Tag Archives: Morgan Shepherd

Throwback Thursday: A Dover Race Lost Because of a Lug Nut

Posted on by
Photo - Courtesy of Wood Brothers Racing

Photo – Courtesy of Wood Brothers Racing

The Motorcraft/Quick Lane team, with rookie driver Ryan Blaney now at the wheel, will be back on the track at Dover International Speedway this weekend for the first time since 2008, when the team cut back to a partial Sprint Cup schedule.

For the Wood Brothers, it’s a return to one of the tracks where they had great success in years past.

The Woods won seven times at Dover over the years, beginning with their first trip there in the fall of 1972.

David Pearson led 350 of that race’s 500 laps to win by three laps over second-place Richard Petty. Pearson swept the Dover races in 1973, beating Cale Yarborough in the spring and Bobby Allison in the fall.

Pearson won two more, in the spring of 1975 and the spring of 1978. Continue reading →

Double Duty for Five Drivers at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Aside

Photo - Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Photo – Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Double Duty for Five NASCAR Drivers at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

A new week has dawned, and it’s nearly time to go racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The 2016 NASCAR Weekend at the 1.5-mile superspeedway is shaping up as another epic experience, with drivers set to race in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Boyd Gaming 300 on Saturday and Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt 400. Five drivers – Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott and Aric Almirola – are expected to pull double duty and compete in both races over the weekend. Continue reading →

Nationwide Series Drivers Withdrawing Could Become an Unintended Trend

Posted on by
Michael McDowell, driver of the #98 K-Love Ford, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 25, 2012 Photo - Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Michael McDowell, driver of the #98 K-Love Ford, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 25, 2012
Photo – Tom Pennington/Getty Images

NASCAR made many changes in the off-season in order to try and limit the start-and-park teams.  Among those changes were cuts to the prize money for the lowest finishers and cutting down the field in the Nationwide Series from 43 to 40.

However, many of those teams are also underfunded teams who attempt to make enough per race so that they can make it to the next race.

A staple driver in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series’, Michael McDowell will not be making the trip to Phoenix this weekend, which is a shame because he is originally from Phoenix.  McDowell has always looked forward to the bi-yearly trips to his hometown to compete in front of his family and friends.

Another driver whose team has withdrawn before teams made the trip to Phoenix, is Morgan Shepherd.  Shepherd and his team have been a staple in the garage for over 27 years. Shepherd attempted 31 of 33 races and competed in 21 of 33 Nationwide races last year.

Could this the beginning of a trend for the season? Continue reading →