The Chicago Race – Almost
As most of you know, the race field for any given NASCAR Nationwide Series event is limited to 43 cars. The top 30 teams (determined by total owner’s points) are GUARANTEED a starting spot in any given race.
Over the last few weeks, Morgan Shepherd and the #89 Racing With Jesus Dodge Charger has been flirting with a top 30 spot. Currently in 31st place (in owner’s points), the team must now race their way into each event. Read more
Racing With Jesus – Daytona
Qualifying for Daytona
Having slipped from the top 30 in owner’s points, Morgan Shepherd was faced with having to race his way into the Daytona starting lineup.
According to Faith Motorsports PR, Morgan said that hopes were running high since this was the same car that had turned in the oh-so-excellent finish at Talladega earlier this year. Recent improvements led to thinking that this hot rod could run in the top ten. Read more
Racing With Jesus – New Hampshire
Meeting the Challenge
Heading into the race at New Hampshire, the team is faced with overcoming fresh obstacles. As a result of the engine problems of the past weeks, the team has dropped out of the top 30 list and was no longer guaranteed a starting spot in the race. Read more
Racing With Jesus – Milwaukee
Shepherd runs respectable with limited funds
Author:
Faith Motorsports PR
WEST ALLIS, WI – Morgan Shepherd’s Faith Motorsports Dodge qualified 38th and finished in the 37th position in Saturday’s Camping World RV Rental 250 at the Milwaukee Mile. Read more
Racing With Jesus – Kentucky
Disaster in the Bluegrass State
From Faith Motorsports PR:
SPARTA, KY – Sporting a brand new Dodge engine for the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway, Morgan Shepherd and his Faith Motorsports crew had high hopes for a solid finish amoungst a field of Nationwide Series regulars. Read more
Racing With Jesus – Nashville
Morgan roller skates down the front stretch prior to the Nashville race.
Courtesy Getty Images
Practice and Qualifying
Practice times for the #89 Racing With Jesus Dodge Charger, driven by Morgan Shepherd, began as being a little disappointing for the team. In the initial practice, the car’s times were slowest of the 45 cars practicing.
By the final practice session, the car’s speed had picked up quite a bit and Morgan managed to qualify for a 37th place starting position. Read more
Racing With Jesus – Dover
The Monster Mile
Image courtesy of The Hotlap
The Dover track isn’t called the Monster Mile for nothing. The track exacts a heavy toll for even the slightest mistake, the slightest miscalculation. Read more
Racing With Jesus – Charlotte
As the team headed into race day, hopes were high and everyone was optimistic that Morgan and the #89 Racing With Jesus Charger would continue to build upon the success of the previous weeks. Read more
Racing With Jesus – Preparing For Charlotte
While this past weekend was an “off” week in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Morgan Shepherd and the Racing With Jesus team were busy both in preparations for the upcoming Charlotte race and in the news with all the recent events that have unfolded.
As we had mentioned earlier, The Hotlap had started a “Tires For Faith” fund to buy a set of tires for the #89 for the Charlotte race. The initial success of the fund drive led to the opening of a 2nd drive for a second set of tires.
Now, the “Tires For Faith” drive has been shifted to the Dover race as retiring NASCAR champion Dale Jarrett has stepped forward to sponsor tires for the Charlotte race.
The really big news for this week comes from the race team owned by Kevin and DeLana Harvick.
Kevin Harvick has donated a race car to Morgan Shepherd and Racing With Jesus! The team has been busily preparing the car and now, sporting a new candied-apple green paint job, Shepherd will enter the car in this weekend’s race.
From Faith Motorsports:
“I am just so thankful for Kevin and DeLana and their willingness to help me,” Shepherd said. “I just couldn’t believe it when they called and told me they were giving me a race car. I just didn’t know what to say. I am just so honored to have friends like the Harvicks, Tony Stewart, Matt Yocum and the Jarretts.”
While the Harvicks’ gesture of kindness has been by far the biggest gift Shepherd has received from a colleague, it is nowhere near the only one.
