Morgan Shepherd - 2000s

2000s

Shepherd began 2000 in the Craftsman Truck Series driving the #7 for Connely Racing, finishing seventeenth at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but a lack of sponorship caused the deal to fall through. Shepherd attempted a pair of Busch races as well the season-finale NAPA 500 in the Cup Series for Hover Motorsports, but failed to qualify for all those events.

In 2001, Shepherd formed his own Truck team, Victory in Jesus Racing, and began campaigning the #21 Ford F-150 on a part-time basis. During this time, he served as his own one man pit crew during a truck race as he often climbed out of his truck to change his own tires and fill his own gas tank during pit stops. His best finish was eleventh at Daytona, as well as leading fifteen laps at South Boston Speedway. After making sixteen starts that season, Shepherd finished 26th in points. The following season, his best finish was a 17th at Richmond, the only race he finished that season. He also had the best points finish of his truck career, 24th. He also made his return to the Cup series in his #89 Red Line Oil Ford, beginning at New Hampshire International Speedway, where he finished 40th, his best finish that season. He also attempted a handful of races with Ware Racing Enterprises, but did not make a race.

The following season, he attempted six Cup races, but only made two, finishing last in both of them. In 2003, Shepherd failed to finish any of his truck races, his best finish coming at Darlington Raceway, where he placed 24th. He spent a majority of the season in the Busch Series driving the #0/70 Eagle Jet International Chevy for Davis Motorsports. His best finish was an eleventh at Talladega. Towards the end of the season, he switched over to his Victory in Jesus ride in the Busch Series, posting two top-40 finishes. In 2004, his Cup team switched to Dodge and attempted 32 races, qualifying for nineteen of them. His best finish was a 32nd at Martinsville, one of just two races he completed that season. In 2005, he only made four starts, and was unable to score higher than 40th.

In 2006, Shepherd brought on several Christian investors and sponsor Dutch Quality Stone, renaming the team Victory Motorsports. But after failing to qualify in every race he attempted, he sold the team to his partners. He runs part-time in the #0 for Davis in the Busch Series, his best finish 40th at Nashville Superspeedway. In July 2006, Shepherd and Christian businessman Dana Tomes of West Virginia formed Faith Motorsports with Shepherd driving. He made his first race of the year at the Chevy Rock & Roll 400, where he finished 43rd. The following week, he qualified for the Sylvania 300 and finished 42nd.

Shepherd ran the full Nationwide Series schedule for the first time in 2008. While the team entered every race, it failed to qualify eight times. His best finish that season was thirteenth at the Aaron's 312, his best finish in five years. Following that race he was a surprise phone-in guest on Tony Stewart's radio talk show. During that talk show, Stewart and announcer Matt Yocum offered to pay the tire bill for Shepherd's next race. On January 30, 2009, it was announced that Shepherd will drive a Chevrolet for that season.

Shepherd struggled in his self-owned entry for 2009 and 2010. After the 2010 summer Daytona event, Shepherd went to Richard Childress Racing and drove the #21. Johnny Chapman moved to the #89 as a start-and-park driver.

In 2011 Morgan was locked in to the first 5 races due to receiving the owner's points from the #21 team. Also, Faith Motorsports announced that the team would field a second entry for driver Brett Rowe for at least the first 5 races of the 2011 season. That team acted mainly as a start and park team to help support the #89 car.

On March 1, 2011, while staying in Las Vegas between races, the 69-year-old Shepherd chased down, tackled and restrained a young shoplifter who had run out of a Wal-Mart.

Morgan Shepherd traded his locked in status for the first 5 races of the 2012 Nationwide season to the new #3 RCR team of Austin Dillon in return for a new R07 engine. In 2011, the roles were reversed and it was Shepherd getting locked in status from the defunct #21 RCR team.