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.

Turning in his best qualifying effort of the year, Morgan Shepherd drove the #89 Racing With Jesus Dodge Charger to an incredible 14th place starting spot during the qualifying run.

But the race was yet to be run. And this is Daytona. Track conditions would change drastically from qualifying to race time.

When the green flag dropped for the start of the race, so did hopes for a strong finish.

Morgan said that this was the loosest car he had driven at Daytona since 1987. Handling was a nightmare as the car threatened to spin out of control whether Morgan was passing another car, another car was passing him or when trying to stay with the draft of the leaders.

The only hope was to run at the back of the pack and to attempt to make massive adjustments on the car during the caution flag laps.

Image courtesy of the Hotlap

The worst thing that could happen would be a lack of cautions for the race. And this particular race tied the record for the fewest cautions in Daytona history with only 3 cautions for the entire race.

As a result, the #89 went a lap down as the race progressed.

It wasn’t until after the final caution that the adjustments started to pay off. While the #89 was blistering around the track at speeds of 180 mph, it was too little, too late.

Even with the obstacles of the day, Morgan was able to drive the #89 to a 31st place finish and bring the car home in one piece.

Gaining precious points, the #89 inched ever closer to reclaiming its spot in the coveted top 30.

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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…..