, Shepherd is active in his local church and speaks at churches and Christian events across the country. Independent of Faith Motorsports, he operates his own charity, "The Morgan Shepherd Charitable Fund", and makes an annual trip each December to various locations in the mountains of Virginia to benefit those less fortunate and share the love of Christ. For his efforts, he was awarded the "Spirit Award" by the NMPA and Pocono Raceway in December, 2005.

Today, the team is working to solicit the sponsorship and funding dollars necessary to make an even stronger impact in the world of racing. More important than significance at the track, however, is the continued presence the team wants to achieve in the hearts and minds of race fans and Christians everywhere. Additional sponsorship investments will play a major role in this development.

A recently formed company that shares Faith Motorsport's passion for "Faith-Based Racing" is assisting in this effort. Companes interested in growing their business with accountable and numbers-driven marketing plans can contact The Family Marketing Partnership at 814-864-7801, or Family@KingdomWinners.com.

Morgan Shepherd's Career-at-a-Glance

• More than 750 Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series, and Craftsman Truck Series Appearances
• More than 500 Sprint Cup starts
• Top 10 final Sprint Cup points: 1982 (10th), 1990 (5th), 1993 (7th), and 1994 (6th)