Fellow racer Tony Stewart and broadcaster Matt Yocum helped Shepherd with his tire bill two weeks ago at Richmond. Stewart stepped up again with help on Shepherd’s tires at Darlington last weekend. Shepherd has responded with a Top-15 and a Top-20 finish in the past three races.
As the team prepares for the upcoming Charlotte race at Lowe’s, this week their focus has shifted. For the first time since entering the Nationwide series, Shepherd is in the position of not facing the go-or-go-home status in qualifying.
Over the past 3 races, fueled by two top-20 finishes, the team has moved from 48th place in the points standings into the top 30, locking in a starting slot in this week’s race.
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You can follow the inspiring story of this team and read more about Morgan Shepherd and Racing with Jesus at the team’s website – www.racewithfaith.com. In addition to the team’s site, Jeff Parnell of KingdomWinners.com is writing a weekly blog of the team’s exploits at Christian Business Daily.
Read more of this inspiring story
….. to be continued…..
Racing With Jesus – Darlington
Darlington.
One of the most storied race venues in all of NASCAR. Known as “The Lady In Black.” The track’s tagline is “Too Tough To Tame.” It is a racetrack that is filled with legend.
This track is merciless to all who dare to compete there. Seasoned drivers know that you don’t go into this track expecting to win. You hope to be able to finish the race intact.
The real key to success, according to those who’ve been there is to “race the track” not the other cars.
Practice and Qualifying
Both practice and qualifying took a heavy toll on the drivers and their cars. There were some big names in the sport that didn’t survive the run-up to the race.
Morgan Shepherd drove the #89 Racing With Jesus Dodge into 24th place in the initial practice session and managed to turn in a solid qualifying run locking him into 28th for the start of the race.
The Race
For the second week in a row, Tony Stewart stepped up and bought the tires for the race. As fans, we thank Tony for his generosity in providing this under-funded team an opportunity to show what it’s capable of doing.
In a conversation with Dana Tomes, the General Manager for Faith Motorsports, Dana talked about the relationship that Morgan has with Tony and how Tony grew up idolizing Morgan. He commented that “Tony loves Morgan,” and is delighted to be able to contribute to Morgan’s efforts.
The race was everything fans anticipated. Filled with action and taking its toll on a number of competitors. This is usually one of the more exciting race venues to watch and this week’s event was no disappointment.
Throughout the majority of the race, Morgan kept pace running in 24th to 27th position until the race neared the closing laps.
(Image courtesy of the Hotlap)
With about 40 laps to go, Morgan had slipped into 27th following a round of pit stops. As the laps started to wind down, the race ticker revealed what was happening. 27th place. Then 24th. Then 22nd.
Morgan was on the move, making a closing charge to move up.
As the race entered into the final 10 laps, Morgan Shepherd moved into 20th place. Like Talladega, the fan forum at Morgan’s website was lit up like a Christmas tree.
With the big-money teams dropping like flies, the unsponsored Racing With Jesus Dodge, driven by 66 year-old Morgan Shepherd had managed to avoid the carnage of the night and was closing on the leaders.
With only 4 laps to go, a major wreck involving several of the front-runners sent several teams to the garage for the night resulting in another green-white-checker dash for the finish line.
As Tony Stewart crossed the finish line in his first-ever win at Darlington, the cameras revealed a truly inspiring effort as Morgan continued to battle for position, pulling out for a last-lap effort to pass yet one more car.
It was a time of celebration on the Race With Faith website as Morgan drove to a 16th place finish.
We pray that God continues to bless this team as the events of the last 3 races illustrate how the Lord is able to “make much with little.”
You can watch the video of the closing laps by clicking here, and then selecting “Final Laps: Stewart Wins At Darlington.” (Video link from NASCAR.com)
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You can follow the inspiring story of this team and read more about Morgan Shepherd and Racing with Jesus at the team’s website – www.racewithfaith.com. In addition to the team’s site, Jeff Parnell of KingdomWinners.com is writing a weekly blog of the team’s exploits at Christian Business Daily.
Read more of this inspiring story
….. to be continued…..