Racing With Jesus – Montreal

New Road Car Debuts at Montreal

This past week, the Racing With Jesus team announced the purchase of a road course car from Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and the acquisition of a Richard Childress Racing (RCR) engine to power the latest addition to the team’s lineup.

With unbelievably tight scheduling, the team was forced to miss the first practice session for the Montreal race as they were still installing the engine in hopes of having a competitive entry for the race.

During the final practice session, Morgan Shepherd was able to turn in a total of only 2 laps practice before qualifying time. The practice times were not encouraging as the car was running towards the bottom of the speed charts.

Fans of the #89 held their breath for qualifying. It wasn’t until late in the qualifying session that the #89 was locked in for the race with a 41st qualifying speed.

As the race began, rain was an ever-present threat. Knowing the potential of rain was eminent, NASCAR had announced that the race would run even in the event of rain.

According to the announcement on ESPN, NASCAR would be providing the teams with “rain tires.”

Once the green flag dropped, fans of Morgan Shepherd and the #89 Racing With Jesus team watched as Morgan moved up through the field.

With each passing lap on the twisting road course, the #89 advanced by one position.

And then – the rains came.

The race was halted as teams entered the pits to replace their racing slicks with the afore-mentioned rain tires.

As it turned out, the announcement that the rain tires would be “given” to the teams was a bit less than accurate. They would be “given,” but only if the teams paid for the “gift.”

Having spent their budget on regular tires for the race, the #89 Racing With Jesus team was forced to retire from the race, taking a finishing position of 37th place for the day. The #89’s withdrawal was accompanied by the withdrawal of several other under-funded teams.

From The Hotlap, we offer the following announcement concerning the team’s plans for the coming week in preparation for the race at Watkins Glen:

Aug 2 NASCAR Nationwide Series:WILKES BARRE, PA – Faith Motorsports has entered into a uniform sponsorship agreement with 3:16 Athletic Wear, Inc., a producer of Christian-oriented technical clothing for athletes, the companies announced August 1.The partnership will begin immediately and will include driver Morgan Shepherd and his Racing With Jesus NASCAR Nationwide Series race car appearing with 3:16 representatives next week at KingdomBound, a faith-based gathering in Darien Center, NY. As part of the sponsorship, 3:16 will produce custom technical clothing for the Faith Motorsports team, including crew shirts, jackets and other apparel. The company will also produce custom technical clothing bearing team logos which will be available for purchase by fans online at www.kingdomwinners.com, the team’s official online merchandise home. The 3:16 logo will appear on Shepherd’s #89 Racing With Jesus stock car next weekend at Watkins Glen and at other select races later this year.Read more (FM) (08-02-08)

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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…..