Racing With Jesus – Bristol

The Bristol race is run on what is termed a “short” track. It’s a half-mile oval, and a track that Morgan Shepherd has historically run extremely well.

Today would be different. The start of the race was disheartening for the fans of the #89 car. In a departure from their usual policy of not airing footage of Morgan’s car, the TV cameras were focused this time on the crew pushing the car back from the starting line.

Not the kind of coverage one hopes for. Discouraging, to say the least. What was going on?

It turned out that the team had an unexpected problem. The car wouldn’t start. The track had been pummeled with a heavy rain and water had somehow managed to get into the air cleaner and down into the engine. This in spite of the fact that the car had been covered during the downpour and the cowling taped.

The team got permission from NASCAR to pull out of the lineup and attempt to find the problem. The plugs were pulled from the engine and Morgan began cranking the ignition. Water shot from the holes the spark plugs had occupied.

Certain that the engine was ruined, they continued and it seemed that the engine was starting to dry out. Replacing the plugs, there were anxious moments as Morgan attempted again to fire the engine.

Unexpectedly, the engine roared to life. After a brief warm-up, Morgan pulled out of the pits and into the race. Twenty laps down by now, the team forged ahead.

Handling on the car started fading after about a dozen laps. Completing another 30 laps, Morgan finally pulled in and managed to pull out a 37th place finish from what started out as a real disaster.

“We were running good when we were out there. Just the fact that we got the car running and got out there was an accomplishment,” Shepherd said. “I just wish we had a sponsor that could see the value this team could be for them. If we had a full crew and were able to hire more people and have some money to run on we could run with these guys every week.”

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……..to be continued……